Who this is for
You are holding a file and trying to decide, tonight, whether to pay. You do not need a lecture on graphic design. You need the signs Indian families report before the money moves, and the reminder that the real test is the employer. This list is behaviour and process. It is not a description of a genuine permit. We will not tell you how a real card is printed. Forgers read that kind of page.
Open the country guide after this list. A sign that is fatal in one country is merely odd in another. A separate English "work permit" is a serious warning for Germany. A single-permit card shown to you in India is a serious warning for Croatia or Serbia. The list below is the part that repeats.
The 12 signs
- Money before any confirmed job. The agent wants a large advance, and the employer will not speak to you. Official fees we cite on the country pages are a different size, and often the employer pays them.
- The offer lives only on WhatsApp. There is no company email you found yourself, no interview, no second channel.
- A Gmail address for a ministry, an embassy or a European employer. Real organisations have their own domains. The agent's inbox does not become an embassy because the signature says so.
- No interview with the employer. A voice note from the agent is not a recruitment process.
- The pay is wrong for the work. Unskilled roles advertised locally do not match a salary that would change your family's life overnight. Ireland even publishes floors. A "critical skills" salary under that floor is the wrong category.
- Visit visa now, permit later. That pitch is especially dangerous for the UAE, where a visit visa is not permission to work. Read visit visa jobs.
- A guaranteed permit, or a Europe-wide permit. No embassy guarantees a visa because an agent asked. No country issues one permit for the whole of Europe. "Schengen work permit" is not a real category.
- Pay today or lose the seat. Urgency is the product. Quotas and click days exist in some countries, and they are published. A midnight UPI demand is not a quota.
- The Indian agent will not show a registration. Where the Emigration Act applies, check eMigrate and the ceiling on mea.gov.in/ras.
- The agent's own "verification" website. If the proof of the permit is a site the seller controls, you do not have proof. Government sites are ones you type yourself.
- The order of the process is backwards. A card before travel, a visa before any employer application, an oświadczenie for an Indian passport in Poland, a new Romanian D/AM2 dated inside the pause. The country guide says what the order should be.
- Your passport is in the agent's drawer. You cannot apply for anything yourself, and you cannot walk away.
One sign is enough to pause. Three signs are enough to stop.
What these signs do not do
They do not prove a file is genuine when they are absent. A calm agent with a colour print can still be selling a job the employer knows nothing about. Italy's police have described official-looking requests for jobs that were not real. The absence of sloppy WhatsApp messages would not have saved those workers. The employer confirmation would have.
They also do not ask you to inspect security features. If someone offers you a guide to holograms, close it.
How to use the list with a country guide
Pick the country in the file and open its guide before you argue with the agent. Poland: an oświadczenie for an Indian passport is already the wrong document, and the embassy says it does not verify permits. Romania: a new D/AM2 story during the pause that began on 15 September 2026 is a sign even if the PDF is calm. Malta: Identità is the authority, and a private tracking site is not. Croatia and Serbia: a card in your hand before you have travelled reverses the order. Germany: a stand-alone English work permit is the warning, because the permission normally sits on the residence title. Ireland: a "critical skills" salary under the floor published for March 2026 is the wrong category. The UAE: a visit visa described as the job is sign number six in its strongest form.
Write down which of the twelve you can see, and which country rule is broken. That note is what you show a parent who is ready to transfer. Then, if the employer still will not answer, send the file for a human confirmation. The list gets you to stop. The employer confirmation tells you whether there was ever a job.
Why a human check comes next
A scanner can agree that a PDF contains the word permit. The employer can say whether they hired you. Testiy's expert confirms the case with the employer. You receive a certified report and a public verify link. We do not publish the method. Packs start at ₹1,600 including GST. See pricing and the sample report. The desk is open 10:00–22:00 IST.
If you already paid
The signs are now evidence. Save them. Report the payment at cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930. Tell the Protector of Emigrants and the police. Do not send a "release fee" to get the passport back. That is a second demand, not a solution.
FAQ
How do I know a work permit is fake?
Start with the list above and the country guide. If the employer will not confirm the job, you do not know it is real, which is the only safe assumption before you pay.
Can a permit look perfect and still be fake?
Yes. Looks are the wrong test. Confirmation with the employer is the right one.
Is a software scan enough?
No. It does not talk to the employer. See verify a work permit.
The agent sent a website to check the permit. Should I use it?
Only if you typed a government address yourself. A link in the same chat as the payment request is the agent's website until proved otherwise.
What if only one red flag is present?
Pause and ask the employer. One flag, such as a visit visa for a Dubai job, is enough to stop.
How long does a Testiy check take?
See pricing. Many cases are decided the same day while the desk is open.
What do I get?
A certified report and a public verify link.
Can I speak with Testiy in Malayalam or Hindi?
Yes. Our experts can speak with you in Malayalam, Hindi and English.
What if it is fake and I paid?
Report it on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in and do not pay a second fee.
Keep reading
Talk to an expert before you pay
Human expert · confirmed with the employer · certified report with public verify link