Recruitment fee red flags

The fees you should never pay, and the dishonest framings that make them sound legitimate.

What it looks like

A recruiter — sometimes a real agency, sometimes a fake — frames a fee as 'documentation', 'training', 'PEME', 'visa', or 'processing'. The framing makes the payment feel like a service, not a placement fee. ILO C181 + MLC A1.4(5)(b) prohibit charging seafarers for placement; many regulators treat tied training / medical fees as placement fees in disguise.

Red flags

• Any fee that becomes a condition of a job offer.
• Mandatory training at a specific provider that pays a kickback to the agent.
• PEME at a specific clinic that charges materially more than the local market.
• 'Documentation' or 'processing' charges with no itemised receipt.
• Visa fees collected by the agent rather than paid direct to the consulate.

How to verify

• Ask whether the employer covers PEME (MLC A1.4(5)(b) — most P&I-insured owners do).
• Ask for an itemised receipt naming the regulator-licensed agency as the payee.
• Look up the official PEME / visa / clinic fees and compare.
• If the recruiter insists on a 'package fee', that is the textbook violation pattern.

Last verified 5 months ago