The views expressed in this presentation are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views or policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute (A

DBI), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), its Board of Directors, or the governments they represent. ADBI does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in t
his paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.

Recent Changes in Labour Migration Policy - Pakistan

By
Dr. Amer Sheikh
Managing Director
Overseas Employment Corporation
Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & HRD
Government of Pakistan

On 30th January, 2018, 01:30PM

 Pakistan – Country Profile

• Official Name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan

• Government: Parliamentary Government, Constitutional Republic
• Location: In South Asia with a coastline on the Arabian Sea in the
south. Pakistan is bordered by Afghanistan, China,
India, and Iran.
• Area: 881,913 km2
• Population: ~ 217,000,000 people
• Language: Urdu (National) and English (Official)
• Currency: Pakistani Rupee (PKR) (1US$ = 110 Pak Rupees)
• Administrative units of Pakistan: Consists of five provinces, Punjab, Sindh,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Gilgit–Baltistan, two federal capital t
erritories, Islamabad Capital Territory and Federally Administrated Tribal Ar
eas, one autonomous territory, Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
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 Labour Migration - Pakistan
• Pakistan, an attractive labour market for manpower recipient countries.

• Prior to 70's, the outflow of Pakistani workers was towards Europe, USA,
Canada, Middle East, etc.

• Mainly to Saudi Arabia In the early 80's.

• The upsurge of developmental activities and booming economies in the

advanced countries, in general and oil rich countries of Gulf and Middle
East, in particular, which were and are still deficient in manpower
resources paved the way for a country having surplus labour economy like
Pakistan to ponder over and make effective and constructive polices to
capture the labour markets of manpower needy countries.

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 Regulation of Migration - Pakistan
• In order to ensure the export of manpower in a legal and systematic
manner, the department of Bureau of Emigration and Overseas
Employment (BE&OE) as an attached department of Labour, Manpower
and Overseas Pakistanis Division was set up on 1st October, 1971.
• Bureau operates under the Emigration Ordinance, 1979 and the Rules
framed thereunder.
• The objectives and functions of the Bureau, as defined in the Emigration
Ordinance, 1979 and the Rules made thereunder, are to;
 control  regulate  facilitate
 monitor &  warfare of overseas Pakistanis

4
 Regulation of Migration - Pakistan

• Since its inception, Bureau has issued around 4000 licenses to

Overseas Employment Promoters (OEPs).
• License number 0001 was issued to Overseas Employment
Corporation (OEC).
• At present, 1926 licenses are valid/functional in Pakistan.

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 Regulation of Migration - Pakistan
• In 1976, Government of Pakistan established Overseas Employment
Corporation (OEC), which is Pakistan’s only Public Sector Overseas
Employment Promoter, having its offices in all provincial capitals, with
its own Travel Agency i.e. OEC Travels.
• OEC provides competent, reliable and cost-effective human resource to
the International Labour Market and ensures exploitation free
environment for overseas job seekers. Currently, its managing EPS of
Korea (one of the most transparent and efficient recruitment system)
• Since its inception, the Corporation has provided employment to
around 141,000 persons in 59 different countries.
6
 Overall dispatch by OEC - Pakistan
S.NO. YEAR TOTAL S.NO. YEAR TOTAL
1. 1976-77 16 22 1997-98 4226
2. 1977-78 477 23 1998-99 2861
3. 1978-79 2147 24 1999-00 2223
4. 1979-80 10456 25 2000-01 2086
5. 1980-81 14310 26. 2001-02 1861
6. 1981-82 10315 27. 2002-03 1933
7. 1982-83 8305 28 2003-04 1030
8. 1983-84 7298 29. 2004-05 1072
9. 1984-85 6102 30 2005-06 1100
10. 1985-86 5786 31 2006-07 1012
11. 1986-87 2654 32 2007-08 945
12. 1987-88 4244 33 2008-09 1450
13. 1988-89 2866 34 2009-10 1460
14. 1989-90 2169 35 2010-11 1918
15. 1990-91 2260 36 2011-12 715
16. 1991-92 5962 37 2012-13 1308
17. 1992-93 3378 38 2013-14 1615
18 1993-94 2690 39 2014-15 870
19 1994-95 5544 40 2015-16 1202
20 1995-96 5758 41 2016-17 813
21 1996-97 6403 42 Grand Total:- 1,40,980 7
 Labour Migration - Pakistan

• More than 10 million Pakistanis have proceeded abroad for

employment duly registered with the offices of Protector of
Emigrants.
• The Overseas Employment Promoters, in private sector, are playing
a vital role in overseas employment.
• Almost Nineteen hundred Overseas Employment Promoters, at
present, are exporting of manpower from Pakistan.

