50 fake agencies may sour your foreign job dream

There are 16 registered foreign employment agencies in Karnataka, the names of which can be found at the emigrate.gov.in.
50 fake agencies may sour your foreign job dream

BENGALURU: The office of the Protector of Emigrants (PoE) in Bengaluru has written to all the district police chiefs in Karnataka alerting them about 50 fake foreign recruitment agents/agencies, which are trapping gullible people wishing to go overseas for employment. There are 16 registered foreign employment agencies in Karnataka, the names of which can be found at the emigrate.gov.in.

Of the 50 illegal agents/agencies, 17 operate in Mangaluru, 11 in Bengaluru, four in Belagavi, three in Shivamogga, two in Hassan, one each in Dharwad, Udupi, Davangere and Haveri districts. Besides these, nine other illegal foreign recruitment agents/agencies are spread across the State. “There could be many more such fake foreign recruiting entities in the State, which are yet to be unearthed,” said an official source.

According to sources, the PoE in the letter dated August 6 has stated that these illegal individuals/agencies keep the resumes of prospective migrants from their region and seek relevant information about overseas job requirements from the registered foreign recruitment agencies and employers through open source – social media platforms.

It said these illegal headhunters work as unauthorised “sub agents” and charge Rs 5,000 per candidate from the registered agencies and the applicant. In case, the requirements are raised by a foreign employer, the amount of money received from them by these individuals/agencies is not known. Money is paid in cash or online in the name of the third party.

Under the Emigration Act, 1983, it is mandatory for an individual or organisation to have a valid registration certificate to function as an agent for overseas recruitments. The violators are liable to be charged under Section 10 and 24 (i) (g) of the Act in addition to several relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Income Tax and the Passport Acts. Under the Emigration Act, a registered agent can charge up to Rs 30,000 per candidate. But it has come to the notice of the PoE that these illegal entities are charging double the amount from  the applicants.

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