NIICE warns of rising Nepali migration to Romania amid concerns of exploitation

KATHMANDU: Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE) warned on Friday that rising migration from Nepal to Romania is exposing many Nepali workers to serious risks. Those risks include exploitation and legal insecurity.

The warning came at a seminar titled ‘Nepali Workers to Romania: Between Opportunity and Exploitation’, held at NIICE’s seminar hall in Hattiban, Lalitpur. At the event, organisers and speakers discussed shifting migration patterns, the governance challenges these shifts create, and the implications for labour policy and migrant protection.

Dilrukshi Hanhunnetti opened the discussion by noting that labour migration to the Gulf has long been characterised by temporary work with eventual return. She said migration to Romania is a newer trend that requires deeper research and stronger policy attention, and contrasted the established Gulf routes with emerging European pathways.

Iulia Hau, a speaker at the seminar, outlined a range of problems confronting Nepali migrants in Romania. She pointed to incidents of economic fraud, deceptive recruitment practices, systematic labour exploitation, and cases in which authorities abandoned workers or failed to act on reports of abuse. Hau warned that many migrants travel through unregistered channels, which increases their vulnerability and leaves them without legal protection.

Hau also highlighted an imbalance of power between employers and migrant workers, saying many lack access to adequate legal remedies and institutional support. She noted that some migrants view Romania as a transit point en route to Western Europe, including countries such as Italy, but argued that improved regulation and safer working conditions could encourage more migrants to remain in Romania for longer periods.

Speakers at the seminar said that, under current conditions, successful and safe labour migration often depends on luck rather than reliable systems. The discussion closed with calls for stronger migration governance, tighter oversight of recruitment processes, and enhanced institutional mechanisms to protect Nepali workers as migration flows increasingly shift towards Europe.