The promise of a foreign job is so luring that individuals have even paid up to Rs 5 lakh to various fake overseas job recruitment agents, revealed data from the Ministry of External Affairs.
“It has been noticed that there has been a huge rise in the number of overseas job seekers being cheated by unregistered recruitment agents by fake job offers and also overcharging to the tune of Rs 2-5 lakhs,” said the MEA in a press release dated December 14, 2023.
In light of these incidents of fraud, the MEA has highlighted how Indians can search and connect with genuine overseas job recruitment agents who are registered with the MEA. “Persons seeking jobs abroad are requested to use the safe and legal services of registered Recruiting Agents (RA) only. All registered RAs are issued a license number which is prominently displayed in their office premises and their advertisements, including newspapers and social media,” said the MEA in the press release.
How to find government-registered overseas recruitment agents?
MEA has advised on how to find genuine overseas recruitment agents. “Prospective emigrants are advised to cross-check the genuineness of the RA by visiting the government website www.emigrate.gov.in and click the link “List of active RA”,” said the MEA in the press release.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
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Step 1: Go here: www.emigrate.gov.in
Step 2: Find and click on a tab called ‘Recruiting Agents’
Step 3: Click on ‘List of Active RA’
Ministry of External Affairs
Source: http://www.emigrate.gov.in
How much money can be charged by overseas recruitment agents for foreign jobs?
There is a monetary limit beyond which no overseas recruitment agent should charge prospective employees. “As per the Emigration Act 1983, no recruiting agent shall collect from the prospective emigrant the service charges more than Rs. 30,000 + GST (18%), in respect of services provided by it to that emigrant, and the recruiting agent shall issue a receipt to the emigrant for the amount collected by it in this regard,” said the MEA in the press release.
What happens when job offers are taken using illegal overseas recruitment agents?
Rather than using official channels of communication, illegal agents often use social media to operate. “It is reported that many illegal agents operate through Facebook, WhatsApp, text messages, and other such mediums. These agencies provide little or no details of their whereabouts and contacts. They usually communicate only through Whatsapp, making it difficult to ascertain the location and identity of the caller & genuineness of the job offer,” said the MEA in the press release.
Once the illegal agents attract prospective people seeking overseas jobs, they start cheating them by making false claims.
“Such agents also lure workers to work in difficult and life-threatening conditions. Such cases are being reported for recruitment to work in several East European Countries, some of the Gulf countries, Central Asian countries, Israel, Canada, Myanmar, and Lao People’s Democratic Republic,” said the MEA in the press release.
