50 firms penalised for hiring foreigners sans work permit

KATHMANDU, JAN 19 -The government has penalised the 50 organisations employing foreigners who have not acquired work permit. The organisations were found employing 103 such foreigners and were fined Rs 10,000 for each such recruitment.


International Non-Government Organisations (INGOs), NGOs, private companies, educational institutions were among organisations facing the government action in the first half the current fiscal year, according to Department of Labour (DoR).

As per the Labour Act, foreigners, either self employed or employed by any organisation operating in Nepal, have to mandatorily get work permit. However, those working in diplomatic missions and enjoying diplomatic privilege and immunities are not required to get the permit.

After imposing the fine on the organisations, the foreign workers were provided a six-month “provisional work permit”, according to Kishna Hari Pushkar, director general of the department. “The foreigners will have to get their permits renewed by paying Rs 10,000 before the expiration of the permit, but the department will evaluate whether to renew permit,” he said.

Among the institutions penalised are Practical Action, Rural Access Programme, Leprosy Mission International, Save the Children, Care Nepal, Adra Nepal, Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanipani Limited, Lovegreen Nepal, The British School, Nobel Medical College, St Xavier’s School and French School, among others.

The British School was found employing 19 foreigners, the highest by a single institution, without work permit. St Xavier’s School and Montre Dame HS School had 10 and four foreigners employed, respectively. As per the rule, it is mandatory for foreigners visiting Nepal for paid or voluntary jobs to get the permit within one month by self or through the initiation of the employing organisation.

As per the labour law, the department grants permission to employers to engage a non-Nepali at work for a maximum period of five years and in specialised kind of skilled technical posts, for a period of up to seven years if Nepalis are hard to find for such jobs. There are an estimated 540,000 foreigners, including Indians, working without work permit, resulting in a loss of government revenue and creating a shortage of jobs for the locals, according to the department.

The department said it has recommended the Department of Immigration to take action against Carter Centre, Lincoln School and International Language School for employing foreigners who are working against the visa permission. “In these three institutions, foreigners are found working against visas issued for purposes like study and official visit,” said Pushkar.

As a part of its crackdown on foreigners working illegally, the department last Sunday issued a 90-day ultimatum to them to obtain the work permit or face legal action. As per the existing provision, those who fail to get work permit can be fined up to Rs 20,000 and could also be repatriated.

So far, around 10,000 foreigners have obtained work permit to work in diplomatic missions, banks, telecom companies and education institutions, among others. Many organisations have expressed ignorance about the mandatory work permit provision, while there is also a trend of neglecting rules deliberately, according to the department.

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