Foreign Employment Insurance Nepal (2026): Rs 14 Lakh Cover, Premium Chart, Welfare Fund & Claim Guide
Updated: 26 October 2026 (Kartik 9, 2083) · Checked against the Nepal Insurance Authority directive, Foreign Employment Board notices and 2026 news reports · Reading time: about 14 minutes
Every Nepali worker who takes a labour permit (shram swikriti) pays for foreign employment insurance before flying out. Most people pay it in a hurry at a counter outside the labour office or on eSewa, keep the receipt, and never read what it covers. That is a problem, because the families who need this policy are usually the ones who know least about it.
This guide explains, in plain language, what the mandatory policy pays in 2026, how much the premium really costs for your age and contract, how it differs from the Rs 10 lakh Welfare Fund relief, and exactly how a family claims both. It also covers the 2026 changes most websites have not caught up with.
Quick answer
- Foreign employment (term) life insurance is mandatory for every worker who takes a labour permit. No policy, no permit.
- The basic sum assured is Rs 10 lakh. If the worker dies abroad, the family gets up to Rs 14 lakh from the insurer (Rs 10 lakh + Rs 1 lakh funeral + Rs 2 lakh loss of income + Rs 1 lakh body repatriation).
- For a typical 2-year contract, a worker aged 18–35 pays about Rs 3,708 once (Rs 3,308 base + Rs 400 critical illness cover).
- Separately, the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund (Rs 1,500 or Rs 2,500 contribution) pays the family Rs 10 lakh on death. A family can claim both, so the combined minimum is about Rs 24 lakh.
- The policy must run for your contract period plus 6 months.
In this guide
- What foreign employment insurance is
- What the policy pays (full benefit table)
- Premium in 2026 by age and contract
- Insurance vs the Welfare Fund
- How to buy it step by step
- Which companies sell it, and does the choice matter?
- How families claim insurance and Welfare Fund relief
- When claims are refused
- Renewing from abroad
- What changed in 2026
- FAQs
What is foreign employment insurance in Nepal?
Foreign employment insurance (वैदेशिक रोजगार म्यादी जीवन बीमा) is a one-time-premium term life policy that every worker going abroad on a labour permit must buy. Section 26 of the Foreign Employment Act 2064 requires the worker or the manpower agency to submit the policy document with the labour permit application, and Rule 19 of the Foreign Employment Regulations requires the policy to come from a recognised insurer.
Since Falgun 24, 2080 (March 2024), the product follows a single rulebook: the Foreign Employment (Term) Life Insurance Directive 2080 issued by the Nepal Insurance Authority. Every company sells the same cover at the same regulated premium. Because it is a term policy, nothing comes back at the end if nothing happens; you are paying purely for protection.
Here is the part most guides mix up. A Nepali migrant worker can be protected by three separate layers, each with its own office and claim form:
Layer 1 · Mandatory
Term life insurance
Up to Rs 14 lakh on death abroad. Paid by a life insurer. Premium about Rs 2,600–18,600 once.
Layer 2 · Mandatory
Welfare Fund relief
Rs 10 lakh on death. Paid by the Foreign Employment Board. Contribution Rs 1,500 or Rs 2,500.
Layer 3 · Extra
Employer and SSF
Destination-country employer compensation and, if enrolled, the Social Security Fund scheme for migrant workers.
What foreign employment insurance pays in 2026
The benefits below come straight from the 2080 directive. They are the same whether you are 19 or 60 and whether you buy from Sun Nepal, Nepal Life or the state-owned Rastriya Jeevan Beema. Only the premium changes with age.