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 Memorandum of Understanding

• MOUs in the field of labour and manpower have been signed by

Pakistan with:
 Algeria  Saudi Arabia  UAE
 Kuwait  Qatar  Oman
 Malaysia  South Korea  Bahrain, etc.

• MOUs in the pipeline are with:

 Spain  South Africa  Syria
 Ecuador  Ukraine  Botswana
 Azerbaijan

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 Category of Pakistani Migrant Workers

• Highly Qualified:

Engineer, Doctor, Accountant, Pharmacist, IT professionals and Analyst.

• Highly Skilled:

Nurse, Teacher and Manager.

• Skilled: Secretary/Stenographer, Welder, Clerk/Typist, Foreman/ Supervisor, Carp
enter, Electrician, Plumber, Steel Fixer, Painter, Technician, Mechanic, Driver, Surv
eyor, Designer, Goldsmith.
• Semi Skilled: Mason, Cook, Waiter/Bearer, Cable Jointer, Operator, Tailor, Fitter,
Denter, Rigger, Salesman, Draftsman, Blacksmith, Photographer, Artist.

• Low Skilled: Agriculture worker and General Labour.

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 Profession-Wise Emigration

Professions 1971-2017 Percentage

Highly Qualified 188296 1.87%

Highly Skilled 403498 4.01%

Skilled 4291883 42.59%

Semi-Skilled 899998 8.93%

Low-Skilled 4292831 42.6%

Total 10076506 100.00%

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 Number of Pakistanis proceeding abroad
Since 1971 to 2017

Year No. of Emigrants Year No. of Emigrants

1971-2004 3545231 2011 456893
2005 142135 2012 638587
2006 183191 2013 622714
2007 287033 2014 752466
2008 430314 2015 946571
2009 403528 2016 839353
2010 362904 2017 465586
Total 10076506
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 Emigration Data Of Major Destination Countries
S.# Countries 1971-2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Total

1. Saudi Arabia 3323769 270502 312489 522750 462598 134496 5026604

2. U.A.E. 1934557 273234 350522 326986 295647 259065 3440011

3. Oman 517368 47794 39793 47788 45085 39975 737803

4. Kuwait 180933 229 132 164 770 741 182969

5. Bahrain 115770 9600 9226 9029 8226 7210 159061

6. Qatar 94484 8119 10042 12741 9706 9989 145081

7. Malaysia 26811 2031 20577 20216 10625 7057 87317

8. Iraq 68167 951 1041 709 543 536 71947

9. Italy 23999 2068 1563 431 242 140 28443

10. South Korea 15362 12 46 13 17 9 15459

Others 148596 8174 7035 5744 5894 6368 181811

Total 6449816 622714 752466 946571 839353 345833 10076506

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 Recent Policy Changes in Pakistan 1/3

 Bilateral MoU approved for singing between Ministry of Overseas

Pakistanis & Human Resource Development, Government of Pakistan
(OP&HRD) and Ministry of Employment and Labour, South Korea, has
been revised; accountability by both sides based on International
Labour and Safe Migration Conventions.
 The role of Community Welfare Attachés (CWA) is reviewed to make it
more effective and the number of CWAs has been increased in various
foreign missions, based on demand:
 Total CWAs Earlier : 18
 Total CWAs Now : 21

 Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA), Micro-

finance banks and other institutions are promoting entrepreneurial
skills for returnee-migrants through guidance, business activities and
micro-credit schemes, etc. Facilitation Center established at Overseas
Pakistanis Foundation (OPF).
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 Recent Policy Changes in Pakistan 2/3

 The M/o OP&HRD has established Migrant Resource Centers (MRCs) in

Islamabad and Lahore, to provide migrants with information and
counseling in various areas, such as overseas employment, rights and
protection of migrants, skills development and vocational training
programs in Pakistan.

 Bureau of Emigration has initiated a project titled “Registration of

Intending Migrants via Bio-metric Verification Linked with NADRA” that
is worth 71.51 Million rupees in order to ensure the highest level of
efficiency and improvement in service delivery.

 The M/o OP&HRD is establishing a Labour Market Research Cell (LMRC)

to collect information on labour demands, trends and requirements as
per skills & trade.
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 Recent Policy Changes in Pakistan 3/3

 Ministry/Bureau is working on the preparation of “National

Emigration and Welfare Policy” for migrant workers in order to
provide them adequate facilities during the entire emigration cycle.
 Skills accreditation is being done by National Vocational & Technical
Training Commission (NAVTTC), Pakistan and Technical Education
and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) for standardizing
potential migrants, so that they have verified skills certificates from
an accredited institute for overseas employers.
 The M/o OP&HRD ensured that its MoUs include adequate mention
of protection of female workers going overseas, both in terms of fair
recruitment practices and legal protection against harassment and
discrimination.
 Two new P.E offices are being opened at Sialkot and Islamabad in
order to provide facility for protector of migrant workers at the
nearest possible station. 16
 Policy Responses to Challenges 1/4

