There is a whole lot of advertisement on social media concerning how to immigrate to abroad. No doubt, most Nigerians are desperate to leave the country while the industry is also filled up with those who exploit and take undue advantage of them.
If you are considering to hire a visa agent for your visa application, do not be a haste. Be careful and take time to look out for the following factors below. Let me also remind you that visa application process is something you could do on your own without any agent. But in the mean time, let’s focus on the red flags dealing with a visa agent as outlined by Naijagoingabroad
1- Fake visa agents do not tell you how exactly they would help you with visa application
Fake visa agents have problems with explaining their methods of operations to you. The reason is because they either have none or because such methods are not beneficial to you. So many agents pose as visa agents but many of them do not know much about visa application process. Hence, they do not have any information to share.
2- Fake visa agents make unrealistic promises
If there is anything to help keep fake visa agents at bay, it is avoiding those who make unreasonable promises. Many fake visa agents think that the best way to win your heart over is by lying. They tell you that you need not meet embassy requirements for visa. And would not even tell you what they can help with. They only ask for money and tell you that visa is 100% guaranteed.
Truth be told; it is getting more and more difficult to get any visa in Nigeria today. In fact, now may not be the best time for you to apply for a visa. So if anyone tells you otherwise, be very careful. If you think it sounds too amazing or you think it sounds too easy, investigate before committing your money and time.
3- Fake visa agents do not have specific timeline for your application
This is another common thing about fake visa agents. Especially the ‘registered’ or ‘traceable’ ones. It may surprise you that some fake agents are registered but these are those who take advantage of a naturally time consuming visa application process to defraud unsuspecting people.
How they do this is simple. They tell you that your application has been submitted on your behalf and the embassy is working it. You neither get any proof of application submission nor do you get any feedback from the embassy. It is easy to play this gimmick if they are helping to apply for a work permit or permanent residence.
They pass on the blame to the embassy and claim to have no idea when the embassy will reach a conclusion on your application.
4- Fake visa agents cannot account for what they charge for
Usually, a fake visa agent would not know how much their services cost. They would call you from time to time for additional fees without concrete explanation of what the money is meant for.
This article will continue next week.