Paying money for a job abroad? What Pakistani applicants should check before handing over cash

Tips · 2026-10-18 · 11 min read

Two Pakistani brothers compare a job contract and a small receipt at a home table, with a phone face down beside them.

Paying money for a job abroad is legal in Pakistan in only one narrow case: you pay a licensed Overseas Employment Promoter (OEP) no more than the charge the rules allow, and you get a receipt. Anyone else who takes money for arranging a foreign job is committing an offence under section 22 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979, punishable with up to fourteen years in prison. On the Australian and New Zealand side the rule is even simpler: never pay an employer, or anyone acting for one, for a job offer or sponsorship, because it can end your visa application.

What section 22 of the Emigration Ordinance says

Section 22 covers two different people. The first is a licensed OEP who charges any fee above the prescribed amount. The second is anyone who is not an OEP at all and still demands or receives money for providing foreign employment.

Both can be punished with imprisonment of up to fourteen years and a fine of up to two million rupees. You can read the wording yourself in the Emigration Ordinance, 1979 on Pakistan Code.

The "visa agent" in your bazaar, a relative's friend with "contacts" in Sydney, or a page on social media offering an Australia job for a fixed price may not take money for the job, however friendly or well known they are. If they are not on the licence list, the payment itself is the offence.

The money request often comes right after a short "interview" call. Learn to spot a staged interview and check the employer behind it before you hand over anything.

Some of these middlemen sell a visit visa and call it a job. Before you board on one, read why a visit visa to work abroad breaks Pakistan's Emigration Ordinance.

Who counts as an OEP

OP&HRD's Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BE&OE) defines an OEP as a person licensed by the Federal Government to recruit or assist people emigrating for work. Under the Ordinance, anyone who wants to recruit or help people emigrate must apply for that licence, and the Director-General keeps a register of every holder.

Who may ask you for money, and who may not

Use this table before any payment.

Who is asking	What the rules say	What you should do
A licensed OEP, for its service charge	Allowed, but only up to the prescribed amount (section 22)	Check the licence, ask for the charge in writing and get a receipt
A licensed OEP, asking for more than the prescribed charge	An offence under section 22	Refuse, keep the evidence and complain to OP&HRD
Someone who is not an OEP ("visa agent", middleman, friend)	Demanding or receiving money for a foreign job is an offence under section 22	Do not pay; report the fake recruiting agent so the case goes to the FIA
An Australian employer or its representative	Paying an employer to sponsor you is illegal, including through salary deductions	Never pay; the employer must cover its own sponsorship costs
A New Zealand employer, or a third party acting for it	Employers cannot charge fees for a job or pass on recruitment costs, even indirectly	Never pay; an offer of money can get your AEWV declined

Australia: paying for sponsorship can sink your visa

Home Affairs says it is illegal for a person to pay an employer to sponsor them for a visa, including through salary deductions, and doing so can lead to visa refusal or cancellation, fines or imprisonment. The sponsoring employer must pay all costs of becoming a sponsor and nominating you, and cannot pass them on to you or your family. The same goes for the Skilling Australians Fund levy: the employer must not pass it on to the visa applicant. The details are on the Home Affairs cost of sponsoring page.

There is also a direct test in the visa itself. Skills in Demand (subclass 482) applicants must not have asked for, offered, received or provided a benefit in return for visa sponsorship in the past 3 years. Our guide to the Skills in Demand (482) visa from Pakistan explains the rest of that visa.

Once you are working in Australia, the Fair Work Ombudsman warns that cashback schemes, where an employer unreasonably requires someone to pay them in exchange for a job, are illegal.

Cashback is only one of the problems a new worker can face. Our guide to workers' rights in Australia for visa holders covers minimum pay, pay slips, leave and who to call if your employer gets it wrong.

New Zealand: no job fees, and no offers of money

Immigration New Zealand says employers cannot charge you fees for a job or make you pay any of their recruitment costs, including indirectly through a third party. In Pakistan the request often comes from a middleman, not the employer.

The Accredited Employer Work Visa has its own rule: INZ will decline an AEWV application if you or your agent offered or promised money to the employer, or its agent, in exchange for a job offer. INZ also warns that job offer scams are common in India and South Asia. See INZ's page on protecting yourself from immigration scams, and our guide to the New Zealand AEWV from Pakistan for the visa steps.

Costs that are genuinely yours

Some costs really are yours. Home Affairs lists English language tests, health checks, police certificates and biometrics as costs you pay besides the visa charge itself.

In Pakistan, BE&OE's registration paperwork also has official items: its FAQ lists a protector fees slip, a welfare fund slip, an insurance certificate, a registration fees slip and "bank certificate or service charges (OEP refundable)" among the documents.

Document fees are published too. MOFA charges a set apostille fee by document type and charges no fee for attestation itself, only the prescribed revenue stamps. Our breakdown of the apostille fee and the other document costs in Pakistan lists the official amounts.