| Event | What is paid | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Death abroad (any cause) | Sum assured + funeral (kriya) + loss of income + body repatriation | Rs 14,00,000 |
| Death in Nepal (any cause, within the policy term) | Sum assured + funeral + loss of income | Rs 13,00,000 |
| Permanent total disability | Full sum assured + Rs 2 lakh loss of income | Rs 12,00,000 |
| Partial permanent disability | A percentage of Rs 10 lakh by injury (see next table); for 50% injuries, Rs 1 lakh income loss is added | Rs 40,000 to Rs 6,00,000 |
| Critical illness diagnosed (15 listed diseases) | Lump sum for treatment | Rs 5,00,000 |
| Medical treatment | Actual cost for accident injuries, or treatment before a critical illness diagnosis | Up to Rs 1,00,000 |
How the Rs 14 lakh death benefit is built
Repatriation money is paid only when it is shown that the body was brought back to Nepal.
Disability payout schedule
Workplace injuries are the most common reason families end up reading this policy. The directive fixes the payout as a percentage of the Rs 10 lakh sum assured:
| Injury (permanent, incurable) | % of sum assured | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Sight of both eyes; or use of both hands or both feet; or one hand/foot plus one eye | 100% | Rs 10,00,000 |
| Sight of one eye; use of one hand or one foot; speech; hearing in both ears | 50% | Rs 5,00,000 |
| Hearing in one ear; thumb | 20% | Rs 2,00,000 |
| Index finger | 15% | Rs 1,50,000 |
| Any other finger | 7% | Rs 70,000 |
| Big toe | 5% | Rs 50,000 |
| Other toes | 4% | Rs 40,000 |
The 15 critical illnesses covered (Rs 5 lakh)
Critical illness cover is compulsory in every policy, which is why Rs 400 is added to every premium. A diagnosis of any of these pays Rs 5 lakh for treatment:
Kidney failure
Primary pulmonary arterial hypertension
Multiple sclerosis
Major organ transplant
Coronary artery bypass graft
Aorta graft surgery
Heart valve surgery
Stroke
First heart attack
Coma
Total blindness
Paralysis
Benign brain tumour
Serious head injury from an accident
Foreign employment insurance premium in Nepal (2026)
You pay the premium once, at the time of buying. It depends on two things only: your age group and the policy term. Because the term must be your contract length plus six months, a 2-year contract means buying a 2.5-year policy. That single detail is where many first-time buyers get confused, so the table below starts from the contract you actually signed.
| Your contract | Policy term to buy | Age 18–35 | Age 36–50 | Age 51–64 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 1.5 years | Rs 2,629 | Rs 3,663 | Rs 8,014 |
| 2 years (most common) | 2.5 years | Rs 3,708 | Rs 4,931 | Rs 9,463 |
| 3 years | 3.5 years | Rs 4,511 | Rs 6,152 | Rs 11,565 |
| 4 years | 4.5 years | Rs 5,376 | Rs 7,251 | Rs 13,939 |
| 5 years | 5.5 years | Rs 6,063 | Rs 8,216 | Rs 16,350 |
| 6 years | 6.5 years | Rs 6,605 | Rs 9,512 | Rs 18,622 |
Totals include the compulsory Rs 400 critical illness add-on. Base rates are the regulated rates under the Insurance Authority’s 2080 directive as published by Bizpati with Prabhu Mahalaxmi Life (December 2023); we found no revision announced up to October 2026. Workers above 64 pay a rate set by the insurer, capped at 50% above the 51–64 rate. Always confirm the final amount on the checkout screen.
Premium for a 2-year contract, by age
Same Rs 14 lakh cover in every case; an older worker pays about 2.5 times more.
Worked example
Suman, 27, has a 2-year contract as a warehouse helper in Qatar. He buys a 2.5-year policy for Rs 3,708 and pays Rs 1,500 into the Welfare Fund. For about Rs 5,200 in total, his family is protected by a minimum of Rs 24 lakh if he dies during the permit, plus up to Rs 5 lakh if he is diagnosed with a listed critical illness. If his employer later extends the contract by a year, he has to extend or renew the policy before the old one expires, otherwise his labour permit renewal stalls.