 Efforts are being made to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible
migration and mobility of people through formulation of National
Emigration & Welfare Policy. It is at the draft stage and following are the
main thematic areas:

 Labour Emigration and Protection of Workers

 Global Labour Markets Trends, Skill Development and Inclusive
Migration
 Welfare of Emigrant Workers and Overseas Pakistanis
 Promotion of Remittances through Legal Channels and Productive
use of Remittances
 Reintegration of Return Migrants (including deportees)

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 Policy Responses to Challenges 2/4

 Ongoing pre-departure briefing/orientation will be replaced by a Pre-

Departure System, defined as a ‘system that provides prospective
migrants with a set of standards and certification of required skills to
maximize the benefits of the migration spell’.
 Complaint handling mechanisms has been improved/ strengthened,
through systematic monitoring and analysis by OPF Complaint Cell,
the provision of counselor services through Pakistan’s missions abroad.
Automated function, automatically replies to the complainant, etc.
 With the support of provincial governments, OPF is developing
diaspora investment models aimed at leveraging migrants’ saving for
their successful reintegration.
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 Policy Responses to Challenges 3/4

 The M/o OP &HRD will take leading and pro-active role at the SAARC
level in exchanging information about labour migration practices with
member countries and also to negotiate regional standards of labour
and welfare.
 Support low-fee, safer, legally-compliant and faster transfer of
remittance through use of modern technologies, including mobile
phone technologies and create greater access for families to receive
remittances particularly in rural areas of Pakistan.
 A pre-return awareness raising program for prospective returnees in
destination countries is also being implemented, with the aim to foster
return process and support services available in Pakistan.
 A system of entrepreneurial support and business is being put in place
for returning overseas Pakistanis, such as business advisory councils to
provide online/ face to face mentoring and coaching on all relevant
aspects of entrepreneurship. 19
 Policy Responses to Challenges 4/4

 The Prime Minister of Pakistan paid visit in 2016 to Qatar after Emir of
Qatar announced 100,000 jobs for Pakistan for its FIFA World cup 2022 in
which 2 million foreign manpower is required.
 Prime Minister of Pakistan visited Kuwait and urged Kuwaiti authorities to
lift the visa restriction for Pakistanis.
 Various steps are under consideration to capture the manpower market
of UAE with special reference to Dubai Expo, 2020.
 Government of UAE under pilot project on skills upgradation has given
accreditation to following vocational institutes of Pakistan
i. Institute of Technical & Professional Education, Rawalpindi,
ii. College of Technology, Rasul Mandi Bhaudin,
iii. Construction Technology Training Institute, Rawalpindi,
iv. Applied Technologies Institute, NLC, Mandra with the collaboration
of Group of Arfat Tirocinium, UAE.
• Bureau is in coordination with National Vocational & Technical Training
Commission (NAVTTC), Pakistan and regional Technical Education and
Vocational Training Authorities (TEVTAs) in developing curriculum. 20
 Punitive Actions Under Emigration Laws

• Overseas Employment Promoter who indulges in mal-practices

and illegal activities is now being dealt with an iron hand:
• License is suspended for a specified period.
• License is cancelled.
• Security is forfeited in whole or part.
• Special Courts to try the offence.
• Imprisonment which may extend to 14 years.
• Bureau has cancelled 35 licenses of OEPs alongwith forfeiting Rs.
11,960,000/- during the last 4 years who violated the emigration
laws.
• 182 complaints of serious nature have been referred to Federal
Investigation Authority (FIA) for further necessary action.
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 Measures Related to Welfare Of Overseas Pakistanis 1/2

 For the facilitation of intending Emigrants 24/7, one window facilit

ation desks have been established at all International Airports of P
akistan.
 Death grant (@ Rs. 400,000)/ Disability grant @ Rs. 300,000).
Grant of Rs. 1,258.65 million to 4372 emigrants / families
 New agreement with State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC) has
been made in order to enhance the insurance coverage duration
from 2 years to 5 years by obtaining Rs.2500/- instead of
Rs.2000/-
 Creation of Overseas Pakistanis Advisory Council (OPAC)
 Housing, education and health facilities for the families of
overseas Pakistanis through OPF
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 Measures Related to Welfare Of Overseas Pakistanis 2/2

 Various booklets/materials have been printed/distributed for

guidance of OEPs and migrants on safe migration
 National Database & Registration Authority of Pakistan (NADRA)
authorities have been convinced to eliminate the requirement of
National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) for
intending emigrants by amending NADRA Ordinance, 2000 to
minimize the migration cost.

 Bureau is in liaison with the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to

collect registration fee, welfare fund and insurance premium on a
single deposit slip.

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Thank You!