Scam Awareness — Spotting Fake Recruitment Agencies in Nepal

Nepal's Department of Foreign Employment estimates that hundreds of millions of rupees are lost annually to fraudulent recruitment. Most victims are first-time migrants from rural districts who have limited information about the legitimate process. The good news: virtually every known scam follows one of a small number of recognisable patterns. Learn them once and you will never be caught.

The 10 red flags of a fraudulent agency

1. Promises that sound too good to be true. "NPR 5 lakh salary, no experience required, free visa, leave in 2 weeks." Real overseas employment has realistic salary ranges, experience prerequisites, and DOFE timelines that take 4–8 weeks minimum. If the offer sounds extraordinary, assume it is fabricated until proven otherwise.
2. No physical registered office. Every DOFE-licensed agency must have a registered physical address. If you can only meet via Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, a café, or a hotel lobby — that is not a registered agency. Visit the physical office and compare the address to what is listed on dofe.gov.np.
3. No DOFE licence number on letterhead, contract or website. Legitimate agencies display their DOFE licence number prominently. If you cannot find it — ask. If they cannot produce it — leave.
4. Fee significantly above the DOFE cap. The regulated service charge for Gulf countries is NPR 10,000 (plus actual costs — medical, welfare fund, courier). If someone wants NPR 1–5 lakh upfront, that is the entire scam in a single sentence. There is no legitimate basis for this charge.
5. Cash payments with no official receipt. Every legitimate transaction in Nepal's recruitment industry produces a stamped, dated receipt from the registered agency. "We'll give you the receipt later" or "it's just a processing advance" are red flags.
6. Pressure to fly on a tourist or visit visa. "Go on visit visa first; we will convert it to a work visa once you are there." This is illegal in every destination — the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia and Europe all prohibit working on tourist visas. You arrive, cannot work legally, your passport may be confiscated by the exploitative employer, and you are trapped with no recourse.
7. No written employment contract before flight. The signed contract must be in your possession before you pay any agency fee, before you undergo medical, before you attend PDO, and certainly before you board any flight. A verbal promise of a contract is not a contract.
8. Request to permanently surrender your passport. Agencies may hold your passport briefly for visa stamping (days). Permanent retention — or "we will keep it until you return" — is a trafficking red flag. Your passport is your property at all times.
9. Artificial urgency and pressure tactics. "Only 3 seats left on this vacancy — pay today or lose your spot." DOFE pre-approval timelines do not work on day-by-day urgency. Real opportunities can be verified and processed methodically. Scammers create urgency to prevent you from verifying their claims.
10. Job title or salary changes at the last minute. The classic bait-and-switch: you signed as a restaurant waiter at NPR 3 lakh; you arrive to find a security guard contract at NPR 1.5 lakh. Any change to the job title, salary, working hours or accommodation from what was in your original contract is grounds to refuse departure and file a DOFE complaint.

How to verify any agency in 3 minutes

1. Open dofe.gov.np on your phone or computer.
2. Navigate to "Licensed Agencies" or "Manpower Companies."
3. Search by company name OR by licence number.
4. Confirm: the licence is currently active (not expired, suspended or cancelled).
5. Cross-check the registered address with where the agency physically operates.
6. Check the director name matches the person you are dealing with.
7. Verify the specific vacancy has a Swikrit Mang (pre-approval) number — the agency can show you the DOFE pre-approval printout for your job.

For reference: Power Support Employment Pvt. Ltd. holds DOFE licence number 1710/081/082, registered at Sinamangal-09, Kathmandu 44100, Nepal. You can and should verify this on dofe.gov.np, and do the same for any other agency.

Common fraud patterns — know them by name

The "visit visa now, work visa later" scam

You are told to fly on a tourist or visit visa; "the company will convert it to a work visa once you arrive." This is illegal in every country we recruit for. Upon arrival, you cannot work legally, your employer (who may be a different, unscrupulous person from who was described) can confiscate your passport because you have no legal residency. You are effectively trafficked into forced labour or debt bondage. The only way out is emergency embassy intervention.

