“I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.”
Mahatma Gandhi, Young India, 1 June 1921
Gandhi spent twenty-one years in South Africa working with Indian labourers who had been recruited on promises made in villages very like the ones our candidates come from. He is worth quoting here for the second half of the line. Open the windows. Take the opportunity. And keep your feet, because the person most likely to sweep you off them is the one being warmest to you about a job that has not been filed anywhere.
Source: Ministry of External Affairs, guidelines for registration as Recruiting Agents under the Emigration Act, 1983, checked August 2026. Credit insurance is now permitted alongside the bank guarantee.
What a Recruiting Agent actually is
Under the Emigration Act, 1983, no one may recruit an Indian citizen for employment abroad without a Registration Certificate issued by the Protector General of Emigrants. Getting one is deliberately hard. The applicant lodges a ₹50 lakh bank guarantee, which the government can call on if the agent abandons workers or breaches the conditions. The certificate then runs for five years and has to be renewed.
That deposit is the practical difference between a registered agent and a persuasive man with a phone. It is money the agent has already put at risk against their own conduct. It is also why the check below matters more than anything they tell you about themselves.
The three-minute check
- Ask for the Registration Certificate number and the name it is issued in. Not a photograph of an office, not a website, the RC number. A registered agent gives it immediately because they are asked several times a week.
- Check the name against the government's own list. The Ministry of External Affairs publishes the register of active Recruiting Agents. Search for the exact registered name, not the brand on the signboard, and confirm the state and district match where the office actually is.
- Check the expiry. A certificate valid five years ago is not valid now. An agent whose registration has lapsed is, at that moment, in exactly the same legal position as someone who never held one.
- Ask who your file will be filed under. If you are dealing with a sub-agent, the job is filed under the registered agent they work for. You are entitled to that agent's name and number, and to see the authorisation in writing.
- Ask what they will charge, in writing, before you pay anything. A number said aloud in an office is not a number you can hold anyone to. Run the offer letter itself past these twelve checks at the same time.
Registered agent, sub-agent, and neither
Most candidates in Hyderabad first meet a sub-agent, and there is nothing improper about that in itself. What matters is whether the sub-agent is working under a registered agent and says so, or is quietly pretending to be one.
| Registered agent | Sub-agent under one | Neither | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holds an RC number you can look up | Yes | No, but names the agent who does | No |
| ₹50 lakh lodged with the government | Yes | Through the registered agent | Nothing at risk |
| Can file your job on eMigrate | Yes | Through the registered agent | No |
| Bound to give you costs in writing | Yes | Yes, the same duty | No duty at all |
| You can complain to the government about them | Yes | Yes, through the registered agent | Only to the police |
| Will tell you which of these they are | Yes | Yes, if honest | Never |
The last row is the one to remember. The distinction between a registered agent and a sub-agent is not a secret and not an embarrassment. Refusing to answer which one they are is the finding.
What any payment should come with
Whatever you are asked to pay, and whoever asks, the paperwork is the part you control. Every payment should come with a receipt naming what it was for, because a payment with no receipt is a payment that never happened, and it is the first thing anyone looking into a complaint will ask you for.
Ask for the costs in writing before you pay anything, itemised rather than bundled into one figure. An agency that is straight with you will put it in writing without being pushed, and the ones worth avoiding are the ones that want the money first and the detail later.
Questions worth asking, and the answers you want
Ask these in one sitting. The answers matter less than how readily they come.
- Which registered agent is my file with, and what is the RC number? Should be immediate.
- Which employer, and are they registered on eMigrate? Should be a name and a yes.
- What exactly will I be charged, and for what? Should be in writing.
- Will I get a receipt for every payment? Should be yes, without hesitation.
- Can I see the contract before I pay anything? Should be yes.
- What happens to my money if the visa is refused? Should be a clear answer, not a reassurance.
Where Disha fits, honestly
Disha Global Workforce works under the authorisation of a licensed Recruiting Agent, and we do not hold our own Registration Certificate. That is the second column of the table above, and we would rather you read it here than discover it later and wonder what else was not said.
So apply the same three checks to us. Ask which registered agent your application is filed under. Ask for the authorisation. Ask what any charge is for and insist on it in writing with a receipt before you pay. We recruit candidates with Non-ECR passports and a minimum qualification of 10+2, for the countries we actually serve in the Gulf, Southeast Asia and parts of Europe. Everything else you have been told about us by someone else is worth checking too.
Ask us the questions on this page
Send us the list. We will answer every one in writing, including which registered agent your file would sit with.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check whether a recruiting agent is registered?
Ask for the Registration Certificate number and the exact name it is issued in, then search for that name on the Ministry of External Affairs list of active Recruiting Agents and confirm the state and district match the office you visited. Check the expiry as well, because a certificate runs for five years and a lapsed one carries no more weight than none at all.
What should I get for any payment I make?
A receipt naming what the payment was for, and the costs set out in writing before you pay, itemised rather than bundled into a single figure. Costs paid to other parties, such as passport reissue, attestation or the medical examination, should be listed separately from anything the agency itself charges, so you can see which is which.
Is it a problem if I am dealing with a sub-agent rather than a registered agent?
Not in itself, provided the sub-agent says so and names the registered agent your file will be filed under. The job is filed on eMigrate by the registered agent. What should worry you is a sub-agent who implies they hold their own Registration Certificate, or who will not tell you whose authorisation they work under.
What is the bank guarantee for?
A registered agent lodges ₹50 lakh with the government as security against their own conduct, and it can be called on if they abandon workers or breach the conditions of registration. It is the practical difference between an agent who has put something at risk and one who has not. Credit insurance is now permitted as an alternative form of that security.
What should I do if I have already paid an unregistered agent?
Gather every document you have, including receipts, messages, the offer letter and any bank transfer records, and file a complaint with the police and with the Protector of Emigrants. Do not send more money in the hope of recovering what you have already paid, which is the most common way a loss doubles. If the person is a sub-agent of a registered agent, raise it with that registered agent as well.
This article explains the legal position as it stood on 29 August 2026 and is general information, not legal advice. Registration requirements and the published agent list change. Always confirm against the Ministry of External Affairs before acting.