A general view of the Tribhuvan International  Airport in this file photo.

September 22: With the government opening the door for foreign employment, the number of Nepali migrant workers going for foreign employment has increased drastically. A total of 7,290 Nepali workers have left the country for foreign employment as of September 18.

Nepali workers have started going to labour destinations for employment with new work permits and renewal of work permits.

The government had stopped accepting applications for work permits for foreign employment on March 11 after a surge in coronavirus infection. Since the last two months, the government has gradually started to issue work permits for foreign employment.

The government had resumed renewal of work permits for Nepali migrant workers from June 28 while it resumed issuing new permits from September 2 onwards. Since then, more than 7,000 Nepali workers have gone to labor destinations for foreign employment, states a report prepared by the Department of Foreign Employment.

Manpower companies that have sent Nepali workers aboard during the period informed that 117 individuals have traveled abroad with new work permits.

Earlier, more than 328,000 workers had returned to Nepal on leave and were stranded after the government postponed renewal and issuance of work permits. Likewise, 115,000 workers were not able to go for foreign employment despite receiving their visas.