Who this is for
The agent has stopped talking about the job and started talking about the balance. The figure is in tens of thousands, or in lakhs. The reason changes: visa fee, embassy, medical, "guarantee", seat booking, attestation. You are in India. The job is in Europe or the Gulf. You want to know what the law actually allows, and what to do before the transfer.
What Indian rules say
Recruiting agents who send people abroad under the Emigration Act need a registration from the Protector General of Emigrants. The MEA's page for recruiting agents says the charge they may recover from the emigrant shall not exceed the equivalent of 45 days' wages under the contract, subject to a maximum of ₹20,000 (mea.gov.in/ras). The complaints page says the same ceiling in the current guidelines (complaints). Older notices, including a 2017 amendment of the Emigration Rules and some embassy circulars, have cited ₹30,000. Do not pick the number the agent prefers. Read the MEA page the week you are paying, and ask which figure they are using.
That ceiling is not a suggestion to pay ₹20,000 to an unregistered person. Unregistered overseas recruitment is the thing the Act is there to stop. Check the name on eMigrate before any conversation about a fee (emigrate.gov.in). The UAE and other ECR countries are where this machinery matters most for an ECR passport. Most of Europe is not ECR. An agent who sells "eMigrate attestation" as if it were a Poland work permit is mixing two systems. They may still be taking money they are not allowed to take.
The MEA also says registered agents should not use sub-agents. The person who took your cash in a different town may not be the licence holder. Ask whose licence it is, and check that name, not the shop board.
Service charges are supposed to come with a receipt. Cash with no receipt, or a transfer to a personal account, is a warning even when the amount looks small.
What the destination often says
Country rules differ, and the guides cite them. A short map:
- Poland: the employer pays the official permit fee, in zloty, not in lakhs. An oświadczenie is not for Indian citizens.
- Romania: authorised agencies charge the employer, not the worker, for placement. New D/AM2 filings are paused.
- Germany: placement law caps fees, bans advances, and puts apprenticeship placement on the employer.
- Croatia: since June 2026 the employer may not push the permit fee back onto the worker.
- Malta: Identità has published a €600 fee inside the application, and says workers should not pay recruitment fees.
- Portugal: agencies licensed there are not supposed to charge job seekers.
- Italy: police have described workers paying thousands of euro toward jobs that did not exist. Paying the "employer" is a known pattern, not a formality.
- UAE: the employer applies for the work permit. A visit visa is not that permit.
None of those rules mean every rupee of a visa fee or a medical test is a scam. They mean a large, vague advance, before the employer confirms the job, does not match the official story.
Red flags in the payment itself
- The amount is many times the MEA ceiling, with no written split between a real visa fee and the agent's charge.
- The agent wants the full sum today.
- Payment is in cash, or to a personal UPI, or to a different city from the licence.
- You are told the embassy fee is refundable only through the agent.
- The job is not confirmed by the employer, and the agent says payment will "start the verification".
- You are offered a discount if you do not tell your family.
- A second person calls and pretends to be the embassy, the airline or Testiy, and names a new account. Testiy does not do that. Use the number on this website.
- The receipt uses a company name that is not the licensed agent.
A practical split of the invoice
Ask the agent to write three lines: the mission's visa fee, with the page it came from; any medical or courier cost, with whose receipt; and their own service charge. If they cannot split it, the number is a package designed not to be checked. Compare the service charge with the MEA page. Compare the visa fee with the embassy page for that country, which the country guides link. Anything left over is the part you are not obliged to call a fee.
Then confirm the job. A tidy invoice for a job the employer has never heard of is still a loss. The order is employer first, payment second. Families who reverse that order are the cases on the country pages.
What to do before you pay
Pause. Ask for the employer's name and a contact you can check yourself. Open the country guide. If you want an independent confirmation, send the file to Testiy. A human expert confirms the case with the employer. You get a certified report and a public verify link. That report is cheaper than a second instalment and it is the point of pricing. Packs start at ₹1,600 including GST. The desk is open 10:00–22:00 IST.
If you already paid
Stop the next transfer. Keep screenshots of the chats, the account and the receipt. Report it at cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930. Complain to the Protector of Emigrants with the agent's licence number if you have one. File a police complaint. Tell your bank quickly if the payment just left. Testiy cannot reverse it. A written report can still help the family refuse the following demand.
FAQ
Can an agent take money for a job abroad?
A registered recruiting agent may charge within the MEA ceiling, with a receipt. Many destination countries do not allow the worker to be charged for the job itself. A large advance before the employer confirms the offer is a reason to stop.
The agent says the ₹20,000 cap is old. Who is right?
Read mea.gov.in/ras the day you pay. Quote that page back. If they cannot explain the gap between that page and their invoice, do not pay the invoice.
Is a visa fee the same as an agent fee?
No. Missions publish visa fees. They are not a lakh. Ask for the fee schedule from the mission's own site, not from the agent.
Should I pay to "start verification"?
No. Verification of the offer is a reason to pause payment, not a product the agent sells you. Verify the job offer with an expert who is not the agent.
How long does a Testiy check take?
See pricing. Many cases are decided the same day the desk is open, 10:00–22:00 IST.
What do I get from Testiy?
A certified report and a public verify link. See the sample report.
Can I speak with Testiy in Malayalam or Hindi?
Yes. Our experts can speak with you in Malayalam, Hindi and English.
What if I already sent the money?
Report it on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in today, and do not send more.
Keep reading
Talk to an expert before you pay
Human expert · confirmed with the employer · certified report with public verify link