Majority of Nepali migrant workers visited Malaysia for foreign employment in the last fiscal year. According to government data, a total of 771,327 Nepali citizens took work permits for foreign employment in the review year. Among them, 259,594 people obtained work permits for Malaysia alone, according to the Department of Foreign Employment.

Director General of the department, Madan Dahal, said that Malaysia might have become the first choice of Nepali workers because it is easier to go and work in Malaysia compared to the Gulf countries. In the fiscal year 2078/79, only 36,644 people took work permit for Malaysia. At that time, Malaysia had tightened the entry of immigrants due to the spread of Covid-19.

Recently, it has been learnt that Nepalis have been attracted to Malaysia because the country has increased the wages of the workers. The minimum wage of workers in Malaysia is 1,500 ringgit (about Rs 43,000) at present. After Malaysia, Qatar is the second choice among Nepali youths for foreign employment. 

Last year, 133,262 Nepalis acquired work permits to go to Qatar for employment, the department said. In the year 2078/79, a total of 184,926 Nepalis took work permits for Qatar.

Director General Dahal said that last year, Nepalis took work permits to go to 144 countries across the world. According to him, the number of Nepalis going to European countries besides the Gulf and Malaysia for labor has also increased recently.