Paying an agent for a job abroad in Nigeria: which fees are real and which are a red flag

Tips · 2026-10-31 · 9 min read

Paying an agent for a job abroad is where many Nigerian applicants lose their savings. The rule is simple: you pay official bodies for your own documents and, where the rules say so, for your own visa application, and you never pay a person to "secure" a job or a sponsor. The EFCC warns that "no credible employer demands pre-employment payments for whatever reason from prospective employees", and Australia and New Zealand both treat payment for a job offer as a breach of their rules.

The two kinds of money in a japa plan

Every naira in a move to Australia or New Zealand falls into one of two groups. The first group is money paid to an official body for a document or application in your own name. The second is money paid to a person who promises to open a door: the job, the sponsor, the visa or a "slot".

The first group has published amounts and an official receipt. The second has none of that, only a WhatsApp number and a deadline. Our guide to testing a fake Australian job offer email shows how the pressure usually starts.

What you may pay, and who gets the money

The table lists the payments that really exist, with the amount the official body publishes. Use it as a checklist: if a "fee" is not on a page like these, ask why.

Payment	Paid to	What the official page says
International passport	Nigeria Immigration Service	N100,000 for 32 pages and 5 years, or N200,000 for 64 pages and 10 years, exclusive of bank charges
Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) application	Department of Home Affairs, through ImmiAccount	Base application charge of AUD4,015.00 in each stream, with other costs for English tests, health checks, police certificates and biometrics
New Zealand Accredited Employer Work Visa	Immigration New Zealand	From NZD $1540; INZ never asks for visa fees to be paid into a bank account, only by card or at an approved Visa Application Centre
Sponsor and nomination costs	Paid by the employer	The employer must pay all costs of becoming a sponsor and nominating you and cannot pass them to you or your family
"Job placement" or "slot" fee	A person or agent	Not an official fee anywhere: paying an employer to sponsor you is illegal in Australia, and INZ declines an AEWV when money was offered for a job offer

Check the passport line against our passport fee guide, and the visa lines against the exact Australian visa charges. Our explainers on the Skills in Demand (482) visa and the New Zealand AEWV show where each charge falls in the process.

What you should never pay

Never pay anyone for the job offer itself. Home Affairs says paying an employer to sponsor you is illegal, and that it can lead to visa refusal or cancellation, fines or imprisonment. It makes no difference if the money is taken from your salary later.

Australia's Fair Work Ombudsman also calls cashback schemes illegal, meaning an employer who unreasonably requires someone to pay them in exchange for a job. In New Zealand, employers cannot charge you fees for a job or make you pay any of their recruitment costs, including indirectly through a third party.

The same goes for charges that sound official but are not: a "work permit" fee (Australia does not issue work permits), a "clearance" fee to someone claiming a link to the High Commission, or a second payment to "release" a visa. The EFCC adds that visa scammers claim embassy connections, demand repeated fees and may issue fake visas that lead to arrest at exit or entry ports.

Who may charge you for help

Some professionals can lawfully charge for visa help, and the difference is whether the person is on a public register.

Australia: anyone giving immigration assistance must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person. Registered agents are listed on the OMARA register and have a MARN. Exempt persons, such as a sponsor or a close family member, must not charge a fee.
New Zealand: immigration advice must come from an adviser licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority unless exempt, and you can check the IAA's public register. You are not required to use an adviser, and INZ does not prioritise an application because one is used.
Nigeria: an agency that recruits for work outside Nigeria needs a Recruiter's Licence for international placement from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment. The NELEX portal lists accredited agencies, but the public list shows only name, registration number and contact details, so ask the agency for its licence category in writing.

Our two checking guides cover the details: registered migration agent or japa consultant and how to check that a recruitment agency is licensed. A licence tells you the agency is known to the Ministry. It does not turn a payment for a job into a legal one.

If you see our name used, note that NaijaAbroad's Contact page says that if anyone claiming to represent NaijaAbroad asks you for payment, you should check with the team there first. Applying through a vacancy means reading the requirements and sending your CV, as the Head Chef vacancy in Brisbane shows. A tidy CV from Build AI CV costs you effort, not a placement fee.

