Most applications fail because of documents. Make sure your name and date of birth are spelled exactly the same everywhere.
Passport: Valid for at least 6 months beyond your travel (many countries want more). Apply through the Department of Passports.
Citizenship certificate: Keep the original safe and carry certified copies. Your name must match your passport.
Police clearance report: Needed for most work and residence visas. Apply online with Nepal Police.
Academic documents: Transcripts, character certificates and degree certificates. Some countries want them attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Nepal) and translated.
Marriage and birth certificates: If family will join you, get your marriage registration and children's birth certificates in English.
Language test: Book early. IELTS, PTE, TOEFL (English), JLPT/JFT-Basic (Japanese), EPS-TOPIK (Korean) and Goethe/telc (German) are all available in Nepal.
2. Going to study? Get the NOC
Students need a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Nepal's Ministry of Education to send money abroad and leave as a student.
Apply online: Upload your citizenship, passport, academic documents, offer/admission letter and financial evidence. The fee is about Rs 2,000, paid online (ConnectIPS, eSewa or Khalti).
Timing: Usually 1–5 working days. Apply after you get your visa (or as your destination requires).
Sending tuition: With the NOC, banks can transfer tuition and living money through legal channels. Keep all bank receipts.
3. Going to work? Get the labour permit (Shram Swikriti)
Almost every Nepali going abroad for work (except to India) must get a labour permit. It gives you insurance and the right to complain if you are cheated.
Use FEIMS: Labour permits are processed online through the Foreign Employment Information Management System.
Pre-departure orientation: A mandatory 2-day orientation at an approved centre teaches you about your rights, contracts, money and safety.
Welfare fund and insurance: You pay into the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund (about Rs 1,500) and buy insurance. They cover you or your family if you are injured, fall sick or die abroad.
Going back after a holiday: If you return to Nepal and go back to the same job, you need a re-entry permit. Since 1 June 2026 this is issued automatically in most cases.
Only approved countries: Nepal only allows labour permits for countries it has approved. If a country isn't on the list, you can't legally go there to work from Nepal.
4. How to check a recruitment agency
Most Nepalis use a manpower agency. Many are honest — but fraud is common, especially through Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp.
Check the licence: Search the agency name on the DoFE website. Visit its registered office, not a café or a house.
See the approved demand: Ask to see the demand letter approved by DoFE for your job, and compare the salary, hours and company with your contract.
Always get a receipt: Pay through the bank and get an official receipt for every payment. Without proof, it's very hard to get your money back.
Read the contract: Make sure you understand the salary, overtime, food, housing, holidays and length of contract before you sign. Ask for it in Nepali.
5. Never do these
These mistakes cause the most heartbreak.
Never go on a visit visa to work: It's illegal, you won't have insurance or protection, and you can be jailed or deported.
Never take the 'dunki' or illegal route: Smuggling routes to the US or Europe through Latin America, the Balkans or the sea kill people every year. Nepalis have died on these routes.
Never hand over your passport: Only give it to the embassy or visa centre. Employers abroad are not allowed to keep it.
Never pay for a visa 'setting' or guaranteed result: Nobody can guarantee a visa, lottery win, exam pass or job. G2G schemes like Korea EPS and Israel caregiver need no agent.
Never use fake documents: Fake bank balances, fake experience letters or fake marriages are often discovered and can get you banned for years.
6. If something goes wrong
You have rights. Keep your evidence (contract, receipts, messages) and ask for help.
Complain to DoFE: File a complaint against an agency or individual at the Department of Foreign Employment (online or in person). Larger claims go to the Foreign Employment Tribunal.
Contact the Nepali embassy: Every Nepali embassy has a labour section to help workers in trouble abroad.
Report trafficking: If you or someone you know is being forced to work or trapped, contact Nepal Police or the embassy immediately.
7. Money tips
Going abroad is expensive. Plan so debt doesn't trap you.
Count the real cost: Add every fee, flight, first-month living cost and debt interest. Ask: how many months of work will it take to pay this back?
Send money home legally: Use banks or licensed remittance companies. Hundi (informal transfer) is illegal and you lose all protection.
Learn the language first: Even basic Japanese, Korean or German gets you better jobs and protects you from being cheated.
Open a bank account before you leave: Open an account in your own name (or a joint one with someone you trust) so your salary goes straight to the bank, not into cash at home. Check the licensed banks and remittance companies on Nepal Rastra Bank's site.
Hundi can freeze your money: Hundi payments are untraceable: if police seize them, the money is lost, and it never counts as your legal income for a loan, visa or tax record.
