Red flags bago ka magbayad
Seven warning signs, each backed by an official source. One red flag doesn't automatically mean a scam, but it means stop and verify before sending any money.
🚩 1. They ask you to pay for the LMIA or the job offer.
Buying and selling LMIA positions is prohibited. Employers can face penalties of up to $1 million per year and a ban (ESDC). Employers cannot charge or recover recruitment-related fees from workers, and must make sure recruiters acting for them don't either (IRPR amendments, 2022). The LMIA processing fee is the employer's cost.
Source: ESDC Question Period note on LMIA fraud · ESDC: 2022 amendments on recruitment fees · ESDC: recruitment fees (program requirements)
🚩 2. "Placement fee", "processing fee" or "reservation fee" paid to a recruiter for a Canada job.
Charging a worker recruitment fees, or not stopping recruiters from charging them, is a listed reason an employer can be found non-compliant (IRCC reasons #28 and #29). Work permit and visa fees paid to the government are different: those you pay yourself.
🚩 3. Someone promises "guaranteed PR" or a "caregiver pilot slot".
No one can guarantee PR. The Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots are closed: IRCC paused intake on December 19, 2025 until further notice.
Source: IRCC notice, Dec 19, 2025
🚩 4. The "consultant" can't give a licence number, or isn't on the register.
It is an offence to give Canadian immigration advice for a fee without a licence from the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, a Canadian law society, or the Chambre des notaires du Québec.
Source: College: Find an Immigration Consultant · IRCC: Using a representative
🚩 5. A Philippine agency that isn't DMW-licensed, or whose licence is expired, suspended or cancelled.
DMW publishes every agency's licence status, including cancelled, suspended and banned agencies. Check the exact name and the status date.
🚩 6. Pressure to pay fast, pay into a personal account or e-wallet, or keep it secret.
Common scam pattern. IRCC lists online, phone and social-media scams and how to report them.
🚩 7. Once you're in Canada: they keep your passport, threaten your status, don't pay what was agreed, or the job isn't what the LMIA says.
These are examples of abuse that Service Canada asks you to report. You can report online or call 1-866-602-9448 (24/7, 200+ languages). Workers in abusive situations may qualify for an open work permit for vulnerable workers.
Source: ESDC: Report abuse of temporary foreign workers · IRCC: Open work permit for vulnerable workers
Quick checklist
- Search the employer and agency on LegitBa? and read the dates.
- Ask for the LMIA number and job details in writing. Contact the employer using details you found yourself.
- Check any consultant on the official register.
- Never pay for a job offer or LMIA.