Foreign employment insurance vs the Welfare Fund
Families often think the Rs 10 lakh they heard about on the news is the insurance. It is not. The Foreign Employment Welfare Fund, set up in 2065 BS and run by the Foreign Employment Board, is a separate pot built from workers’ own contributions. After the sixth amendment to the Foreign Employment Regulations in October 2024, its death relief rose from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
| Feature | Term life insurance | Welfare Fund |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | A licensed life insurer, regulated by the Nepal Insurance Authority | Foreign Employment Board (government) |
| You pay | About Rs 2,600 to Rs 18,600 once, by age and term | Rs 1,500 (contract up to 3 years) or Rs 2,500 (3 to 10 years) |
| Death benefit | Up to Rs 14 lakh | Rs 10 lakh |
| Injury and illness | Disability schedule, Rs 5 lakh critical illness, Rs 1 lakh medical | Treatment support for injured workers, decided by the Board |
| Where to claim | Any branch of the insurer that issued the policy | Your ward or municipality office, which forwards it to the Board |
| Time covered | Policy term (contract + 6 months) | Permit period, and now deaths within one year after the permit expires |
Minimum a family receives if a worker dies abroad
How Welfare Fund death relief has grown
Rs 3 lakh
Until 2017
Rs 7 lakh
FY 2074/75 to 2024
Rs 10 lakh
From late 2024
The Board reported at its 18th anniversary (November 2025) that it had compensated the families of 14,843 workers who died between FY 2065/66 and 2081/82, including 1,544 in FY 2081/82 alone, and that the fund held about Rs 7.57 billion. It also supported 3,924 injured workers with medical costs over that period.
How to buy foreign employment insurance (step by step)
You can buy at an insurer branch, through your manpower agency, or online. Online is now the easiest. Rastriya Jeevan Beema, for example, sells it through eSewa using only your passport number, and other insurers sell through eSewa and Khalti too.
1
Get your visa, signed contract and medical report
2
Open eSewa (Insurance → DOFE) or Khalti and pick an insurer
3
Enter passport number; check name, country and term (contract + 6 months)
4
Add a nominee from your family, pay the premium
5
Policy links to FEIMS; download it and send a copy home
Documents you need
- Passport (scan), with at least the validity your destination requires
- Visa or work permit copy
- Medical report from an approved health centre (the hologram certificate)
- Citizenship certificate and a passport-size photo
- Nominee details (name, relationship, citizenship number) so your family can claim without a dispute
The directive does not allow an insurer to issue the policy with a start date different from the risk start date (except for renewals), and the proposal form must be complete. If a counter agent asks you to sign a blank form, do not.
Practical tip from our desk
Before you leave, save three things on a family member’s phone: a photo of the policy, the insurer’s claim helpline, and the Welfare Fund receipt. Write the nominee’s name exactly as on their citizenship. When things go wrong abroad, families lose weeks hunting for these papers, and the claim clock does not wait. Getting your police clearance certificate and other papers done early also leaves time to read the policy calmly.
Which companies sell it, and does the choice matter?
As of May 2026, Beema Post counted 13 companies selling foreign employment term insurance; MetLife and Life Insurance Corporation (Nepal) are the two life insurers that do not. Sun Nepal Life has historically held the largest share, close to half the premium in a 2024 Insurance Authority snapshot, followed by companies such as Asian Life, Nepal Life, National Life, Sanima Reliance, SuryaJyoti and Reliable Nepal Life.
Because premium and cover are fixed by the directive, you cannot get a “better deal” by shopping around. Since 2075 BS the risk has also been shared through a common insurance pool, created to stop cash-back offers and unhealthy competition. So the real choice is about service:
- Does the company have a branch near your family’s home district?
- Does it accept online claim requests?
- How does it rank on claim settlement overall? Our ranking of the best life insurance companies in Nepal compares all 14 life insurers on claims and solvency.
How to claim foreign employment insurance (and Welfare Fund relief)
If the worker dies or is badly injured, the family runs two claims in parallel. Do not wait for one to finish before starting the other.
