Trade test centre offering a visa? BEOE says it is fraud: how to check a real overseas job

If a trade test centre has promised you a work visa for Saudi Arabia, the UAE or anywhere else, stop before you pay. The Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE) warned on Monday, 28 September 2026, that trade test centres are not recruitment agencies and have no legal authority to offer foreign employment visas.

What a trade test centre can and cannot do

A trade test centre tests and certifies your skill (electrician, welder, plumber, driver and so on). That certificate helps your application. It is not a job.

According to the BEOE advisory, a trade test centre cannot:

1. Advertise overseas jobs.
2. Claim that visas are available.
3. Guarantee you employment abroad.
4. Send workers abroad on its own.
5. Collect any fee that is not an official, stated charge.

The Bureau says any line such as "visas available" from a test centre should be treated as a serious sign of fraud.

Only licensed promoters can recruit

Private-sector overseas jobs in Pakistan can only be advertised by licensed Overseas Employment Promoters (OEPs). Every genuine advertisement carries a permission or tracking number. With that number you can verify:

• the foreign employer
• the destination country
• the job title
• the number of vacancies
• the salary

If an advertisement has no permission number, or the details you find do not match what you were told, walk away.

Before you pay anyone

1. Ask for the OEP's licence and the advertisement's permission number, then check them with the Bureau of Emigration (beoe.gov.pk) or its Protectorate of Emigrants office in your city.
2. Pay only official, clearly stated fees, and always get a receipt.
3. Never hand over your passport to a test centre or an agent who is not a licensed OEP.
4. Do not pay for a "visa" in cash to an individual.

If you have already been cheated

The BEOE asks victims to file a complaint with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Keep receipts, chats, bank transfer slips and the advertisement you responded to; they are your evidence.

Money going abroad

When you do land a genuine job, compare what your salary is worth at home with the currency converter. The riyal rate in Pakistan today was Rs 73.91 and the dirham rate Rs 75.47 on 28 September.