Fraudulent Schemes

The most common mistake is the failure to exercise caution in using services of intermediary agencies. Regrettably, a number of fraudulent agencies operate nowadays in Ukraine and our citizens lose their money and harm their health because of entrusting themselves to frauds and human traffickers. There are a few fraudulent scenarios people fall prey to.

Scenario 1. "We promised to provide informational-consultative services..."

You sign a contract with an intermediary employment agency and pay them for finding you a job and helping you with travel arrangements. You don’t pay attention to the fact that your contract only obliges the intermediary agency to provide you with informational-consultative services. The company creates an illusion of finding you a job, you apply for a visa, and the embassy refuses to issue you a visa. You request your money back from the agency but they say: “As specified in your contract, we promised to provide informational-consultative services.”

The cost of such “services” ranges from $500 to $2,000 or sometimes even $3,000 per client.

You need to know that “informational-consultative services”, as a rule, consist of assistance with preparing the proper documents, and filling out an application or a questionnaire for an interview in the embassy, yet do not in any way guarantee employment.

Scenario 2. "We will get you a work visa!"

You need to know that, as a rule, it is impossible to obtain a work visa through an intermediary. You must PERSONALLY contact the consular department of the embassy, submit PERSONALLY all the required documents, and have a face-to-face interview as required by the consular department.

Only a tourist or business visa (in some exceptional cases – also temporary work visa for seasonal employment) may be obtained through an intermediary. So when someone offers to get you a work visa, you will either receive your passport back with a forged visa or be denied a visa. The subsequent events will follow Scenario 1. Thus, if someone offers to apply for your work visa instead of you, do check with the respective embassy whether the intermediary actually has the right to submit your work visa application on your behalf.

The worst development of this scenario is to become a victim of human trafficking.

Scenario 3. "You will travel with a Schengen visa, and you will be issued a work visa in the country of your destination upon arrival"

You indeed arrive to your destination country and you are compelled to work illegally. You become totally unprotected from abuse and exploitation by your employer and you are in constant fear of being arrested by the police.

Remember that it is IMPOSSIBLE to travel abroad on a Schengen visa and change it then for a work visa. Do not believe those who promise you this. Full employment with a guest, business, sports, student or other non-work visa is illegal and thus leaves youunprotected.

Scenario 4. "You didn't pay us; we don't know this person/company"

You contact an intermediary firm, pay for its foreign employment services, and receive a receipt from a non-existent firm or a private entrepreneur but not from the agency specified in your contract. When you request your money back, a representative of the agency tells you with a look of surprise: “You didn’t pay us; we don’t know this person/firm.”

Scenario 5. "The company had an office here for a couple of days..."

An intermediary agency opens an office for a couple of days at a certain address, promises attractive employment opportunities, collects money from trusting clients, and then disappears with their money.

There are a few other scenarios. That is why you should better pay your attention to the safety tips, which provide advices and point at commonly made mistakes that should be avoided for the sake of your own safety.