8. Your benefits if something goes wrong (labour permit holders only)
Because you paid into the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund and bought insurance with your labour permit, you and your family have money and help you can claim. Workers who left without a labour permit get none of this.
If a worker dies abroad: The family can claim up to Rs 10 lakh from the Foreign Employment Board (raised from Rs 7 lakh in October 2024), plus up to about Rs 14 lakh from the insurance company, depending on the policy.
Serious injury or illness: The Board also pays financial help when a worker is injured, disabled or becomes seriously ill abroad. The amount depends on how serious it is. Insurance may pay separately.
Bringing the body home: The Board pays to bring a worker's body home to Nepal and to transport it to the home district.
Scholarships for children: Children of workers who died or were fully disabled abroad can get a yearly scholarship. The Board publishes a call each year; applications go through your local government (ward or municipality).
How to claim: Apply as soon as possible — claims have time limits. Bring the labour permit, passport, contract, the death or medical certificate attested by the Nepali embassy, and the family relationship certificate. Apply at the Board in Kathmandu or through your local government.
Ask for help by phone: The Ministry of Labour call centre answers questions on claims, stranded workers and complaints: call 1141 inside Nepal (toll-free).
9. Coming back to Nepal
Plan your return before you leave the job, so you don't lose money you are owed.
Collect everything you are owed: Get your last salary, any end-of-service benefit (gratuity) and unused leave pay before you fly. If the employer refuses, go to the labour section of the Nepali embassy before you leave the country.
Get an experience letter: Ask the employer for a letter showing your job title, dates and skills. It helps you get a better job abroad next time or in Nepal.
Declare large amounts of cash: If you carry more than US$5,000 (or the same in other foreign currency) into Nepal, declare it at customs on arrival. Sending it through the bank is safer.
Use the returnee programme: The Foreign Employment Board runs a reintegration programme through local governments: skills and business training, counselling and help to start work in Nepal. Ask your municipality or ward office.
Where to take your exams — in Nepal or abroad?
IELTS (Academic, General Training, IELTS for UKVI) (in Nepal): British Council and IDP both run IELTS in Nepal. Computer test: Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Butwal (British Council) and Kathmandu (IDP). Paper test in more cities, including Biratnagar, Birtamode, Banepa, Ghorahi and Nepalgunj.
PTE Academic / PTE Core (in Nepal): Pearson VUE centres in several cities, including Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Pokhara and Chitwan.
TOEFL iBT (in Nepal): Authorised ETS test centres in the Kathmandu valley and some other cities, such as Pokhara and Bharatpur. A Home Edition can also be taken online.
OET (Occupational English Test) for nurses (not confirmed in Nepal): We could not confirm a test venue in Nepal. OET@Home is offered only to people whose country has no venue, so check whether it is open to you. The nearest venues are in India.
NCLEX-RN (US nurse licensing exam) (not in Nepal): Not offered in Nepal. The nearest centres are Pearson VUE professional centres in India, for example in New Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai.
NMC CBT (UK nursing test of competence, part 1) (not confirmed in Nepal): Run by Pearson VUE, which has centres in most countries. We could not confirm a CBT centre in Nepal, so check the locator; if there is none, the nearest centres are in India. Part 2 (the OSCE practical exam) is taken in the UK after you arrive.
CGFNS credentials check / VisaScreen (in Nepal): No exam and no test centre — you apply online and send your documents. Your college and the Nepal Nursing Council send your records directly.
JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) (in Nepal): Kathmandu, run by the Japanese Language Teachers' Association of Nepal (JALTAN), usually on the first Sunday of July and December.
JFT-Basic and Japan's Specified Skilled Worker skills tests (in Nepal): Prometric test centres in Nepal. Seats are released in stages for each two-month window, and booking for Nepal opens at a set time announced by Prometric.
EPS-TOPIK (Korean test for EPS jobs) (in Nepal): Only in Nepal, run by the EPS Korea Section (Gwarko, Lalitpur). The venue is announced in each official notice.
TOPIK (general Korean test) (in Nepal): Lalitpur — for example, the May 2026 TOPIK was held at St. Mary's Secondary School, Jawalakhel. Announced by the Embassy of Korea in Nepal.
Goethe-Zertifikat German exams (A1–C1) (in Nepal): Goethe-Zentrum Kathmandu, the only authorised Goethe exam centre in Nepal. We could not confirm a telc or ÖSD exam centre in Nepal.
English test for Israel caregiver jobs (in Nepal): Held in Nepal by the test provider Israel appoints, during each recruitment round.