Workers · Scams
Fake Sponsorship Job Offers — How to Tell If an Offer Is Real
Every week people write to us about an Australian job offer that arrived through a WhatsApp agent, with “sponsorship already approved” and a fee to pay. Most of these are not real. A genuine sponsorship offer has a shape you can check, and some things a real employer will never ask of you. This page lists the warning signs, the checks you can do yourself in ten minutes, and where to report a scam.
By Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536) since 2015 · WIDEN, Sydney · Reviewed October 2026
Keshab Chapagain · MARN 1576536 · Registered since 2015 - Paying for sponsorship
- Unlawful
- 482 salary floor
- A$79,423 + super
- Check an agent
- OMARA register
The migration agent that other migration agents learn from. WIDEN is an OMARA-approved CPD provider — our training is rated ★4.8 by 40+ registered migration agents.
About the CPD →MARN 1576536
Have an offer you are not sure about? Get it checked before you pay anything.
In the consultation I go through the offer, the employer and the role against the occupation lists and the salary rules, and tell you whether it can be genuine and what a real nomination would need.
What it costs. $330 inc. GST for 30 minutes by video with Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536), credited in full against our professional fee if you engage WIDEN. Advice confirmed in writing after the call. There is no free consultation or free assessment.
The warning signs
- You are asked to pay for the job, the sponsorship, a “visa processing fee” or a “job guarantee”. It is unlawful for anyone to ask for or receive payment for sponsorship.
- “Sponsorship approved” before anything has been lodged in your name. A nomination names you and is lodged by the employer; nobody can tell you it is approved before it exists.
- The job is not on the occupation lists, such as data entry, cleaning, general labour or most warehouse work. A standard 482 cannot be granted for it.
- The salary is below the A$79,423 threshold for the 482, or is described in vague terms.
- Contact only through WhatsApp or a personal email address, with a well-known company name but no company email or phone.
- Pressure to pay or decide quickly, or to keep it secret.
Checks you can do yourself
- Look the company up yourself (not through links you were sent) and contact it through its official website to ask whether the role and the recruiter are real.
- Check the occupation on the Core Skills list and the salary against the threshold.
- Check that anyone giving you visa advice is a registered migration agent on the OMARA register, or an Australian legal practitioner.
- Check whether the business appears on the Department’s published list of approved sponsors; SponsorTalent lets you search it.
What a real offer looks like
A genuine employer interviews you, puts the offer in writing on company letterhead, pays the sponsorship and nomination charges itself (they cannot be passed on to you), and lodges a nomination that names you and the occupation. You lodge your own visa application, usually with your own registered migration agent. The process takes weeks to months, and nobody can promise the outcome.
If you have already paid
- Stop all further payments, and keep every message, receipt and account number.
- Contact your bank or the payment provider straight away.
- Do not send passports, identity documents or more money to the same contact.
Where to report it
Report scams to Scamwatch, and visa or sponsorship fraud to the Department of Home Affairs through Border Watch. If someone claiming to be a migration agent was involved, you can also complain to the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority.
General information only, current at October 2026; not advice on your own case. Outcomes depend on the Department’s assessment of each application; no registered migration agent can guarantee a result (Code of Conduct, Migration Agents Regulations). Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536.
Not sure which visa fits you?
Answer three questions. An automated guide points you to the route that usually applies. General information only.
Check your case
Tell Keshab your situation. He reads it personally and replies within a business day with which route fits you and whether a consultation is worth your money. Not an assessment of your file, no advice on it, no obligation.
How this works: Keshab reads every case check himself and replies personally, usually within a business day: which route fits, what it turns on, and whether a consultation is worth your money. If it is, he offers you a time; if it is not, he says so.
Ready now? Skip the form. Pick a time and talk to Keshab directly — your documents on the table, a straight answer, and a written summary afterwards. $330 inc. GST, credited toward your fee if you engage.
Pick a time — no enquiry needed →Questions we get asked first
Is it legal to pay for a sponsored job in Australia?
No. It is unlawful for anyone to ask for, receive, offer or give a payment or other benefit in return for sponsorship.
Can a job offer say sponsorship is already approved?
Not before a nomination naming you has been lodged and decided. An offer that claims approval before then is a warning sign.
Can an employer sponsor me for data entry or cleaning?
Not on the standard 482: those occupations are not on the lists. An offer for them is very likely not genuine.
How can I check a migration agent?
Search the OMARA register of migration agents. Registered agents have a MARN, and Australian legal practitioners can also give immigration advice.
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