Avoiding scams and illegal recruiters

What the Embassy in Manila says about intermediaries, fees for nursing jobs, and how to check a recruiter before you pay.

Typical patterns

• Fees for a nursing job. The government programme Triple Win places nurses free of charge; applicants only pay the Philippine government charges listed on Triple Win. Anyone asking thousands of pesos or euros "for the placement" outside such a programme should be checked with the DMW first.
• Sold appointments or "guaranteed" visas. No one can guarantee a visa. A visa cannot be bought.
• Fake job offers and training places – especially nursing, caregiver and "Ausbildung" packages. A real offer is a contract with a named German employer.
• Fake funding or documents, including "show money" loans for the blocked account. False documents lead to refusal and may lead to an entry ban.
• Unlicensed recruiters. Philippine rules require recruitment agencies to be licensed by the DMW. The DMW publishes lists of licensed agencies on dmw.gov.ph; we could not open the site and have not checked how current the list is. Check there before you sign anything.
• Recruiters charging nurses fees. Whether Philippine rules ban placement fees for nurses placed in Germany through private agencies is not confirmed here; ask the DMW in writing.

How to check before you pay anything

• A real offer is a signed contract with a named German employer. Look it up in the German commercial register and call its published number.
• Apply to Triple Win only through the DMW channels on the BA Triple Win Pilipinas page.
• Recognition questions: the federal portal anerkennung-in-deutschland.de is free.

Already in Berlin and being exploited? See Already in Berlin?.