Australia job scams in Kenya: 7 warning signs to spot before you send a shilling

Tips · 2026-11-06 · 9 min read

If you are in Kenya and an Australian or New Zealand job offer arrives on WhatsApp or a Facebook page and asks for money first, treat it as a likely scam until you have checked it yourself. Australia job scams in Kenya follow a pattern: a quick offer, a fee, and a promise nobody is allowed to make. The good news is that each claim can be tested on an official website, and this guide shows you how.

Why Australia job scams in Kenya look so convincing

A scam offer rarely looks like a scam. It may come with a smart logo, a polite message and a job title you really do work in, such as welder, chef, nurse or driver. Real shortages in some trades make the story believable.

That is why the test is not "does it look professional?" but "can I confirm it somewhere the sender does not control?" Our guide to moving to Australia from Kenya on a Skills in Demand (482) visa explains how a genuine sponsored route works, so you can compare it with what you were sent.

Seven warning signs to check before you reply

Home Affairs and Scamwatch publish the patterns below. Use them as a checklist, and if even one fits, slow down.

Warning sign	What the official pages say	What to do
A promise of a visa or residency	No one can promise an Australian visa; anyone promising a visa, permanent residency or citizenship is misleading you.	Stop and ask who makes the decision. Only the department does.
A "work permit" or visa label for sale	Australia does not issue work permits, visa labels or Labour Market Impact Assessments.	Walk away from anyone offering one.
A recruitment fee or training materials fee	Scamwatch lists being asked to pay a recruitment fee or for training materials before starting as a job scam sign.	Do not pay. Ask for the offer in writing and verify the employer.
Contact on WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram out of the blue	Scamwatch lists unexpected contact on these apps as a warning sign.	Do not move the conversation to a private chat until you have checked who they are.
A quick hiring process with no interview	Scamwatch lists a quick process with no interview as a warning sign.	Real employers want to speak to you about the work.
A request for your passport or identity documents	Scamwatch advises never sending identity documents unless you are certain they are genuine.	Hold them back until the employer is confirmed.
A visa grant that cannot be found in VEVO	A grant that cannot be found in VEVO is probably fake.	Check the grant yourself, not through the sender.

Money moving to a person's account, rather than to an official payment page, deserves special caution. Be wary of anyone who asks you to send a deposit by M-Pesa or bank transfer to an individual. An official agency or authority does not work that way.

How to check an Australian offer step by step

Read the message for the claims above. Any fee, promise of a visa or "work permit" is enough to stop.
Check the sender's email domain. Home Affairs says emails claiming to be from the department whose address does not end in .gov.au are scams.
Look for the visa in the official system. ImmiAccount is the only official website for applying for an Australian visa. A grant letter you cannot find in VEVO is probably fake.
Ask who is helping with the visa. Anyone giving immigration assistance must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person. Look the agent up on the Register of Migration Agents and ask for their Migration Agents Registration Number (MARN).
Keep every message and receipt. If something goes wrong, a record helps you report it.

The official Home Affairs visa scams page sets out the same points in detail. The Scamwatch page on jobs and employment scams lists the job-specific signs.

Checking a New Zealand offer

New Zealand has its own checks. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) offers a Visa Verification service that shows whether a visa is real. Official INZ email addresses end with immigration.govt.nz or mbie.govt.nz.

INZ also says it never asks for visa fees to be paid into a bank account; it accepts debit or credit card payment on its forms, or payment at an approved Visa Application Centre. New Zealand employers cannot charge you fees for a job or make you pay any of their recruitment costs, including indirectly through a third party.

Be careful with promises about staying long term. A temporary New Zealand visa does not promise residence, and scammers often overstate how likely residence is. Our guide to the Accredited Employer Work Visa for Kenyans explains what the visa does and does not give you. INZ's page on protecting yourself from immigration scams covers the rest.

Who is allowed to help with your visa

You do not have to pay anyone to apply. For New Zealand, you are not required to use an adviser, and INZ will not prioritise an application because one is used. If you do want help, the rules are clear.

Australia: help must come from a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person. A person claiming to be an agent without a MARN or a listing on the OMARA register is not legitimate.
New Zealand: anyone giving immigration advice must be licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority unless exempt, and the public register shows whether a person is currently licensed.
Exempt helpers in Australia: a sponsor, nominator or close family member may help but must not charge a fee.

JobsAbroad Kenya is a job platform: you apply to the employer, and there is no fee to apply. We are not a recruiter or a migration agent, so use the registers above for any visa advice.

Common mistakes

The first mistake is paying to "hold" a place. A deposit sent before you have checked the employer is the most common way people lose money. Our post on why paying for a job in Australia is illegal covers the legal side.

The second mistake is trusting a screenshot. A photo of a visa grant proves nothing, because it can be made in minutes. Check the grant yourself in the official system.

The third is sending your passport and certificates to the first person who asks. Scamwatch's advice is to hold identity documents back unless you are certain the employer is genuine. When you do share documents, prepare them properly: our guide to a CV for Australia jobs from Kenya shows what employers actually look at, and you can build one with Build AI CV.

The fourth is believing a promise of permanent residency. No one can promise it for Australia, and for New Zealand a temporary visa does not promise residence.

Where to look for real jobs instead

Browse real, current listings on the JobsAbroad Kenya jobs page, or start with a trade or care role such as a nursing role in Hervey Bay.

If English evidence worries you, read what Home Affairs accepts for English from Kenya before you pay anyone for "help" with it. Other countries' readers face the same traps, and PinoyAbroad lists five scam signs for fake Australian visa offers from a Philippines point of view.

What to do if you think you have been targeted

Stop contact and do not send more money or documents. Keep the messages, the account details and any receipts. Then check the official pages above and, if you have lost money, report it to the police and to your bank or mobile money provider as soon as you can. Also warn friends who may have received the same message.

Frequently asked questions

Can anyone promise me an Australian visa or a job there?

No. Home Affairs says no one can promise an Australian visa, and anyone promising a visa, permanent residency or citizenship is misleading you. A genuine employer can offer a job, but the visa decision stays with the department.

Does Australia issue work permits that an agent can sell me?

No. Home Affairs says Australia does not issue "work permits", visa labels or Labour Market Impact Assessments, so anyone offering one is running a scam. If the document has one of those names, stop and check it against the official visa pages.

How can I check that a visa grant for Australia is real?

Ask for the application to be made in your own ImmiAccount, the only official website for applying for an Australian visa. Home Affairs also says a visa grant that cannot be found in VEVO is probably fake, so check the grant there yourself.

How do I check a New Zealand visa or offer?

INZ has a Visa Verification service that shows whether a New Zealand visa is real. INZ emails end with immigration.govt.nz or mbie.govt.nz, and New Zealand employers cannot charge you fees for a job or make you pay their recruitment costs.

Is a recruiter who contacts me on WhatsApp always a scammer?

Not always, but unexpected contact on WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram is one of the warning signs Scamwatch lists for job scams. Treat it as a reason to verify the employer and the offer yourself before sharing any documents or paying anything.

Key takeaways

No one can promise an Australian visa, and Australia does not issue work permits for sale.
A recruitment fee, a WhatsApp-only chat and a hiring process with no interview are job scam signs.
Check an Australian visa grant in VEVO and a New Zealand visa with INZ's Visa Verification service.
Only a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person may help with an Australian visa; New Zealand advisers must be licensed.
Keep your documents back until the employer is confirmed.

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