What to check in a Nepali employment contract before leaving for Europe
The Department of Foreign Employment issues a labour permit against an attested demand letter. Service fee NPR 10,000, welfare fund NPR 1,500, SSF NPR 2,595.
Check three things first: the monthly wage and its currency, the length of the contract, and who pays for accommodation and food. The Department of Foreign Employment issues the labour permit against an attested demand letter and that same contract. A contract with no record at the department is not evidence in any later complaint.
The moment before signature is the strongest position a worker will hold. Terms are hard to change afterwards and harder still once the worker has landed. What follows separates the checks that belong before signature from the payments that are legitimate after it.
The clauses the contract has to carry
Under the Foreign Employment Act 2064 and Department of Foreign Employment procedure, the labour permit is issued against an attested demand letter and an employment contract. The consequence is direct: a contract signed only at the airport, or after arrival, has no DoFE record behind it, and the worker holding it is not legally recorded as being in foreign employment.
Look for these clauses by name.
- Monthly base wage, in figures and in a named currency, with the overtime rate stated separately.
- Contract duration and the renewal terms.
- Weekly working hours and the weekly rest day.
- Who pays for accommodation, food, and local transport at the destination.
- Who pays for the air ticket, outbound and return.
- The employer's name, address, and worksite, not a general description.
Nepal keeps 109 countries open for foreign employment. A contract for a country outside that approved list cannot receive a labour permit, however sound the contract itself looks, so confirm the destination sits on the list before signing.
A wage written in the contract overrides a wage described in conversation. Across most European destinations the monthly figure is tied to the local statutory minimum, and the contract should say whether the number is before or after tax deductions. If it does not, ask the agency in writing, because that single ambiguity produces most first payslip disputes.
What the legitimate charges actually are
Under the free visa, free ticket rule, a licensed recruitment agency may charge a worker only an NPR 10,000 service fee, and in April 2026 the Department of Foreign Employment and the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security announced action against anyone charging more. Hold on to that figure, because every negotiation starts there.
The state side charges are separate and are paid before the permit is issued. The DoFE fee schedule puts NPR 1,500 per worker into the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund, and from 2026 a further NPR 2,595 goes to the contribution based Social Security Fund.
| Item | Amount | Paid to | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service fee | NPR 10,000 | Licensed recruitment agency | Free visa, free ticket rule |
| Welfare fund | NPR 1,500 | Foreign Employment Welfare Fund | DoFE fee schedule 2026 |
| Social security | NPR 2,595 | Contribution based SSF | New from 2026 |
| Application, insurance, orientation | Remainder | DoFE, insurer, training centre | DoFE |
Add them up before agreeing to anything. The welfare fund and the social security contribution alone come to NPR 4,095, and the application fee, the insurance premium and orientation sit on top of that. The premium is banded by the worker's age and the welfare fund contribution by the length of the contract, so the state side total is worked out per worker rather than quoted as one figure. The NPR 10,000 service fee is separate again. Any demand beyond these figures should be paid only against a written receipt, and a refusal to issue one is the point to stop.
Where to ask before you sign
Two offices answer contract and fund questions before signature. The Labour Call Centre on 1141 is toll free. The Foreign Employment Board at Babarmahal takes calls on +977-1-5320311, and publishes its guidance at feb.gov.np. Whether an agency actually holds a licence is a question for the same two numbers.
The most expensive mistake is also the simplest: leaving without a copy of the signed contract. One copy belongs with the worker and one sits in the department's file. When a wage is later cut or the job turns out to be a different one, that copy is the first document the board and the tribunal read. A worker without it is left with an account that cannot be proved.
The permit sequence for a specific European destination is set out in the DoFE labour approval guide for Italy, and the destination side decision windows are compared in the country by country permit timeline. Where these files break on the European end is catalogued in the permit refusal failure modes. Employers preparing the same contract from their side will find the operating view on the employers page.
A contract is not a formality. It is the only written basis for the job. When the wage, the duration, and the obligations are each written plainly, the rest of the process runs on record. When they are not, the question belongs before the signature, because afterwards the only place left to ask is a complaint file.
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