Guide
How to Identify Fake Immigration Agents
Every year people in Kerala lose savings to agents who promise jobs and visas that do not exist. These eight checks cost nothing and take less than an hour. Run them on every agent, including us.
Eight checks before you pay
Search the licence on eMigrate
Recruiting for overseas jobs requires a Recruiting Agent licence from the Ministry of External Affairs. Ask for the number and look it up on emigrate.gov.in. No licence, or a licence in someone else’s name, means stop.
Visit the office
A genuine agent has a registered office matching the address on the licence. Be wary of agents who only meet in hotels or work entirely over WhatsApp.
Ask for the employer’s name
You should be told who the employer is and be able to look them up independently. “A reputed company in Europe” is not an answer.
Read the contract first
Insist on a written offer stating role, salary, hours, contract length and who pays for flights and accommodation, before you pay a fee.
Check the visa type
A job requires a work visa or work permit. Anyone who suggests travelling on a visit or tourist visa and “converting it later” is putting you at risk of deportation.
Pay the company, get a receipt
Pay by bank transfer to the company’s account and get a receipt. Requests for cash, or for transfers to a personal account, are a warning sign.
Keep your passport
Hand over your original passport only when a visa office needs it, and get an acknowledgement. An agent has no reason to hold it for months.
Distrust guarantees
Visas are decided by foreign governments. An agent who guarantees a visa, a job or PR is promising something that is not theirs to give.
Warning signs in nurse recruitment
No registration, no exam, no language test
Every country registers its nurses. An offer that skips the nursing council, the exam and the language requirement is not a nursing job.A “carer” job sold as a route to nursing
Care assistant work can be legitimate, but it is a different job with different pay and does not convert into nurse registration by itself.Large fees for an interview slot
Charges to “book” an interview or a seat, before any employer has seen your CV, are a common scam.Pressure to decide today
“Only two seats left” is a sales tactic. A real vacancy survives you taking a day to check the licence.
If something has already gone wrong
Act quickly, keep every receipt and message, and report it.
- Complain to the Protector of Emigrants. Kerala has offices in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
- Call the Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra helpline of the Ministry of External Affairs on 1800 11 3090 (toll free in India).
- File a complaint at your local police station, with copies of payments and chats.
- If you are already abroad, contact the nearest Indian embassy or consulate.
Check Mount Bell the same way
Ministry of External Affairs
- Licence type
- Recruiting Agent licence
- Licence no.
- B-1921/KER/PART/100/5/10348/2023
- Issued to
- Mount Bell Global Studies
Questions about fraud
Is it legal for an agent without an MEA licence to recruit for jobs abroad?
No. Under the Emigration Act, 1983, only a registered Recruiting Agent may recruit Indian citizens for overseas employment. Sub-agents working for a licensed agent have no licence of their own, so check whose licence is being used.
I received a job offer letter by email. How can I check it?
Look up the employer independently and contact them through the details on their own website, not those in the email. Check that the role and salary are realistic, and that the visa described is a work visa. Bring the letter to us and we will tell you what we see.
Does a licence guarantee I will get the job or the visa?
No. A licence means the agent is registered and accountable. The employer still decides whom to hire, and the foreign government decides on the visa.
Related pages
Licences and accreditations
Mount Bell's MEA Recruiting Agent licence number is B-1921/KER/PART/100/5/10348/2023. See what the licence covers and how to verify it on the eMigrate portal.
Work visa
Work visa consultants in Kerala: job offer checks, employer-sponsored work permits, documents and emigration clearance. Thrissur and Kochi. Free assessment.
Fees
How immigration consultant fees work at Mount Bell: a free first assessment, a written fee schedule per programme, staged payments and stated refund terms.
Book Your Free Immigration Consultation Today
Speak to Mount Bell’s immigration consultants in Kerala in person, by phone or on WhatsApp.
Thank you, .
Your details are ready to send to our consultants on WhatsApp. If WhatsApp did not open, use the button below or call us.