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Process

The legal path,
start to finish.

Six stages, the documents each one needs, realistic timelines with the assumptions shown, who pays for what, and the failures we see most often. Switch to the worker view for the same journey in plain language.

A briefing taking place across a table, one person holding a clipboard
Illustrative photograph. Vitaly Gariev / Unsplash
  1. 01

    Issue the demand

    You issue the recruitment documents on company letterhead, signed and sealed. Send us the drafts first. We check the wage line against the statutory minimum for Nepali workers in your country before anything is submitted, because that single figure is the most common reason a file is rejected later.

    • Demand letter listing job titles, headcount and monthly wage
    • Employment contract
    • Power of attorney naming NIOPL
    • Recruitment or service agreement
    • Company profile or trade licence copy

    Typical duration: Set by your own approvals

    Common failure. A wage below the statutory minimum will be flagged and the file returned. Confirm the figure with us before you seal the documents.

  2. 02

    Attest at the Nepali mission

    The signed set is attested at the Embassy or Consulate of Nepal accredited to your country. Requirements vary by mission and the order matters, since several missions want your chamber of commerce or foreign ministry stamp on the documents first.

    • Attested demand letter
    • Attested contract and power of attorney
    • Malaysia only: JTK endorsement and accredited accommodation certificate

    Typical duration: 3 to 10 working days, depending on the mission

    Common failure. Documents that are unattested, or attested out of order, cannot be submitted to the Department. This is where most files stall.

  3. 03

    Pre-approval through FEIMS

    We submit the attested set together with our agency agreement to the Department of Foreign Employment through the FEIMS system, and publish the public vacancy announcement that the Act requires before any recruitment can begin.

    • Agency agreement
    • Pre-approval application filed through FEIMS
    • Published vacancy announcement

    Typical duration: 1 to 3 weeks from a complete file

    Common failure. The timeline assumes a complete and correctly attested file. An incomplete submission restarts the clock rather than pausing it.

  4. 04

    Source, interview and trade test

    We shortlist against your specification and arrange interviews in Kathmandu, either in person or by video where you prefer. Skilled trades are tested at a government approved skill test centre before you see the shortlist.

    • Shortlist with CVs and passport copies
    • Trade test results for skilled grades
    • Your written selection list

    Typical duration: 2 to 4 weeks, depending on trade and headcount

    Common failure. Rare or licence bound trades take longer than the pool categories. Ask us for a realistic figure before you commit to a mobilisation date.

  5. 05

    Medical, insurance and labour permit

    Selected workers complete the medical examination at an approved centre, are enrolled in foreign employment insurance and the Social Security Fund, and are issued the labour permit that allows them to leave the country legally.

    • Medical fitness certificate
    • Foreign employment insurance policy
    • Social Security Fund enrolment
    • Labour permit

    Typical duration: 1 to 2 weeks

    Common failure. Medical unfitness is the usual point of attrition. We shortlist above your headcount so the batch absorbs it rather than arriving short.

  6. 06

    Visa, orientation and departure

    Visa stamping is completed, the worker attends the mandatory pre-departure orientation, and we send you the flight manifest ahead of arrival with the handover contact confirmed on both sides.

    • Stamped visa
    • Pre-departure orientation certificate
    • Flight manifest and arrival handover plan

    Typical duration: 1 to 2 weeks after the permit is issued

    Common failure. Confirm your airport reception before the manifest is issued. An unmet arrival is the fastest way to lose a worker in the first week.

On timelines

Ranges, with the assumptions attached.

For Gulf destinations, an attested demand to arrival typically runs 8 to 14 weeks. That assumes a complete and correctly attested file, a trade we hold depth in, no wage line query at FEIMS, and normal medical attrition.

For Romania, Croatia and Poland, budget 4 to 7 months, because the work permit is issued in country before the worker can even be given a visa appointment, and appointment availability is outside anybody’s control.

Malaysia and Japan run on their own frameworks, JTK endorsement and accredited accommodation for Malaysia, SSW or TITP sending rules for Japan. We will give you a specific figure once we have seen your documents.

These are ranges we have found to be realistic, not contractual commitments. We will not guarantee a visa outcome, a salary or a processing time, and you should treat any agency that does with suspicion.

Costs

Who pays for what.

This is the typical division, and it is confirmed in writing in the service agreement and the worker’s contract before anybody commits. Where a client wants to take on more than this, we record it and tell the worker.

Division of recruitment costs between employer and worker
ItemEmployerWorkerNote
Recruitment service feeYes.Paid by the employer under the terms of the service agreement.
Visa feeYes.Employer cost in every destination we serve.
Air ticket to the destinationYes.Employer cost under the free visa, free ticket provision for the listed Gulf destinations and Malaysia.
Demand attestation at the Nepali missionYes.Paid where the documents are attested.
Passport.YesThe worker holds and pays for their own passport.
Medical examination.YesSome employers reimburse this. Say so in the contract if you do.
Labour permit and welfare fund contribution.YesStatutory charges collected by the Department at permit stage.
Foreign employment insurance premium.YesUnless your contract places it on the employer, which we will record in writing.
Pre-departure orientation.YesPaid at the approved training institute.
Agency service charge.YesCapped at the ceiling set by the Department, receipted, and zero for the free visa, free ticket destinations.

