Why are Nepalese shunning Gulf and Asia to work in the EU?

Narendra Bhattarai from Nepal's Panchthar District was a writer, poet and an aspiring filmmaker in his home country before moving to Qatarto seek better opportunities in 2007. Bhattarai planned his move carefully. The artist paid an agent a significant amount of money to ensure he would get a job as a driver with a relatively high salary. Upon his arrival, however, he was forced to work as a construction worker.

He was guaranteed 900 Qatari riyals (then approximately $247) per month but ended up only receiving 600 riyals.

"I dreamed of providing a quality life to my family but I ended up being a victim of labor exploitation," Bhattarai told DW. Bhattarai had to work very hard in Qatar to repay his debt for several years. He then returned to Nepal, resuming his passion for poetry and filmmaking, and continued to struggle for money.

In 2019, the artist was traveling to Portugal for a movie screening, and learned he could apply for residency and work legally in the EU country. He decided to stay. "Long-term residency in Europe means providing certainty in the future for me and my family," he told DW. Bhattarai was one of several hundred Nepalese who found work in Portugal in 2019.

Official data from the Nepal government shows that only 25 individuals received Portuguese work permits in 2018, but the number surged to 461 the following year. Portugal needed workers with lower skills levels, and was allowing them to get jobs "especially in agriculture and tourism," according to European study, Rethinking Approaches to Labor Migration - Full Case Study Portugal.

Between 2019 and 2024, many European countries reported the number of their Nepalese workers more than doubled, with Romania leading the pack with an increase of 640%. While countries like Kuwait also experienced a surge in Nepali migrant workers in the same period, experts believe Nepalese labor migration patterns are shifting.

Shunning traditional destinations in Asia and around the Persian Gulf, many workers are opting for EU nations such as like Poland, Romania, Portugal, Malta, Hungary, Croatia and others. Some of it can be explained simply by better earning opportunities and easier access to jobs abroad. "Our socio-cultural structure has shaped our psychology to save for the future," sociologist Tikaram Gautam told DW. "As globalization offers multiple alternatives for labor migrants, they choose destinations where they can earn more." But there is also the issue of prestige and peer pressure.

Nepalese-born Dipak Gautam has been working as a security guard in Dubai for a decade, earning enough to be able to send some of his salary back home, but he says he is still looked down upon for not working in Europe. "Nepalese society considers working in Europe as prestigious, while those of us working in the Gulf are seen as failures," he said.

Nepalese society sees European nations as capable of providing better working conditions, higher wages and more opportunities. Dipak says he also tried applying for a working visa to Poland, but was rejected twice. According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), remittances from migrant workers contributed up to 26.6% of Nepal's GDP, valued at an estimated $11 billion, in 2023.

The labor market in the Himalayan nation is burdened by political turmoil, lack of large-scale employment plans, and inadequate human resource management. At the same time, the country is quite liberal when it comes to the political system, education, and access to technology. These factors, according to labor expert Meena Poudel, have made Nepalese informed global citizens and raised their expectations from the government.

"They are aware of global developments, but they can't compare these experiences to what they get in Nepal," she explained. In recent years, countries like Malaysia or Gulf nations have raised the bar for migrant labor. "Employers also have started seeking skilled manpower, which forces semi-skilled and unskilled people to seek alternatives," Poudel said.

At the same time, several European countries have relaxed their immigration laws , making it easier for foreign workers to obtain visas, particularly in sectors like agriculture, housekeeping, hospitality and construction. European nations are also seen as providing more freedom with less risk of labor exploitation. Since last year, Germany has been making changes to its Skilled Immigration Act, introducing the concept of an "opportunity card" for third-country nationals seeking employment. Bijay Limbu had worked in Qatar before moving to Malta six months ago with a dream of finding a job in Germany. "I am upgrading my skills and learning the language so I can meet the requirements for residence permit," he told DW.

At the same time, he warned that "migrant work is always uncertain." Portugal, the new home of Nepalese writer Narendra Bhattarai, is a good example — recent legal changes have put more obstacles to immigrants wanting to work and settle in the county. Bhattarai says he is "satisfied mentally and financially" with his life in Portugal, which is allowing him to pick up his passion for writing once again. "I believe I came to Europe at the right time," he said.