The illegal recruiter will contact you and offer you a secure and safe way to a job or a guaranteed way to work abroad quickly and avoiding the legal restrictions or barriers.

The following are only a few approaches the illegal recruiters may use:

• Leaving the country as a tourist to work abroad – a quicker and cheaper way to obtain visa than a work visa and a work permit. Keep in mind that using tourist visas leaves you vulnerable to labour abuses! Be aware and never accept other forms of visa instead of working visa. This is a violation of the law, and it is a criminal offence in the destination country.
• Camouflaged participation in attendance in conferences, religious events, sports competitions, educational tours, pilgrimage, and related events. Stay safe and do not accept any arrangements without a real job order or labour contract. Ask the recruiting agency to show the demand letter and power of attorney from the foreign employer.
• Student-worker or trainee-worker scheme – students were leaving in the guise of a traineeship program. Stay safe and do not deal with training centres and travel agencies, which promise overseas employment.

Illegal recruiters can easily fake documents. Some will look just like the real ones, but others might have warning signs, such as generic rather than a personal greeting, names of organisations that don't exist, poor quality grammar and spelling.

Documents such as flight itineraries and labour contracts have simple, uncomplicated layouts. This means that illegal recruiters can easily create fake documents by using information available online such as company logos and graphics from websites.

Be aware of the following forms of illegal recruitment using counterfeit documents or correspondence:

• By Correspondence – applicants are encouraged by the recruiter to comply with employment requirements and placements through mail, using false labour offers.

Blind Ads – fraudulent and misleading advertisements promising facility of employment

If you need more information about any of the above, you may contact the MRCs anytime through email, FB, or hotline number.

Take into consideration that irregular emigration to a foreign country is an illegal act, posing severe penalties.