For the Gulf destinations and Malaysia covered by the free visa, free ticket provision, the agency service charge to the worker is nil. Anywhere a worker does pay a service charge, it is capped at the ceiling set by the Department of Foreign Employment and it is receipted.

What goes wrong

Four failures cause most of the delay we see.

An agency that names its failure modes has usually handled them. All four of these are avoidable, and three of them are avoidable in the first week.

  1. 01

    The wage is below the statutory minimum

    FEIMS flags it, the file comes back, and the demand has to be reissued and re-attested from the beginning. Send us the draft before you seal anything and this never happens.

  2. 02

    Documents attested in the wrong order

    Several missions require a chamber of commerce or foreign ministry stamp before they will attest anything. Getting the sequence backwards costs two to three weeks.

  3. 03

    Medical attrition was not planned for

    A percentage of any batch is found medically unfit. If the shortlist was sized exactly to the headcount, you deploy short and the gap takes another cycle to fill.

  4. 04

    The arrival was not arranged

    A worker who lands and is not met is the fastest way to lose somebody in week one. Confirm your airport reception before we issue the manifest.

Plain definitions

The terms that appear in every file.

Written for an employer who has not recruited from Nepal before. You will see all of these in correspondence with us, with your mission, and with the Department.

DoFE
The Department of Foreign Employment, under the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security. It licenses agencies, approves demands and issues labour permits.
FEIMS
The Foreign Employment Information Management System. The online system through which agencies file pre-approval requests and the Department records every stage of a file.
Demand letter
The document in which an employer states what it needs: job titles, headcount, wages and conditions. Nothing can begin without it.
Attestation
Verification of your recruitment documents by the Embassy or Consulate of Nepal accredited to your country. Unattested documents cannot be submitted in Nepal.
Pre-approval
The Department's permission to recruit against a specific attested demand. It precedes any advertising, interviewing or selection.
Vacancy announcement
The public advertisement of an approved demand, required by law so that any eligible worker can apply rather than only those a broker reaches.
Trade test
A practical skills assessment at a government approved skill test centre, used to confirm that a worker can do the job they are being hired for.
Labour permit
The Department's authorisation for an individual worker to take a specific job abroad. Leaving for work without one is illegal and leaves the worker unprotected.
PDOT
Pre-departure orientation training at an approved institute. Covers the contract, the destination's law and who the worker should contact if something goes wrong.
Welfare Fund
The Foreign Employment Welfare Fund. Each departing worker contributes, and it pays for repatriation and compensation in the event of death, injury or a serious dispute.
Social Security Fund
Nepal's contribution based social security scheme, which migrant workers are enrolled in before departure.
Free visa, free ticket
A Government of Nepal provision under which the employer bears the visa and air ticket cost for the listed Gulf destinations and Malaysia, and the agency service charge to the worker is nil.
JTK
Malaysia's labour department. It endorses the demand and checks that worker accommodation meets the required standard before recruitment may proceed.
GCC approved medical centre
A clinic authorised to carry out the pre-employment medical examination that Gulf states accept. Examinations done elsewhere are usually rejected at destination.

Questions we get

Frequently asked.

What do we need to send you to start?

A demand letter, employment contract, power of attorney and recruitment agreement on your letterhead, signed and sealed, plus your company profile or trade licence. Send the drafts first. We check the wage line against the statutory minimum before you seal anything, which saves reissuing the whole set later.

How long does the whole process take?

Roughly eight to fourteen weeks from an attested demand to arrival for Gulf destinations, assuming a complete file and a trade we hold depth in. European destinations run longer, usually four to seven months, because the work permit is issued in country before a visa appointment can even be booked. These are ranges rather than guarantees, and the assumptions behind each stage are set out on the process page.

Can you supply workers for South Korea through EPS?

No, and neither can any other private agency. EPS is a government to government programme processed only by the EPS Korea Section of the Department of Foreign Employment.

Who pays for what?

The employer pays the recruitment service fee, the visa and, under the free visa free ticket provision, the air ticket. The worker pays for their passport, medical, statutory permit charges and no more than the service ceiling set by the Department, with a receipt for each. There is a full breakdown on the process page.

Can we interview candidates ourselves?

Yes, and we would prefer you did. Interview panels are hosted at the Sinamangal office, or we schedule video rounds and send you shortlists with trade test results beforehand.

What happens if a worker leaves shortly after arrival?

Replacement terms are written into the service agreement before deployment, covering the qualifying grounds and the window in which they apply. We agree them with you in advance rather than arguing about them afterwards.

How do you make sure a worker is actually skilled?

Skilled grades sit a practical trade test at a government approved skill test centre before they reach your shortlist, and where a worker holds a CTEVT certificate we verify it. You receive the test results with the shortlist.

Do you still handle student visas or study abroad?

No. We are a manpower recruitment agency only, and we do not advise on study abroad, student visas or course placement.

कामदारका लागि · For workers

There is no login here, and no fee to enquire. There is a phone number.

Walk into the office at Sinamangal-9, Kathmandu, Nepal, or call. If somebody outside this office asks you for money on our behalf, do not pay them, and call us first.