The number of Nepalese who were selected in the interview for UAE in October alone and waiting for visa is more than 10 thousand, last year only 152 thousand Nepalese went to Saudi Arabia, but since last August 22, the passport with visa has not been received.
Shyam Bahadur Shrestha of Dolakha, who was in Kathmandu waiting for a United Arab Emirates (UAE) visa, returned home on Saturday. He had left home to go to UAE for employment. My company is finished. A contract has also been signed with the company. Passed medical. The only thing left was the visa. It was decided to fly in the last week of August," he told Kantipur. "Suddenly, the news came that the visa was closed. Manpower has said let's go home now, we will report later.'
He was about to go to the UAE after being burdened with debt. “I used to run a restaurant in Charikot. That didn't go well. 15 lakhs in debt. Two lakh rupees have already been spent to go to the UAE," he said. "It is possible to go to the UAE. I thought that I would pay off the loan within two to three years. Had to return home. When will the visa come? Can you go or not? My heart is getting sad.'
According to manpower professionals, the number of Nepalis waiting for visa after being selected in the interview for UAE alone in October is more than 10,000. For the last two years, UAE has become a major destination for Nepalis. Every month, 30,000 Nepalese are getting employment.
After the Gen-G movement and violent demonstrations, the UAE has suddenly stopped issuing visit visas and employment visas. UAE has informally informed Nepal about this. The UAE has not disclosed the reason for stopping the visa. An official of the Nepali Embassy in Abu Dhabi told Kantipur, "We have sent this matter to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "
On August 24, the UAE stopped issuing visas after the incidents of prisoners escaping from prisons in different districts of the country and vandalism and arson of national and personal property nationwide. The UAE visa will arrive within a day of sending the visa application after keeping the necessary documents. An official of the Non-Resident Nepali Association, UAE said, "The latest incident has stained the image of Nepali people." UAE has informally informed Nepal about this.
Until three years ago, the number of Nepalis working in the UAE was only three lakh. More than one and a half million Nepalis returned after losing their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. When the UAE took a policy to balance the number of foreign workers, the number of Nepalis has started to increase rapidly. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UAE, most of the employed are Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis. They constitute 28 to 12 percent of the total foreign workers. The UAE has stopped issuing visas to Bangladesh from December 2020 and Pakistan from mid-2024. Which has not been officially announced. After the two countries stopped giving visas, Nepalis started getting more quota. In the last two years alone, the number of Nepalis working in the UAE with visit and employment visas has reached 8 lakh. There are not so many Nepalis in other destination countries. According to Tej Bahadur Chhetri, the Nepali ambassador to the UAE, the presence of Nepalis in the service sector is strong. Skilled manpower is increasing recently. This has also increased the income of Nepalis. One of the main reasons for the increase in remittances in Nepal is the strong presence of Nepalis in the UAE labor market, said Chhetri.
In the last fiscal year alone, 839,000 Nepalis had received work permits. Out of that, the number of people going to UAE alone is 32.64 percent. In other words, 264,000 people went to the UAE last year. Saudi Arabia has also not issued visas after the movement of Jen-G. Saudi Arabia is the second major destination of Nepal. Last year alone, 152,000 Nepalis went to Saudi Arabia. Mahesh Kumar Basnet, Secretary General of Nepal Foreign Employment Professionals Association, said that passports with visas have not been received since August 22. Since August 22, some manpower companies have submitted their passports to the Saudi embassy in Nepal for visa application. "That passport has not been returned," he told Kantipur, "We are hoping to get a passport with a visa." Nareshvikram Dhakal, the Nepali ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said that they have not received the official notification that Saudi Arabia has stopped issuing visas. We do not have an official notification that visas have been stopped for Nepalis. We have to understand this matter," he said. Except for Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, countries have been issuing visas without police reports. Rohan Gurung, the former president of Nepal Foreign Employment Professionals Association, said that it is necessary to solve the problem in time diplomatically. "After breaking the prison and escaping, the concerned country should not consider it otherwise.
Nepal issues a police report only by looking at the records of whether a crime has occurred. All destination countries should be informed about this through diplomatic channels in time," he said. Labor expert Ganesh Gurung says that if the main destination country of the Gulf countries stops issuing visas, the number of unemployed youth may increase when Malaysia, the main destination of Nepalis, is not fully opened. From May 31, 2024, Malaysia has not fully opened the policy of stopping taking labor from source countries including Nepal. Opened only in limited areas.
On the other hand, the future of jobs in the Gulf region is becoming doubtful as the tension between Israel and Qatar increases. On September 9, Israel attacked Qatar and killed senior Hamas leaders, along with security officials there. Along with neighboring countries including Saudi Arabia and UAE, Qatar is taking international steps against Israel. Gurung, the former president of the association, says that if this tension increases, there is a possibility that employment will be pushed to a crisis. On this matter, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lok Bahadur Paudel Chhetri, responded that he understands the latest incident.
