Avoiding scams and illegal agents

Typical patterns around appointments, fake offers and paid recruiters, and how to check before you pay.

Typical patterns

• Sold appointments or "guaranteed" visas. No one can guarantee a visa, and a visa cannot be bought. The visa fee (€75) is paid at the Embassy; the only other legitimate charge is the service fee of the external provider TLScontact where it is used.
• Fake job offers and training places by messenger or social media, especially for "Ausbildung" or care jobs, that ask for money in advance. A real offer is a contract with a named employer that you can look up.
• Unlicensed recruitment agencies. GTAI reports that many private agencies in Tunisia are unlicensed or dubious; licences are issued by the Tunisian Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training (GTAI).
• Charges for free programmes. Triple Win and THAMM Plus charge candidates nothing for placement and preparation (see Nursing and health, Ausbildung).
• Fake funding or documents: borrowed "show money" for the blocked account, bought stamps or legalisations. False documents lead to refusal and may lead to an entry ban.

How to check before you pay anything

• Use only the Embassy pages and the provider site the Embassy links.
• Look up the employer and call its published number; ask for the contract in writing.
• Recognition questions: anerkennung-in-deutschland.de is free.
• For private nursing recruiters, look for the seal Faire Anwerbung Pflege Deutschland. Whether a given recruiter may lawfully place health workers from Tunisia: see the note on § 38 BeschV on the nursing page.

Already in Berlin and being exploited? See Already in Berlin?. Tunisian rules on recruitment agencies and their fees were not checked in detail.