Diplomatic note to reconsider the skills testing program that imposes a financial burden on workers
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Saudi Arabia has unilaterally implemented the Skill Verification Program (SVP) in Nepal in a way that imposes a financial burden on workers. Now, workers without an SVP certificate will not be allowed to go to Saudi Arabia for work.
The Saudi Embassy in Kathmandu has made it so that visa applications from workers without an SVP certificate cannot be submitted. Previously, Saudi Arabia had planned to implement this from Asar 3. However, after manpower agencies vandalized the training center assigned to implement the SVP, it was immediately halted.
The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security has sent a diplomatic note to Saudi Arabia through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting a reconsideration of implementing the SVP in Nepal. “This is a matter for bilateral discussion. We have sent a diplomatic note requesting reconsideration,” said Pitambar Ghimire, spokesperson for the Ministry of Labor.
Saudi Arabia has applied the skill test to five occupations: loading and unloading goods, porters, cart operators, and construction sector workers. However, it has not been clearly specified which construction jobs this applies to.
The Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has stated that a skill certification program has been implemented to obtain a labor visa for Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has said it is conducting skill certification to grant professional recognition.
According to a notice issued by the embassy, workers must first register online on Saudi Arabia’s “Professional Certification Portal” for the skill test. Only after registration can they pay the fee in dollars via Visa or Mastercard. Applicants must select their occupation from among those available under the program. After that, they must choose an approved test center and an available test date. The test will last three hours. The results will be available within 24 hours to one week.
According to Saudi Arabia’s notice, workers will be given up to three attempts for the skill test. If they fail, they will not be allowed to go to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has stated that this program has been implemented in all source countries.
The Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies has stated that the SVP has been implemented with “digital control.” For the SVP test, a fee of 50 dollars (7,000 rupees) must be paid. However, there is no legal provision for workers or manpower agencies to pay directly. For this, Sai Vision Pvt. Ltd. has been charging 10,000 rupees including service fees. For Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), a fee of 50 dollars has been set. However, the matter of recognition of prior learning is still not clearly defined.
“A button has been added to the visa application requiring the SVP certificate. Unless the certificate is submitted, the visa application process cannot proceed,” said Dike Bahadur Khatri, president of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, to Kantipur. “This has become digital control. There is no second option for the visa.”
Businesspeople have said that as the medical test validity of 1,700 workers is about to expire, they have started sending them for SVP. To operate the SVP program, Saudi Arabia has assigned Industrial Training Institute Nepal Pvt. Ltd. in Basundhara, Kathmandu. “If the visa application is not submitted immediately after the employer has selected the worker, the medical test period will expire. If the medical test period expires, the worker will have to undergo the test again,” he said. “This has trapped the workers.”
According to President Khatri, discussions are ongoing among businesspeople regarding stopping the certification of new demand letters. “The government’s diplomacy has not been effective. This should have been resolved diplomatically in a timely manner,” he said.
On Asar 12, Minister for Youth, Labor and Employment Ramji Yadav met with Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Nepal, Fahad Mohammad Al Mnaihkher, and requested an immediate suspension of the skill certification process for Nepali workers.
Nepal has emphasized that all matters related to the skill certification process should be resolved through the established mechanism based on bilateral consultation and agreement. Nepal has requested that the visa process continue as usual until it is advanced through the established mechanism. In the labor agreement reached between Nepal and Saudi Arabia last Poush, it is mentioned that matters related to the recruitment process of Nepali workers will be determined by the Joint Technical Working Committee. However, there is no bilateral agreement between Nepal and Saudi Arabia regarding the implementation of the skill certification program. Senior officials from both Nepal and Saudi Arabia are on this technical committee.
“Nepal wants the visa process for Nepali workers not to be affected by the SVP process and for the visa process to continue as usual,” said the Labor Minister’s Secretariat. “The Ministry of Labor wants to ensure that there are no obstacles to workers’ employment.”
Saudi Ambassador Mnaihkher had said that further information would be provided after necessary consultations with the Saudi government. However, Saudi Arabia implemented the SVP without consultation. Previously, Saudi Arabia had also started collecting biometric (fingerprint) data from workers from 13 Poush 2081 without Nepal’s agreement. For this, a biometric collection mechanism has been set up in Thapathali, Kathmandu. Workers must pay a fee of 730 rupees for biometrics. The embassy does not accept passports of workers without biometrics.
In a meeting with foreign employment agencies, Saudi Ambassador Mnaihkher said that the fee should be paid by the employer. “If the employer had been made to pay the SVP fee at the time of Wakala (quota certification), the worker would not have had to pay. But since the fee was not collected then, workers in Nepal are now compelled to pay,” said Association President Khatri. “This is simply an attempt to extract money from workers by selling certificates in the name of skill testing.”
Every year, 80,000 Nepali workers go to Saudi Arabia. Of these, 67 percent go on general worker visas, 8 percent in the service sector, and 12 percent as drivers and operators.
