The government has decided to issue labour permits to Nepalis currently working in Iraq.

A Cabinet meeting on Friday endorsed the proposal to document the Nepali migrant workers in the Gulf country. The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security tabled the proposal with the consent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

According to Minister for Communication and Information Technology Jagdish Kharel, the Nepalis already holding Iraqi residence cards will be eligible for labour permits if they apply while visiting Nepal.

Binod Shrestha, president of the Non-Resident Nepali Association, Iraq, said the move will open a legal pathway for travel for nearly 30,000 Nepali workers.

Nepal had imposed a ban on sending workers to Iraq after 12 Nepalis were killed on September 1, 2004, citing security concerns. Despite the ban, Nepalis have continued to work in Iraq, including at US base camps, foreign embassies, petroleum projects and as domestic workers.

After the 2004 killings, Iraq was declared a prohibited destination for Nepali workers. In January 2011, the Ministry of Labour and Employment decided to recognise all Nepalis already in Iraq. When the US adopted a policy of not employing Nepalis without Nepal’s approval, a plan was made to repatriate all Nepali workers. Faced with the prospect of thousands losing their jobs at once, the ministry decided to issue labour approvals only to Nepalis working at US camps. No new decision had been taken earlier.

The number of Nepalis working in Iraq and its autonomous Kurdistan region has continued to rise. Nepali workers there had repeatedly urged the government to lift the ban imposed on them.

Meena Magar, 35, of Taplejung, who has been working at an Iraqi household in Sulaymaniyah for the past 12 years, said the ban had prevented her from returning home.

“Going to Nepal and coming back requires complicated arrangements. It took me a month just to manage it,” she told the Post earlier this month. “I want to visit Nepal and see my parents. They are getting old. I do not want to leave this job. The claim that Iraq is unsafe is wrong.”