Claim A: Insurance company
- Inform the insurer as soon as possible (any branch)
- Fill in the foreign employment death or disability claim form
- Attach the documents listed below
- Payment goes to the nominee’s bank account
Claim B: Welfare Fund
- Go to your ward or municipality office
- Submit the relief application with the death or injury proof
- The local unit sends it to the Foreign Employment Board
- Rs 10 lakh is credited directly to the beneficiary’s bank account
Death claim documents
- Original policy (or policy number) and premium receipt
- Death registration certificate from the ward office, and a relationship certificate
- Letter from the Nepali embassy if the death happened abroad
- Hospital death certificate and post-mortem report, where applicable
- Embalming certificate or customs declaration for the returned body (needed for the Rs 1 lakh repatriation benefit)
- Passport, visa and citizenship of the deceased, and the nominee’s citizenship
Prabhu Mahalaxmi Life’s published explainer says the claim is paid within 15 days of a complete application. In practice, missing embassy letters and name mismatches cause most delays. For disability claims, add the medical report confirming the permanent injury; for critical illness, add the specialist diagnosis. If the money will be received by a family member who is also abroad, our guide to opening a Nepali bank account from abroad explains the video KYC route.
Do not forget employer compensation. Gulf countries can award significant compensation for workplace or road accident deaths, but a 2024 Kantipur investigation found that only a small share of eligible families actually received it. Ask the embassy in writing whether a compensation case has been opened.
When a foreign employment insurance claim is refused
The policy covers death from any cause, including natural causes and illness, which is wider than many people think. But the insurer will not pay if death or disability results from:
- Flying in any aircraft other than a legally licensed one as a passenger
- Taking part in unlawful war-like acts, declared or not
- Breaking civil or military law
- Going to a country the Government of Nepal has banned for foreign employment. Insurers cannot even issue the policy for such countries, so workers who go through illegal routes have no insurance and usually no Welfare Fund relief either.
Other avoidable reasons for trouble: a policy term shorter than the contract plus six months, a lapsed policy after the contract was extended, and no nominee on file.
Renewing foreign employment insurance from abroad
When your employer renews your contract, you need a valid policy for the new period before your labour permit can be renewed. You do not have to come home. Insurers issue renewal policies online through the same eSewa and Khalti channels, and for renewals the directive lets the policy be issued before the new risk start date. Once you have it, follow our Shram Swikriti renewal online guide to finish the permit on FEIMS.
If a family member is paying from Nepal, they can do it on your behalf with your passport number. If you are paying from abroad, top up the wallet from a Nepali bank account; our guide to sending money to Nepal compares the cheapest legal channels.
Workers going to India
Nepali workers in India do not take labour permits, so this mandatory insurance and the Welfare Fund have not covered them. In 2025 the labour ministry proposed a procedure to let seasonal workers in India join the Welfare Fund through local employment service centres. Until that is in force, a worker heading to India should buy a private term or accident policy.
What changed in 2026 (and what may change next)
- New ministry. On 13 May 2026 the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security was dissolved. Foreign employment now sits under the new Ministry of Youth, Labour and Employment, which has the power to amend the Foreign Employment Regulations.
- Pool moved to Nepal Re. Following a budget provision, the Insurance Authority moved management of the foreign employment insurance pool from Himalayan Reinsurance to the state-owned Nepal Reinsurance Company with effect from 17 July 2026. This does not change your premium or cover.
- Proposal to take the business away from private insurers. In May 2026 the government discussed routing this insurance only through a state-owned insurer, and later reports said it was preparing to run it through the Social Security Fund instead. Doing that requires amending Rule 19 of the Foreign Employment Regulations and parts of the Insurance Act. As of this update, private insurers are still selling the policy and the 2080 directive still applies.
