KATHMANDU, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Nepali government has put a cap on foreign workers who could work in foreign joint venture companies or foreign aided projects in Nepal to three persons.

The new Labour Regulation, endorsed by Nepal's cabinet on Sunday, put such ceiling on foreign workers for the first time.

According to new regulation, the number of foreign workers are not allowed to cross five percent of total workforce in any Nepali enterprise.

The regulation states that Nepali government could offer work permit to maximum three persons after maintaining their records with it.

But, the cap will not be applicable in the case where the Nepali government has signed agreement with foreign governments or foreign companies regarding the number of foreign workers. Likewise, foreign diplomats are exempt from such restrictions.

"We have been providing work permit to foreign workers as per the recommendation of enterprises provided they could not get Nepali workers for the given task," Nabin Pokharel, section officer at Department of Labour, which issues work permit, told Xinhua on Thursday.

If any foreign worker is found to have worked in any enterprise without taking work permit or without documentation, the Department of Labour, an agency under the Ministry of Labour and Employment can order the concerned enterprise to remove such foreign worker immediately, the regulation states.

The regulation has also reduced validity of work permit for foreign workers. According to the regulation, foreign workers with specialized skills can get work permit for maximum five years and while other normal workers can get such permits for maximum three years.

Earlier, the skilled foreign workers could get such permit for a maximum years of seven and other workers could get such permit for a maximum years of five.

As per the regulation, the charging fee of obtaining work permit has also been increased. A foreign worker has to pay 15,000 Nepali Rupees (139 U.S. dollar) for getting work permit for up to six months and 20,000 Nepali Rupees (185 U.S. dollar) to receive work permit for more than six months. Earlier, they could get such permit by paying 10,000 Nepali Rupees (92 U.S. dollar).