Verify a Recruitment Agent

Fraudulent recruitment is one of the most common and most damaging problems migrant workers face — fake job offers, agents who disappear after collecting a fee, and licensed agencies that quietly let unlicensed sub-agents work under their name. Verifying an agent before you pay anything is one of the single most effective things you can do to protect yourself.

Why verification matters

A licensed, verified agent is accountable to a regulator and to ILSI's own due diligence standards. An unverified agent — even one who seems friendly, knowledgeable, or connected to people you know — may have no real job to offer at all.

How to verify an agent

1. Ask the agent for their full name, agency name, and licence number.
2. Enter these details into the verification tool below.
3. The tool will confirm whether the agent is currently licensed and whether ILSI has any active alerts about them.

If you do not have internet access, call the ILSI helpline and a staff member can check for you. You should also review current scam alerts for recruitment fraud patterns specific to your corridor.

Warning signs to watch for

Be cautious of an agent who pressures you to decide or pay quickly, who cannot or will not provide a licence number, who asks you to pay in cash with no receipt, or who asks to hold your passport or original documents before you travel. None of these on their own proves fraud, but together they are strong reasons to verify before proceeding — see also our scam alerts for confirmed fraud patterns.

If verification fails

A failed verification does not automatically mean the person is a fraud, but it does mean you should not proceed, or pay any fee, until ILSI has confirmed their status directly, for example through the helpline. If you believe you have already been defrauded by an agent, see report a recruiter.

Verifying more than once

A licence that was valid last month is not guaranteed to be valid today — licences can be suspended or revoked. It is reasonable to verify an agent again if significant time has passed since your last check, or if anything about the arrangement has changed, such as a different fee or a new sub-agent being introduced.