The government has opened the window to receive applications for Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) language test for Nepalis seeking jobs in South Korea under the Employment Permit System (EPS) for year 2019.

Thousands of youth stood in queue to submit their application fees for language test on Thursday.

At some centres, young people stood in queue from Wednesday evening to pay their exam fees.

According to the EPS section under the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), aspiring foreign workers should register for the language test from March 22 to March 31.

 Candidates, age 18, born between March 23, 1978 and March 22, 2000 can apply for the language test, but not those above age 39.

Lack of online facility to pay exam fee put stress on candidates. Many stood in queues in different parts of the Kathmandu for long hours.

Santosh Sunuwar from Khotang visited different bank branches, but failed to register on Thursday as the bank closed before he could reach the counter.

“I came here in the morning and seeing a long queue, I visited other branches in Satdobato and then in Pulchowk, hoping crowd would be les in other places. Now, I will have to come again tomorrow,” said Sunuwar, who would be appearing in the language test for the second time.  

Abhishek Sambhanphe from Panchthar, who was also in bank queue with Sunwar, said online payment would have been efficient and easy.

While the registration process has gone online, branches of Global IME Bank receive exam fees.

Prospective applicants have to pay $24 equivalent in Nepali rupees at the bank branch from where they receive a unique transaction code required for applying online, according to Shobhakar Bhandari, a section officer with the EPS section office.

“With the transaction number, the candidate can register themselves from using computer with access to the internet. After typing the code, the file opens and candidates enter their personal details required for the test. It is not a difficult process,” said Bhandari.  

The EPS section started receiving online applications in 2017. It will conduct language test at different examinations centres in Kathmandu and Pokhara. It had previously held exams in 2015 and 2016.

It estimates nearly 75,000 candidates will register for the language test. These candidates will get job placement in South Korea for 2019 after passing the test.

The South Korean government has already allocated the job quota of 7,100–4,800 in manufacturing sector and 2,300 agriculture and farming sector - for Nepalese workers in 2019.