Banking News – Nepal’s Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has taken action against 39 recruitment agencies for sending Nepali migrant workers abroad through Indian airports without obtaining prior approval from the department.

According to the department, investigations confirmed that the agencies had repeatedly dispatched workers through Indian airports without authorization. Each of the 39 manpower companies has been fined Rs. 50,000 for violating the regulations.

The department has also imposed a Rs. 50,000 fine on each of 124 recruitment agencies that failed to submit the information requested during the monitoring process.

Under Section 22 of the Foreign Employment Act, 2007, the DoFE had sought details of workers sent abroad between March 15, 2026, and June 14, 2026 (Chaitra 1, 2082 to Jestha 31, 2083 BS) to verify whether recruitment agencies were complying with the requirement to use Nepal’s airports when deploying migrant workers overseas.

However, 124 manpower companies failed to submit the required information within the specified deadline, prompting the department to initiate legal action in accordance with the law.

The DoFE reiterated that, under Nepal’s foreign employment regulations, recruitment agencies are required to send migrant workers through airports within Nepal. If workers must depart through Indian airports due to exceptional circumstances, agencies are legally required to obtain prior approval from the department by providing valid justification before making the travel arrangements.