**Read the Petition in Nepali**

In July 2015, the Government of Nepal made a historic decision in favour of the rights of Nepali migrant workers. They passed a directive obligating foreign employers to bear the visa and flight ticket costs for Nepali migrant workers that they hire. The “Free Visa Free Ticket” rule applies to migrant workers bound for seven destination countries: Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Malaysia.

This new directive serves to prevent the fraudulent activities of recruitment agencies, which charge excessive fees to workers putting them at risk of debt bondage, forced labour, human trafficking, and other labour and human rights violations. This decision comes after years of advocacy led by migrant workers, their families, civil society organizations, and trade unions.

Recruitment agencies in Nepal have responded with force, challenging the government’s directive. They claim that the “employer pays” model will reduce the demand for Nepali workers abroad—a claim that has yet to be confirmed. In March 2016, the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies halted their migrant recruitment operations for an indefinite period, demanding that the policy be revised.

Because this is a directive, not a law, the decision is vulnerable to the influence of those who oppose it. In the face of recruitment agency resistance, migrant civil society, led by the National Network for Safe Migration, has redoubled its efforts, calling on the government to STAND FIRM with migrant workers. Civil society actions in support of the government’s directive have been held in Kathmandu and at the district level throughout the country.

You can read the Policy Brief from the Open Working Group on Labour Migration & Recruitment on Nepal's "Free Visa Free Ticket Policy" for more information.

A signature campaign in support of the Free Visa Free Ticket policy has amassed more than 50,000 signatures in Nepal alone, and has been submitted to the relevant government authorities in Nepal.

The Open Working Group on Labour Migration & Recruitment has been calling on governments to implement Zero Fees policies - no worker should have to pay to access decent work! We are encouraged to see the Nepal Government take this step in the right direction.

We invite you to sign this petition to add your name to the calls of migrant communities and civil society organizations in Nepal, and to demand that other governments take similar bold steps to implement Zero Fees and Employer Pays policies in support of the rights of migrant workers! 

WE CALL ON THE GOVERNMENT OF NEPAL TO STAND FIRM ~ DO NOT GIVE IN TO RECRUITER DEMANDS ~ SUPPORT THE RIGHTS OF MIGRANT WORKERS!

NO WORKER SHOULD HAVE TO PAY TO ACCESS DECENT WORK!