Fiji Jobs – Indian Mission Warns Against Fake Recruitment Offers
Fiji Jobs – The Indian High Commission in Suva has warned Indian citizens against fraudulent job offers linked to unregistered recruitment agents, saying some applicants are being persuaded to travel to Fiji on the basis of false employment promises. The mission issued the advisory as concerns grow over illegal recruitment networks targeting people seeking overseas work opportunities.
Mission advises applicants to verify recruiters
According to the High Commission, it has received information about an increase in Indian nationals being approached with fake employment offers for jobs in Fiji. The advisory said applicants should avoid dealing with agents who are not officially registered and should carefully check the legitimacy of any job opportunity before making travel plans.
The mission also cautioned against entering Fiji on a tourist visa with the intention of finding work. It said a tourist visa is meant only for travel and tourism, and using it for employment would violate the purpose for which it was issued.
Fiji does not issue work permits to tourist visa holders
Fiji’s Ministry of Immigration does not grant work permits to people who arrive in the country on tourist visas, the advisory noted. Indian citizens considering jobs in Fiji have been asked to ensure that they hold the appropriate employment documentation before travelling.
The High Commission said prospective workers should use recruitment agents approved by India’s Ministry of External Affairs. Applicants can check whether an agent is registered through the official eMigrate portal and its list of active recruiting agents. They have also been advised to contact employers directly to verify job roles, salary terms, workplace conditions and other details before accepting an offer.
Authorities urge work permit checks before travel
The advisory encouraged applicants to review Fiji’s latest immigration rules through the country’s Ministry of Immigration website. It also said work permits should be verified with Fiji’s immigration authorities or through the High Commission of Fiji in India before a person leaves for the country.
Fiji’s Minister for Public Enterprises, Multi-Ethnic Affairs, Culture, Heritage and Arts, Charan Jeath Singh, has also urged Indian nationals to confirm the authenticity of work permits before travelling. He said India maintains a list of approved recruitment agents, who are required to meet financial security conditions, including the deposit of a bond.
Singh further asked employers in Fiji to coordinate with the Indian High Commission in Suva when seeking skilled workers. The mission assists with business-to-business requests involving recruitment and employment needs.
Fake work permit documents remain a concern
Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Immigration, Aliki Salusalu, has said that fake work permit documents circulated by dishonest migration agents in India have become a serious issue. However, he stated that the forged documents had not succeeded in bypassing Fiji’s immigration screening procedures.
Salusalu said the fraudulent visa approval papers identified by authorities did not resemble the official format used by Fiji’s Ministry of Immigration. His remarks underline the importance of checking documents directly with government agencies rather than relying only on agents or intermediaries.
UN report highlights trafficking risks
A 2024 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime examined the rising risks of human trafficking across Pacific countries. The report said Fiji has seen a notable increase in workers arriving from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and other Asian nations since 2017.
Many of those workers are men aged between 25 and 45 who are drawn by the possibility of better employment conditions in Fiji or future migration opportunities in countries such as New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
The UNODC report warned that workers may become vulnerable to trafficking when recruiters mislead them about jobs, wages or migration prospects. It noted that several suspected trafficking cases investigated by Fiji’s Department of Immigration between 2019 and 2022 involved Indian citizens who had reportedly been offered false economic opportunities.