In November someone on a temporary visa posted in r/AusVisa about the first migration agency they'd called. The agency wanted $500 for a "profile evaluation" and pushed them to pay while they were still on the phone. When they asked for time to think, the agency said they would lose their chance at permanent residency. When they said they wanted to talk to friends first, the agency asked them to put the call on hold, ring the friend, and come back.
They told the agency they weren't going ahead. The top reply: "To try say you won't get PR if you don't go with them is blackmail."
That call wasn't about buying a sponsor. But it shows the pressure people face, and the asking gets bigger. In September a member of a public chef visa group on Facebook wrote: "These days, it feels like people are asking for $60K, $70K, even $80K for sponsorship so easily." That's one person's report, about a permanent visa, and they called it unfair. What stands out is that they wrote about it as if it were just the going rate.
It isn't a going rate. It's against the law.
What the law says
Australian Border Force's page "Visas and sponsorship" (last updated 20 October 2026) says:
It is against the law for a sponsor or any other person to ask for or receive a benefit in exchange for visa sponsorship. It is also against the law for you, or any other person to offer or provide a benefit in exchange for visa sponsorship. Sponsors or visa holders can face civil and criminal penalties.
Read the second sentence again. It covers you too. If you offer or hand over money for a sponsorship, you can be in trouble as well as the person who took it.
The same page says sponsors can't pass their costs on to you: "Sponsors cannot ask visa holders to cover costs associated with recruiting a sponsored person and gaining a sponsorship or nomination. This includes migration agent costs, or the Skilling Australians Fund levy." A deal where you "pay it back later" out of your wages is still you paying.
And one more line worth knowing if an employer ever threatens you: "Sponsors cannot cancel visas. Only the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force can cancel visas."
People will tell you a payment is "for the agent's help" or "to cover the employer's costs". If you're paying because someone is the employer, or says they have one, you're in the area the law warns about. We can't tell you how the law applies to a particular payment. A registered migration agent can.
How the offers look
These come from real posts, and they're patterns, not a full list.
The email that looks official. In March someone in r/AusVisa applied for a visa on the government site and soon got an email from an "Australian immigration agency". In their words, it was "designed to look official" and gave the impression it was connected to the immigration authorities, "without clearly stating that they were a private third party". It asked for money to speed up the visa. The poster checked, and the agency wasn't on the register of migration agents. Someone who replied said they had been asked for a "service fee" of US$1,180 for a visa the official site listed at A$650.
The course that comes with a sponsor. In May someone asked about a training organisation in their home country selling a Certificate III at high fees. The organisation said "after this, they can provide sponsorship for around 2 years (they mentioned something like a 482 visa)", and was "kind of 'guaranteeing'" the work. The poster's last visa had been refused, so they were checking before paying. A course sold to you on the promise of a sponsor deserves a hard look.
The fee before the job. A poster in the United States with an IT background described consultants who "claim to help by first evaluating your profile (for a fee), then assisting you in getting a job offer through their contacts, and finally helping with visa processing". They called it fake.
The guarantee. In September another poster said their consultant was "basically guaranteeing" a visa within a year and a half. The top reply: "You're being scammed. Save your money." Nobody but the government decides a visa.
Warning signs
- Anyone asks you to pay for a sponsor, or for a job that "comes with" sponsorship.
- Someone promises or guarantees a visa.
- Pressure to pay now, on the call, or to keep it quiet.
- A course or "placement" sold together with a job.
- An email or website that looks like the government but isn't. Australian government sites end in .gov.au. The fake agency above used a .org address.
- A job with no real business name behind it, only a first name or a mobile number. You can look up a business name or ABN on ABN Lookup (abr.business.gov.au).
- Someone gives you visa advice but won't tell you their registration number (MARN), or isn't on the register.
What a real offer looks like
A real employer interviews you, makes the offer in writing, and pays its own costs for the sponsorship and nomination. It lodges the nomination for your job, and you apply for your visa. Home Affairs decides. If you use a migration agent, agree their fee in writing, and check they're registered first.
How to check a migration agent
Search the OMARA register of migration agents (OMARA is the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority). You can search by the agent's given name, family name or registration number (MARN). If they aren't on it, don't pay them for visa advice. In the November thread, the poster noticed that none of the four agencies they spoke to had introduced them to a registered agent at all.
If you've already paid
- Stop paying more.
- Keep every message, receipt, bank detail and name.
- Call your bank or payment provider straight away.
- Report the scam to Scamwatch.
- For sponsorship fraud, Australian Border Force's site has a "Report suspicious activities" link at the bottom of its visas and sponsorship page.
What we do differently
FindSponsor is free to search, and we will never ask anyone to pay for a job or a sponsor. Every job shows where it came from and why it's listed. Our scams page has a short checklist you can keep.
This is general information, not migration advice. For advice on your own situation, talk to a registered migration agent. You can check an agent is registered on the OMARA register.