JAKARTA - West Nusa Tenggara’s Manpower and Transmigration Office said on May 21 that the provincial government is preparing a Zero Cost Migrant programme for working-age residents in extreme poverty who want to work overseas through official placement channels. 

The office announced the plan after a May 20 stakeholder consultation and programme launch in East Lombok with INFEST, the International Organization for Migration and Indonesia’s Ministry for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers.

Aidy Furqan, head of the provincial manpower office, said the high number of workers leaving West Nusa Tenggara must be matched by protection before departure, during overseas work and after return. 

“The governor is very concerned about migrant worker issues. For that reason, migrant worker protection must be carried out comprehensively, not only for the workers, but also for their families and children,” Aidy said, according to the office’s release. 

Aidy said the province is preparing the zero-cost scheme so poor prospective migrant workers can take overseas jobs without carrying placement costs. The office said the scheme would be combined with financial literacy assistance so returning migrant workers can build savings and sustain household income. 

The same protection agenda also covers children of migrant workers in East Lombok. Aidy said the provincial and central governments are preparing an affirmative school for children of migrant workers, after officials linked school dropout risks to weak parental supervision when parents work abroad.

West Nusa Tenggara is Indonesia’s fourth-largest province of origin for migrant workers, the office said. It recorded about 35,700 placements of migrant workers from the province in 2025 and about 7,900 departures by April 2026. East Lombok remains one of Indonesia’s largest migrant-sending districts.

Indonesia’s migrant worker protection ministry said last year that West Nusa Tenggara sent 98,803 migrant workers between 2020 and 2024, with East Lombok, Central Lombok, West Lombok, Sumbawa and Bima as the province’s five largest sending districts.