Avoiding scams and debt
Only the German missions issue visas. The German Embassy in Hanoi states that you do not need a visa agency to apply. APS certificates are issued only by APS at the Embassy.
Typical patterns
- Paid appointments. National visas are applied for through the Federal Foreign Office portal and VFS Global, and according to the Embassy booking is free (Embassy warning). Anyone selling a "slot" sells something you can get without them.
- "Guaranteed" Ausbildung or nursing packages that cost large sums and are financed with a loan from relatives or a lender. A real training place comes with a contract from a named German employer, and the law limits what anyone may charge you (see below).
- Admission sold by an agent, or private universities that recruit through agencies and charge high fees. Berlin's public universities charge no tuition.
- Blocked-account tricks: someone offers to "lend" you the blocked-account sum or to provide funding papers. Fake documents can lead to refusal and a ban on entry.
- Fake documents – degrees, language certificates, work references. APS and the missions check them; see APS.
What the law allows agencies to charge
| Rule | What it says |
|---|---|
| German law, § 296 SGB III (job placement) | Fee at most €2,000 including VAT, only with a written contract and only after you have been placed. No advance payments. |
| German law, § 296a SGB III (placement into an Ausbildung) | A fee may only be charged to the employer, not to you. |
| Vietnamese law, Law 69/2020/QH14, Art. 23 (labour dispatch by licensed companies) | Service fee from the worker at most 1 month's contract wage per 12 months of work, at most 3 months' wages for contracts of 36 months or more; in addition a broker commission (Art. 22, Circular 02/2024/TT-BLĐTBXH from 15 May 2024) of at most 0.5 month's wage per 12 months, at most 1.5 for 36 months or more (as summarised by Vietnamese law firms; check the official text). |
| Seal Faire Anwerbung Pflege Deutschland | Employers and agencies with the seal follow fair-recruitment rules for nurses; recruitment costs are not passed on to you. |
How to check before you pay or borrow anything
- A real offer is a signed contract with a named German employer or training company. Look it up, call its published number and check its website.
- Book appointments only through the links on vietnam.diplo.de and digital.diplo.de.
- Job placement by the ZAV of the German Federal Employment Agency is free. Recognition questions: the official portal anerkennung-in-deutschland.de is free.
- Never hand over your passport or sign a debt that you must repay from your German wages.
Already in Berlin and being exploited? See Already in Berlin? for free counselling, also in Vietnamese.
A question this page does not answer? Contact us. Free orientation only, no legal advice for individual cases.