KATHMANDU, Feb 4: Amid an impressive growth in remittance inflows, the outflow under the same heading is found to have increased by 52.73 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year (FY).
The records maintained by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) show that foreign employees working in various organizations inside the country took away Rs 6.98 billion during mid-July 2025 and mid-January 2026. The amount was Rs 2.41 billion more compared to Rs 4.57 billion during the same period last year.
Remittance inflow increases 27.1 percent in six months
Foreign workers who arrive in Nepal with a government-issued work permit are responsible for this amount of remittance leaving the country. These workers can remit 75 percent of their earnings to their home country, with a stipulation that they must spend 25 percent of their earned money within Nepal.
However, this provision excludes remittances sent by foreign workers engaged in the informal sector in Nepal. Many Indian workers are informally employed in Nepal and repatriate their earnings in cash, a factor not reflected in the reported figures.
Nepal hosts foreign employees in the companies operated through foreign investment, banks and financial institutions and various projects related to manufacturing industries, infrastructure and hydropower projects, among others. As per a government report unveiled in 2024, a large number of workers from China and India have been working in Nepal.
According to the NRB, remittance inflows to Nepal increased 39.1 percent to Rs 1.062 trillion in the first half of the current FY. In the same period last FY, remittance outflows grew by just 4.2 percent.
Remittance receipts in mid-December to mid-January alone stood at Rs 192.62 billion, a significant increase from Rs 122.44 billion recorded in the corresponding month of the previous year. On the other hand, the amount equivalent to Rs 984.3 million was remitted from the country.