What has changed: the warnings so far

Official warnings keep repeating the same pattern. On March 6, 2026, NiDCOM's Chairman asked the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora to ensure the Ministry of Labour enforces stricter regulations against fraudulent agents issuing deceptive work visa offers to Nigerians seeking jobs abroad. That was a request for tougher enforcement, so it does not by itself change what you must do.

In March 2024 NAPTIP warned that traffickers were luring job seekers with fake oil, gas and gold mining jobs in Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia, telling victims to bring up to N850,000. NAPTIP urged people to "exercise caution, ask questions, and seek a second opinion" before accepting offers. Our summary of NAPTIP's fake jobs warning lists the red flags. On the pay-then-travel trap, JobsAbroad Pakistan's guide on paying money for a job abroad reaches the same conclusion for its readers.

How to test a payment request, step by step

Ask what the payment is for and who receives it. Write the answer down.
Find the amount on an official page: Home Affairs' visa pricing table, INZ's visa page or the Nigeria Immigration Service fee schedule. If you cannot find it, do not pay.
Check who receives the money. Visa charges go to the immigration department through its own system, and INZ never asks for fees to be paid into a bank account.
Ask the employer, not the agent, to confirm the job offer in writing from an email address you can check. Home Affairs says emails claiming to be from the department that do not end in .gov.au are scams.
Look up the sponsor or the agent on the register that applies, whether OMARA, the IAA or the INZ accredited employer list.
Wait a day. A real job survives a day of checking; a scam usually adds a deadline.

Common mistakes Nigerian applicants make

Paying to "reserve" a sponsor. The sponsor's costs belong to the sponsor, and paying for sponsorship can lead to refusal or cancellation of your visa.
Believing a visa promise. No one can promise an Australian visa, permanent residency or citizenship, and a temporary New Zealand visa carries no promise of residence.
Sending a passport scan to a stranger. Scamwatch advises never sending your passport or identity documents to an employer or recruitment firm unless you are certain they are genuine.
Accepting a visit visa for a work contract. A visitor visa does not let you work in Australia, as our visit visa work contract trap guide explains.
Paying the "embassy". The Australian High Commission does not process visa applications, so an "embassy fee" for one is a red flag.
Paying twice to fix the first payment. Scammers return for "release" or "clearance" fees once you have shown you will pay.

This is general information, not migration or legal advice. Check every amount on the official page before you pay.

Frequently asked questions

Is it ever legal to pay someone to get me a job in Australia?

No. Home Affairs says it is illegal to pay an employer to sponsor you, including through salary deductions, and Fair Work says cashback schemes that make you pay for a job are illegal. A registered migration agent may charge for genuine visa help, but that is a fee for a service, not a payment for a job.

Can I pay a registered migration agent?

Yes, if the person is on the Register of Migration Agents kept by OMARA and has a MARN. Paying for lodging or advice is a different thing from paying for a job offer. An exempt person, such as your sponsor or a close family member, may help with the application but must not charge a fee.

What if my employer says I must repay the sponsorship costs from my salary?

Treat it as a warning. The sponsoring employer must pay all costs of becoming a sponsor and nominating you, and cannot transfer them to you or your family. Employers must also not pass the Skilling Australians Fund levy on to the visa applicant. Keep your payslips and contract and report it.

Do I pay the Australian High Commission in Abuja for my visa?

No. The High Commission does not process visa or citizenship applications. These are managed by the Department of Home Affairs and lodged through ImmiAccount, so anyone asking you to pay "the embassy" for a visa or a job is not using an official route.

I already paid an agent. What should I do now?

Stop sending money, keep every message, receipt and transfer record, and report it. The Australian High Commission asks people to report suspected scams to local police, to Scamwatch, or through the Home Affairs Border Watch form. Do not pay a second person who offers to "recover" the first payment.

Key takeaways

Pay official bodies for your own passport and visa application, using published amounts, and never pay a person for a job or a sponsor.
The employer must carry the sponsor and nomination costs, and paying for sponsorship is illegal in Australia.
Use the public registers (OMARA, the IAA, NELEX, INZ's accredited employer list) before any agent gets money.
If you have paid, stop, keep records and report it to the police and Scamwatch.

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