"‘Free Visa Free Ticket’ Scheme Fails to Address Nepali Migrants’ Concerns", Apr 15 2019

Nepal Government’s ‘free visa, free ticket’ scheme for easing the financial burden of migrants is not paying off its due benefits to the needy...“The Department of Foreign Employment has not monitored whether the employer or recruiting agencies have paid for airfare, insurance, and visa fees,” read the [Office of the Auditor General] OAG report findings... The scheme was launched with a mandate that employers will bear the visa and air travel expenses for workers going for employment in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Malaysia. The workers will just need to pay for medical tests, orientation training and recruiting agencies... thousands of migrant workers are still paying amounts [around NPR 50,000-900,000] to recruitment agencies for jobs in foreign destinations. "Political commitment on the part of the government has lacked because... its implementation will hurt the recruiting agencies... If the government wants to strictly enforce the policy, it easily can” [Barun Ghimire, Law and Policy Forum for Social Justice.]