had a shop that I sold to arrange for the visa. I paid Rs 488,000 to the agent for the visa. This is besides the other expenses,” says Sakhawat Shah*.

Shah says he paid Rs 20,000 for a medical test, which was repeated because there was an issue with the first X-ray report. Shah then paid Rs 6,000 for a bus ticket to be taken to Karachi.

The total cost for the visa, tickets, medical test and other expenses was more than Rs 800,000.

When he and his colleagues arrived in Karachi, they were made to wait on the roadside for seven hours before being flown to Saudi Arabia via Muscat.

“We had to wait another 10 hours at the airport for a connecting flight. Once we arrived at Dammam Airport, we had to wait for another eight hours. We were told a vehicle would come to take us to a hotel,” he recalls.

They arrived at the hotel early in the morning.

“We stayed at the hotel from October 10 to October 15. We had to pay for our food. The agent then took us to Riyadh and left us at a labour camp. We remained unemployed for more than a month and a half. During this time, they provided for our food,” says Shah, who hails from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He says there were more than 300 people at the camp.

“They kept 150-200 people in a tent. We couldn’t sleep due to the unbearable heat. Later, when power supply to the tents was disrupted, they moved us to a container,” Sakhawat Shah says.

He says that their agent in Pakistan had promised them work in a garden for a salary of 1,200 Saudi riyals per month.

“We were shocked when they asked us to sign an agreement offering only 700 Saudi riyals a month. We refused and remained on the streets all day. Then the police came and listened to us. However, they left without addressing our complaints,” he says.

Having no other option, they returned to the camp and signed the agreement.

According to Sakhawat Shah, they were not paid their salaries or overtime for four months.

“You won’t believe it. Some of my colleagues ate waste from the dustbins because they hadn’t been paid for more than eight months.”

He says many people in Pakistan make the mistake of not signing an agreement with their agents before paying for the visa.

“We trusted the agent. He deceived us. He promised us 1,200 Saudi riyals a month and a two-year agreement but we are paid less than 700 Saudi riyals. The agreement is for three years,” Sakhawat Shah says.

He says he had had to sell his wife’s jewellery, a shop, a motorbike and some other valuables to cover the visa and travelling costs.

“Some of the people who came earlier are leaving. However, due to rampant unemployment in Pakistan, agents continue to bring more and more young people. Some of the newcomers say they have paid more than Rs 1 million just for the visa. They are all working as unskilled labourers for 700 Saudi riyals a month,” he says.

He says these agents have strong networks operating both in and outside Pakistan.

Shah says the government must take action against such intermediaries “who destroy the lives of innocent people by forcing them into bonded labour.”

Pakistan has a long-standing tradition of labour migration, with more than 11 million Pakistanis moving abroad for work since 1971. This migration is crucial for Pakistan’s economy, contributing significantly to growth and poverty alleviation. However, the recruitment process is plagued by sub-agents who exploit workers for illegal profits.

Sub-agents, operating outside the formal system, exacerbate the issues in the recruitment process. Their numbers vastly surpass those of licensed overseas employment promoters (OEPs). They engage in illegal practices such as charging exorbitant fees and deceiving workers about job contracts. Many migrant workers, often unskilled and uneducated, fall prey to these intermediaries, exacerbating their vulnerability.

The financial burden on Pakistani migrant workers is substantial. For a single destination country, the costs incurred by migrant workers can vary significantly depending on their country of origin. According to the ILO, total expenditures for a migrant worker should not exceed $750, including all fees and airfare. However, in Pakistan, migrant workers often pay several times this amount. Pakistani migrants face the highest costs in the region for employment in Saudi Arabia, where the majority end up. According to the ILO’s 2020 study, A Global Comparative Study on Defining Recruitment Fees and Related Costs, the average costs of employment in Saudi Arabia are as follows: $309 for workers from the Philippines; $769 for those from Nepal; $1,015 for those from Ethiopia; $1,386 for those from India; and $4,460 for those from Pakistan.

This means that the informal visa trading market controlled by sub-agents in Pakistan charges migrant workers many times more than the notified costs. As a result, Pakistani migrants take approximately ten months to recover their migration costs through earnings, compared to 0.7 months for Filipinos and 4.5 months for Indians. This significant disparity is primarily due to the complex network of sub-agents who impose excessive fees on migrant workers.

Out of 5,066 licensed OEPs in Pakistan, only 2,649 hold valid licenses. Many licenses have been cancelled or surrendered. When faced with regulatory action, the sub-agents swiftly shift to new agencies. The Overseas Employment Corporation, a public sector agency, placed only 2,779 workers out of a total of 862,000 migrant workers in 2023.

In comparison, countries like the Philippines and Bangladesh have more effective migration systems. The Philippines, for instance, has established the Department of Migrant Workers, which integrates migration into its economic strategy and regularly updates its systems. Bangladesh’s Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training operates in 42 districts, providing specific pre-departure and technical training. Pakistan has only three migrant resource centres located in Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar, offering limited pre-departure training and information.

To improve the situation, Pakistan needs to formalise the visa trading market, enhance the role of licensed OEPs and increase transparency and accountability in the recruitment process. Expanding outreach to rural areas, providing better information to prospective migrants and curbing the influence of sub-agents are essential steps toward ensuring fair recruitment and protecting workers’ rights.

*Name has been changed to protect identity

The writer is a Peshawar-based journalist affiliated with The News