KATHMANDU: The government has approved of as many as 172 countries for Nepalese workers desirous to go in foreign employment. Moreover, remittances are an important source of revenue for the Government of Nepal.

Beyond these 172 countries, if Nepalese workers go to some other countries for foreign employment, then the government does not issue work permits to them.

Last year, Nepal received remittances from 184 countries. For the last few years, the number of remittances has gradually grown from some new countries.

Currently, Nepalese workers are employed in not less than 189 countries around the world as a result of which remittances worth Rs 783 billion, 784 million 198 thousand and 806 entered Nepal last year. The highest amount of remittances worth Rs 186 billion 236 million 246 thousand and 309 reached Nepal from the USA alone and the lowest amount of remittances Rs 4997 (43.78 US$) came from Solomon Island.

Last year, Nepal received remittances from 184 countries. For the last few years, the number of remittances has gradually grown from some new countries.

Remittances were sent to Nepal from 17 new countries for which labor permits were not issued by the Nepal government. These 17 new countries include Guatemala, Monaco, Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Falkland Islands, Samoa, Guyana, Grenada, Curacao, Iran, Burundi, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sierra Leon, Haiti, Tajikistan, Guam and Solomon Islands.

The Department of Immigration has confirmed that Nepalese workers took visa for around 120 countries, especially for foreign employment. If remittances are the criteria, then Nepalese workers have reached to 189 countries in search of work, says Laxmi Panna Niraula, spokesperson of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).

There are two ways of going to foreign countries – through an organizational process involving manpower agencies and through personal contacts using relatives and friends.

“It is not true that only Nepalese workers send remittances to Nepal. There are some foreigners who send remittances to a specific family as part of charity or donation,” Niraula said adding, “Almost all the remittances are sent to families in Nepal. However, these foreign countries have been mostly visited by Nepalese workers in search of employment.”

According to the NRB data, the receipt of remittances in Nepal has increased by 33.4% in comparison to the last five years. Remittances constitute 29% of the total GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of Nepal. The latest record from the DFE (Department of Foreign Employment) says that around 37, 00,000 Nepalese workers are employed in different countries across the world.

There are two ways of going to foreign countries – through an organizational process involving manpower agencies and through personal contacts using relatives and friends. Nepalese workers have reached 110 countries routing through manpower agencies while they have visited as high as 172 countries in search of work by taking help of their personal contact.

There are also cases where a Nepalese worker hops from one country to another joining different companies during the course of their stay outside Nepal.