How to check an OEP licence before you pay

In Pakistan, only an Overseas Employment Promoter (OEP) licensed by the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BE&OE), or the government's Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC), may recruit you for a job abroad. Before you give an agent your passport or any money, take ten minutes to check the licence, the job and the agency's record on BE&OE's own website. This guide shows you how.

Step 1: find the agency on BE&OE's list of OEPs

BE&OE publishes a list called List and Contacts of OEPs. You can search it by licence number, by agency name or by the owner's name, and filter it by status and by Protector office.

Licence numbers look like "4437/RWP" or "3966/KAR": a number followed by an office code. Ask the agent for the number and the exact name on the licence, then look it up.

Step 2: check what the list shows

For each OEP, the list shows the licence number, the owner's name, the agency name, the status, the expiry date, the head office address and phone numbers, and any branch offices. Check that:

• the status is Valid, not Expired, Cancelled, Suspended or Surrendered;
• the expiry date has not passed;
• the name matches the one on the agent's signboard and papers; and
• the office you visited is the listed head office or one of its listed branches.

An OEP must work from a proper office with a signboard. If you met the "agent" somewhere else, or they say the licence belongs to someone else they work with, walk away.

Step 3: check the job itself

A licensed OEP also needs BE&OE's permission for each job demand from a foreign employer. BE&OE's Foreign Jobs page lists these permissions: search it by country, job title, permission number or licence number. It shows the number of posts, the salary, the place of duty and the permission number. Ask the agent for the permission number of your job, and check that the employer, job title and salary match your contract. You need this number for your Protector of Emigrants registration.

Step 4: check the agency's record

BE&OE's Complaints page lists complaints made against OEPs, with their status (for example "Under Investigation" or "Show Cause Notice Issued") and any fine. Search it by licence number or agency name. BE&OE also posts notices to named OEPs in its news updates.

What an OEP may charge you

• A service charge of at most Rs 15,000. You pay it into a bank against a bank certificate, not in cash to the agent. The bank releases it to the OEP only after the Protector confirms that you got the job and joined it; if not, it comes back to you.
• The actual cost of your air ticket, medical, work permit, visa and documents, against a proper signed and stamped receipt. This is also refundable if the job falls through.
• Nothing else. The rules do not allow an OEP to charge any other fee.

Government dues for the Protector registration are separate and go to the government; the Protector guide lists them.

Sub-agents are not allowed

An OEP may not appoint sub-agents, sub-promoters or other intermediaries. Deal only with the licensed agency's own staff, at its registered office. If someone in your village or on social media says they work "with" an agency, check the agency yourself and go to its office.

The law is on your side

Under the Emigration Ordinance, an OEP that charges more than the allowed amount, or anyone without a licence who takes money for a job abroad, can face up to 14 years in prison. Since the 2025 amendment, there can also be a fine of up to Rs 2 million. Forging emigration papers carries the same penalties.

Where to complain

• BE&OE: complaints@beoe.gov.pk, phone +92 51 910 7267, WhatsApp +92 332 9107265, or the Pakistan Citizen's Portal.
• Federal Investigation Agency (FIA): the online complaint portal at complaint.fia.gov.pk, complaints@fia.gov.pk, or the helpline 1991.
• Already abroad: contact the Community Welfare Attaché at the Pakistani embassy or consulate, or FIA's overseas complaint cell.

For the wider picture, read Working in the Gulf safely.