Genuine costs go to a test centre, a clinic, a police office, a ministry or the visa system, with a published amount and a receipt. A "job fee", "visa processing fee" or "file charge" paid to an individual for the job offer is the payment the law forbids.

Before you pay anyone: a step-by-step check

Ask who is recruiting you. Get the promoter's and employer's names in writing. If you found the job yourself, direct employment is a lawful route and you may not need a promoter at all.
Check the licence. Search the valid BE&OE list of active OEP licences, or confirm with your area's Protector of Emigrants office.
Confirm the work demand. BE&OE advises workers to confirm a valid work demand before going through an OEP.
Read the contract. Read the terms carefully, then verify them with the Protector of Emigrants. Your Foreign Service Agreement is countersigned by the Protector to make sure it is complied with.
Check the employer. For New Zealand, search INZ's accredited employer list by business number or name. For Australia, remember that ImmiAccount is the only official site for applying and that a visa you cannot find in VEVO is probably fake.
Pay only what is written, and get a receipt. BE&OE tells workers to obtain receipts for payments. Pay by a traceable method, never in cash to a person with no licence.
Never pay the employer. Not for the offer, not for the sponsorship, not through later wage deductions.

Warning signs of a pay-for-a-job offer

The Australian Government's Scamwatch lists these warning signs of job scams: unexpected contact on WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram, a quick hiring process with no interview, and a request for a "recruitment fee" or for training materials before you start.

A "work permit" for Australia is on offer. Australia doesn't issue work permits, so anyone selling one is running a scam.
Someone promises a visa or permanent residency. Home Affairs says anyone promising a visa, permanent residency or citizenship is misleading you.
You are asked to pay New Zealand visa fees into a bank account. INZ only takes card payment on its forms or payment at an approved Visa Application Centre.

A real employer interviews you properly, often by video first. Our video interview plan for Australia jobs shows what a genuine process looks like. Listings such as this Boilermaker/Metal Fabricator role in Perth are applied for directly, with no payment to anyone for the offer.

If you have already paid

Stop paying more, even if you are told one last payment will release your visa. Collect everything: receipts, bank transfer slips, chat messages, the person's phone number, and any "offer letter" you were sent.

BE&OE says a complaint against a fake recruiting agent, meaning anyone who is not a valid OEP, should include the case details and supporting documents, and is referred to the Federal Investigation Agency under Rule 29(4) of the Emigration Rules, 1979. You can also go to the FIA directly: by email at complaints@fia.gov.pk, on the helpline 051-111-345-786 & 1991, or through its online portal at complaint.fia.gov.pk.

For a complaint against a licensed OEP that overcharged you, OP&HRD's Complaint Resolution System takes complaints by email at ds.complaint@ophrd.gov.pk, by phone on 051-9208581, in person in Islamabad, or through the Pakistan Citizen's Portal.

Common mistakes

Trusting a name because others used it. Reputation is not a licence. Check the active list yourself before every payment.
Paying "the employer's side" through the agent. If part of your payment is meant for the employer, that is paying for sponsorship or a job offer, and it can cost you the visa in Australia and New Zealand.
Agreeing to salary deductions later. Home Affairs counts deductions as paying for sponsorship, and Fair Work treats cashback as illegal.
Skipping the Protector of Emigrants. Leaving outside the Ordinance is itself an offence, so a cheap shortcut that avoids registration creates a second problem.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to pay an agent for a job in Australia?

Only a licensed Overseas Employment Promoter may charge you, and only up to the prescribed amount. Anyone who is not an OEP and demands or receives money for a foreign job commits an offence under section 22 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979.

What is the punishment for taking money for a foreign job in Pakistan?

Under section 22, an OEP who overcharges, or a non-OEP who takes money for providing foreign employment, can face imprisonment of up to fourteen years and a fine of up to two million rupees.

Can an Australian employer ask me to pay for my sponsorship?

No. It is illegal to pay an employer to sponsor you, including through salary deductions, and it can lead to visa refusal or cancellation. The employer must pay its own sponsorship and nomination costs and cannot pass them on to you.

What happens if I offer money for a New Zealand job offer?

INZ will decline an AEWV application if you or your agent offered or promised money to the employer, or its agent, in exchange for a job offer. New Zealand employers also cannot charge you job fees, even through a third party.

How do I check whether an agent is a licensed OEP?

Search the active OEP licence list on the BE&OE website or confirm with your area's Protector of Emigrants office. Ask for the promoter's name in writing first, so you can match it exactly.

Key takeaways

Only a licensed OEP may charge you, and only up to the prescribed amount; anyone else taking money for a foreign job breaks section 22.
Never pay an Australian or New Zealand employer, or anyone acting for one, for a job offer or sponsorship.
Genuine costs (tests, medicals, police certificates, attestation, visa charges) go to official offices with published amounts.
Check the active OEP list, confirm the work demand, verify the contract with the Protector of Emigrants and keep every receipt.
If you have already paid, stop, collect your evidence and complain to BE&OE, OP&HRD or the FIA.

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