India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has released a list of nearly 500 unregistered recruitment agents in an attempt to forewarn people who may fall prey to them. MEA has cancelled their licences on several grounds ranging from alleged cheating to overcharging their clients.
These 502 recruitment agents were alluring clients desirous of reaching “greener pastures” overseas by getting them to apply for work permits in foreign countries through them.
SBS Punjabi has learnt that the release of this list has created panic amongst those businesses whose names have been mentioned in it.
The list is categorised on the basis of states and Union Territories (UTs) of India.
The maximum number of such businesses is in Maharashtra at 86, followed by Delhi at 85 and Punjab at 76. Chandigarh is close behind at 22. Kerela has 24 such businesses listed while Gujarat has none.
Over the past few years, MEA had been receiving complaints from people regarding the deceitful treatment meted out to them by these recruitment agents.
They were sent overseas on fake work permits, primarily to Gulf countries, which often landed them in jail upon reaching those countries.
Some complaints pertained to applicants of student or work visas being fleeced by such agents. Unsuspecting clients, often from uneducated and rural backgrounds, were made to pay several multiples of the airfare and visa fee by such recruitment agents.
After the list was uploaded on the MEA website, many offices running such unscrupulous businesses reportedly showed hectic activity such as managing and destruction of their databases and paperwork.
The list can be accessed on the MEA website at https://emigrate.gov.in . Names, addresses, phone numbers and websites of such unauthorised recruitment agents are available in this list.
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