May 20: The Foreign Employment Office, Kathmandu has informed that it will launch online service for all kinds of labour permits from today (May 20). Now, anyone going abroad for foreign employment can take the labour permit through online system, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported. This will effectively end the need to physically visit the office to take labour permits.      

From now on, the new system will be applicable for both individual and institutional labour permits as well as renewal of labour permits. The Foreign Employment Office had started issuing institutional labour permits through online system almost a month ago. Similarly, renewal of labour permit through online system was initiated in January.

The recent change in service delivery has largely reduced the number of service seekers who used to be present in large numbers at the office until some time ago.    
Office chief Ramesh Aryal informed that the labour permit service has gone online as per directive of the Labour Ministry. Such decision was taken to facilitate both the service seekers and the service providers, said Aryal.

According to RSS, a total of 167,000 persons were provided labour permit during last fiscal year while more than half a million people have been granted labour permit in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.