The "free visa, free ticket — but pay processing fees" scam

The advertised position genuinely sounds real. The employer name may even be verifiable. But the agent asks for NPR 1–5 lakh in "processing," "seat reservation" or "agency commission" above the regulated limit, framing it as the cost of a premium FVFT placement. There is no such thing. Free-visa, free-ticket positions process under DOFE pre-approval with a maximum NPR 10,000 service charge. Any amount above that is illegal.

The Facebook recruiter scam

A "recruitment consultant" contacts you on social media with photos and videos of a real Gulf company, professional-looking contracts and fake testimonials from "placed workers." They ask for an advance payment to "reserve your position in the next batch." The real company may not know they exist. Once you pay, the recruiter becomes uncontactable. Variants: phone-based scams using a call-centre setup in another city.

The fabricated demand letter scam

The agency shows you a printed demand letter bearing a real Gulf company's name and logo — often downloaded from a legitimate company website and modified. To verify: ask for the DOFE pre-approval (Swikrit Mang) number for this specific vacancy, then search it on the DOFE portal under Active Vacancies. A fabricated demand letter will have no corresponding pre-approval on the government system.

The labour loan trap

You are encouraged to take a high-interest loan from a local moneylender (sahu) — sometimes arranged by the agent themselves — to pay inflated recruitment fees. You arrive abroad, discover the job conditions or salary are nothing like advertised, but you cannot return because you are indebted. This debt bondage is a form of trafficking under Nepal's Human Trafficking and Transportation Control Act 2007.

The "overseas training" scam

You are offered a paid "overseas training" programme where you pay NPR 50,000–2 lakh for training in a Gulf country or Malaysia with a job guaranteed at the end. The "training" may be real or fictitious; the guaranteed job is not. Training fees above the regulated limit paid in exchange for job guarantees are illegal under the Foreign Employment Act.

Common patterns we see reported

These are general patterns described by DOFE and migrant-worker NGOs, not individual cases:

• Visit-visa jobs. A recruiter on Facebook takes a large payment for a "free visa" job and sends the worker on a visit visa. On arrival the employer is a different company from the contract, hours are excessive and the worker cannot work legally. Recovery usually needs embassy help and often means going home with most of the money lost.
• The phone-only agent. Someone with no office takes money for a job, then stops answering. No visa was ever applied for. A police complaint under the Foreign Employment Act is the route, but money is hard to recover.
• The village subagent. A local subagent collects a large sum and passes the worker to a Kathmandu "agency" that may not be licensed. Even when a licensed agency files the documents, the subagent's fee is illegal and hard to recover. Lesson: deal directly with the DOFE-licensed agency, not through subagents.

What to do if you have been scammed

1. Document everything immediately. Bank receipts, all WhatsApp/Messenger/SMS conversations (screenshot and forward to your email), photos of any office or agency signboard, full names and phone numbers of every person you dealt with, names of any witnesses.
2. File a complaint with DOFE. Online at dofe.gov.np → Complaints, or in person at DOFE New Baneshwor, Kathmandu. Include all documentary evidence. DOFE investigates and can revoke agency licences.
3. File a First Information Report (FIR) with Nepal Police. Go to your local police station. Recruitment fraud is a criminal offence under the Foreign Employment Act 2007 — agencies can face heavy fines and up to 5 years imprisonment. Keep your FIR number — you will need it for further proceedings.
4. Contact the Foreign Employment Tribunal. The specialised tribunal at Kathmandu hears recruitment-fraud cases and can order compensation. Legal-aid desks assist workers who cannot afford lawyers.
5. Reach out to migrant-worker support NGOs. Pourakhi Nepal (+977 1 5530875), Amkas Nepal, NIDS — all offer free legal aid, psychological support and case management for victims of recruitment fraud.

Helping others avoid scams

If you identify a scam pattern or a fraudulent agency, share your warning in Nepali Facebook groups dedicated to labour migration ("Bidesh Jane Sajha Baato," "Nepali Workers Forum" and similar groups have hundreds of thousands of members). One warning post can prevent dozens of future victims.

If you are unsure about a specific agency or job offer, you are welcome to ask us. Call +977 1 5922710or message +977 9851062224 on WhatsApp. You can also verify any agency yourself on dofe.gov.np. Contact us.