- Outdated official pages. The Department of Foreign Employment’s public advice page still tells workers to buy cover of “at least Rs 5 lakh”. That figure is old; the current sum assured is Rs 10 lakh with a Rs 14 lakh death package.
Foreign employment insurance market, FY 2082/83 (Insurance Authority data)
Policies in force (thousand)
Premium collected, year to date (Rs billion)
Roughly 2.45 million policies were in force at the end of FY 2082/83, and the segment brought in about Rs 3.37 billion in premium that year. That scale is exactly why the government wants it in public hands, and why private insurers are resisting.
Checklist: 8 mistakes to avoid
- Buying a policy only as long as the contract, instead of contract + 6 months
- Leaving the nominee blank or misspelling the nominee’s name
- Not telling the family which insurer issued the policy
- Assuming the Welfare Fund and insurance are the same thing and claiming only one
- Letting the policy lapse after a contract extension
- Going through an illegal route or to a banned country, which voids everything
- Paying a middleman extra; the premium is regulated and online payment has no extra charge
- Forgetting the medical cover: Rs 1 lakh for accident treatment is claimable even when there is no permanent disability
Frequently asked questions
Is foreign employment insurance mandatory in Nepal?
Yes. Every worker who takes a labour permit must buy the foreign employment term life policy under the Foreign Employment Act 2064. The Department of Foreign Employment will not issue the permit without it.
How much is the foreign employment insurance premium in 2026?
For the common 2-year contract (a 2.5-year policy) it is about Rs 3,708 for ages 18–35, Rs 4,931 for 36–50 and Rs 9,463 for 51–64, including the Rs 400 critical illness add-on. You pay once.
How much does the family get if a migrant worker dies abroad?
Up to Rs 14 lakh from the insurance policy and Rs 10 lakh from the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund, so at least Rs 24 lakh combined, plus any employer or destination-country compensation.
What is the difference between foreign employment insurance and the Welfare Fund?
The insurance is a term life policy sold by a life insurer and claimed at the insurer. The Welfare Fund is a government fund run by the Foreign Employment Board, built from the Rs 1,500 or Rs 2,500 workers contribute, and claimed through the local ward or municipality. Families can claim both.
Can I renew foreign employment insurance from abroad?
Yes. Renewal policies can be bought online through eSewa or Khalti with your passport number, by you or a family member in Nepal, before you renew your labour permit on FEIMS.
Does foreign employment insurance cover natural death and illness?
Yes. Death from any cause during the policy term is covered, and 15 listed critical illnesses pay Rs 5 lakh. Exclusions are limited to unlicensed flights, unlawful war-like acts, breaking civil or military law, and going to banned countries.
Which company is best for foreign employment insurance?
Premium and benefits are identical at every insurer, so choose the one with a branch near your family and a good claim settlement record. About 13 companies sell the product in 2026.
Related guides for Nepalis working abroad
- Shram Swikriti renewal online: step-by-step FEIMS guide
- Social Security Fund (SSF) Nepal: complete guide and how to check your SSF balance online
- IME vs Western Union rates: which gets your family more rupees
- How to recharge NTC from abroad
- Nepali to English date converter (useful for policy and permit dates in BS)
- All Nepal government services guides
Sources
- Nepal Insurance Authority: Foreign Employment (Term) Life Insurance Directive 2080 (as reported by Insurance Khabar, May 2024) and monthly business statistics, nia.gov.np
- Premium table and claim schedule: Bizpati with Prabhu Mahalaxmi Life (Mangsir 2080)
- Welfare Fund relief and contribution: Himal Press (October 2024), Kantipur (November 2025)
- Pool transfer to Nepal Re and state-insurer proposal: Beema Post (May and July 2026), Aarthik Sansar (Jestha 2083)
- Department of Foreign Employment, dofe.gov.np, and Foreign Employment Board, fepb.gov.np
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Premiums and rules can change by directive; check the amount on your insurer’s checkout screen and the latest notice from the Department of Foreign Employment before you pay.