How to spot a fake visa consultant before you pay anyone

Moving abroad means trusting someone with your documents, your timeline and often a lot of money. That is exactly what visa and job scams are built to exploit. They target people who are hopeful, under time pressure and unfamiliar with how the process really works.

Here’s what to check before you commit to anyone, including us.

Red flags you should take seriously

• A guaranteed visa or job. No consultancy, agency or lawyer can guarantee an immigration decision. Anyone promising a guaranteed outcome, a “100% success rate” or “government approved” status is either lying or doesn’t understand the process.
• Payment by gift card, cryptocurrency, money transfer services or a personal bank account. Legitimate businesses invoice through business accounts. If you’re asked to pay any other way, stop.
• Pressure to pay before a real conversation. “Only two places left” or “price goes up tomorrow” are sales tactics, not immigration rules.
• Fees for things that are free. Visa appointments at German missions are free. Official forms are free. No one can sell you a faster decision.
• Job offers you never applied for. Especially offers with high pay, no interview, and a request to pay for a “work permit”, “insurance” or “training”.
• Requests for documents out of nowhere, through an unknown link, a new phone number or a different account from the one you’ve been talking to.
• Fake official branding. Websites or WhatsApp profiles using an embassy logo, German eagle or government-sounding name to look official.
• No verifiable identity. No company name, no address, no imprint (Impressum), no names of real people.

How to check a consultancy is genuine

1. Look for the Impressum. Every commercial website in Germany must show the company’s legal name, address and contact details, and, where applicable, the register court and number.
2. Check the company register. German companies can be looked up in the official commercial register (Handelsregister) and the Unternehmensregister.
3. Ask how they’re paid. You should receive a written offer and an invoice. A real firm explains its fees before you commit.
4. Ask what they will not do. An honest consultant tells you the limits: they cannot guarantee a visa, and individual legal advice on residence law in Germany is reserved for lawyers.
5. Compare with official sources. The Federal Foreign Office, your local German embassy, and the government portal Make it in Germany publish the real requirements and fees.
6. Search for reviews outside their website. Look at Google reviews, Trustpilot and community forums, and be cautious of reviews that all appeared at once.

Job offer scams

A common pattern is a “recruiter” contacting you on WhatsApp or social media with a job in Germany, the Netherlands or Poland. The job looks real. Then come the fees: for a contract, a work permit, a medical test, accommodation or a flight.

Remember:

• Reputable recruiters are paid by the employer. Large upfront fees from the worker, especially before you’ve seen a verifiable contract, are a major warning sign.
• Real employers don’t ask you to pay for your own work permit.
• A genuine contract names a real company you can verify in its country’s company register.

If you’ve already paid

1. Stop all further payments, even if they threaten that you’ll lose what you’ve already paid.
2. Keep evidence: screenshots, phone numbers, bank details, receipts and emails.
3. Contact your bank or payment provider immediately; some transfers can still be stopped or recalled.
4. Report it to the police in your country.
5. Inform the embassy if someone used its name or logo.
6. Beware of “recovery” scams. People who promise to get your money back for a fee are usually the same scammers, or new ones.

How EuropeanPath works

We hold ourselves to the same checklist:

• the first consultation is free, and we tell you honestly if a route won’t work;
• we never guarantee a visa decision;
• fees are quoted in writing before any work starts and invoiced to our business account;
• we never ask for payment by gift card, cryptocurrency or transfer to a personal account;
• we only request documents through the conversation you’ve already started with us.

If anyone claiming to be EuropeanPath contacts you in a way that doesn’t match this, contact us directly to verify before you do anything else.