Australia visa for sale in Bangladesh? Buying one could mean 2 to 7 years in prison

Tips · 2026-10-17 · 10 min read

A young Bangladeshi man studies his phone at a Dhaka tea stall as an older man gestures and his sister watches.

If someone in Bangladesh is offering an Australia visa for sale, walk away: it is a crime for the seller and for you. Bangladesh's Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013 punishes buying or selling visas, work permits and demand letters inside the country, and Australia refuses or cancels visas linked to paying for sponsorship. A real Australian visa is never bought from a person. It is applied for through Home Affairs, and you can check any grant yourself in minutes.

What a "visa for sale" offer usually looks like

The pitch changes, but the shape is familiar. A dalal, a relative's friend or a stranger on WhatsApp says they hold "visas" or "work permits" for Australian factories, farms or kitchens. You pay a deposit now and the rest when the "file" is ready.

Some people search for "visa kena" hoping for a shortcut. There is none: an Australian employer sponsors a worker because it needs that worker's skills, and only the Department of Home Affairs decides the visa.

Common versions of the offer include:

an "Australian work permit" that only needs a payment to be issued
a demand letter from an overseas company, sold to the first person who pays
sponsorship from a real business in Australia if you pay the owner, often split into "processing" and "file" money
a visa grant notice sent as a PDF or a photo on a messaging app, with no way to look it up
a New Zealand job offer that comes with a "placement fee" before the employer will act

Section 33: why the buyer is in trouble too

Many workers think only the seller breaks the law. Under section 33 of the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013, as amended in 2023, getting demand letters, visas or work permits by illegal means, and buying or selling them inside Bangladesh, carries rigorous imprisonment of at least 2 years and up to 7 years, plus a fine of at least 3 lakh Taka. Note the words "buying or selling": the person who pays is not protected.

Section 31 covers taking, or trying to take, money by falsely promising work overseas, keeping back someone's passport or visa papers without a lawful reason, and luring people with promises of higher pay. That carries up to 5 years in prison and a fine of at least 1 lakh Taka. Section 39 makes offences under sections 31, 33 and 34 cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, so they cannot simply be settled privately once a case starts.

Australia's side: paying for sponsorship is illegal

Home Affairs is plain: it is illegal to pay an employer to sponsor you for a visa, including through deductions from your salary after you arrive, and it can lead to visa refusal or cancellation, fines or imprisonment.

The cost of sponsoring page also says the sponsoring employer must pay all the costs of becoming a sponsor and nominating a worker, and cannot pass them on to the visa holder or their family. Being asked to "cover the nomination" is a warning sign.

For the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), you must not have asked for, offered, received or provided a benefit in return for sponsorship in the past 3 years. A payment today can damage an honest application later, even with another employer. Our guide to the Skills in Demand (482) visa for Bangladeshi workers explains how genuine sponsorship works.

"Work permits" Australia does not issue

Workers with Gulf or Malaysia experience know work permits as normal papers. Australia is different: Home Affairs says Australia does not issue "work permits", visa labels or Labour Market Impact Assessments, so anyone offering one is running a scam.

Australian visas are digital. Home Affairs says ImmiAccount is the only official website for applying, and a visa grant that cannot be found in VEVO, its online visa checking service, is probably fake.

One more trick: biometrics for Australian visas in Bangladesh are collected by VFS Global, a contracted provider that does not decide visas. A biometrics appointment is not a visa grant.

New Zealand works the same way

Immigration New Zealand will decline an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) application if the applicant, or their agent, offered or promised money to the employer or the employer's agent in exchange for a job offer. New Zealand employers also cannot charge you job fees or make you pay their recruitment costs, including through a third party.

INZ warns that job offer scams are common in India and South Asia. Its page on protecting yourself from immigration scams says INZ never asks for visa fees to be paid into a bank account, and that any New Zealand visa can be checked through its Visa Verification service. For how a real AEWV offer reaches you, see our guide to New Zealand's AEWV for Bangladeshi workers.

Fake offer or real one: a quick comparison

What you are told	The reality	How to check
"I have Australian work permits for sale"	Australia does not issue work permits	Read the Home Affairs visa scams page and stop paying
"Pay the owner and the business will sponsor you"	Paying for sponsorship is illegal in Australia	Any real sponsor pays its own sponsorship and nomination costs
"Your visa is approved, here is the PDF"	Grants that are not in VEVO are probably fake	Check VEVO yourself with your passport details
"I can sell you a demand letter"	Buying or selling one in Bangladesh is a section 33 offence	Ask a licensed agency for its RL number and check it on BMET's list
"The NZ employer needs a placement fee first"	INZ declines AEWVs linked to money for a job offer	Use INZ's Visa Verification service on any visa you are shown
"I promise you will get the visa"	No one can promise an Australian visa	Ask for the adviser's MARN and search the OMARA register

Checking an offer before any taka changes hands

Ask what is actually being sold. If the answer is a visa, a work permit, a demand letter or "sponsorship", stop. None of these can lawfully be bought from a person.
Check the agency's licence. No one may do recruitment work in Bangladesh without a licence. BMET's public agency list (RAIMS) shows each agency's RL number, address, phone and whether the licence is Active, Expired, Cancelled or Suspended. Your nearest District Employment and Manpower Office can also tell you which agencies are approved.
Check who is giving visa help. Anyone giving Australian immigration assistance must be a registered migration agent, a lawyer or an exempt person. A registered agent has a MARN and appears on the OMARA register. For New Zealand, the Immigration Advisers Authority's public register shows who holds a licence.
Look up every visa you are shown. For Australia, use VEVO. For New Zealand, use INZ's Visa Verification service. Genuine emails from Home Affairs end in @homeaffairs.gov.au, and official INZ addresses end with immigration.govt.nz or mbie.govt.nz.
Pay only in a way that leaves a record. BMET tells workers to pay a licensed agency only by cheque, pay order or bank draft. Cash handed to a dalal is the hardest money to recover.
Report the offer. The Australian High Commission in Dhaka asks people to report scam agents to the local police and to the Probashbondhu hotline on 16135, toll free inside Bangladesh.

What buying a visa really costs

The money is only the first loss. Home Affairs says people who commit visa fraud through a scam agent risk refusal or cancellation and a ban from Australia of up to 10 years, which can block you even after you find an honest sponsor. At home, a buyer is not simply a victim under section 33, and dalals rely on that fear to keep people quiet.

Common mistakes Bangladeshi workers make with these offers

Assuming Gulf rules apply. Australia and New Zealand do not sell work permits, and employers carry their own sponsorship costs.
Trusting a "connection" instead of a licence. A dalal who knows someone at an agency is still a dalal. BMET warns that relying on a middleman can lead to losing money and to human trafficking.
Accepting a screenshot as proof. A visa is real only if VEVO or INZ's Visa Verification service shows it.
Agreeing to salary deductions "to repay the sponsor". Home Affairs counts this as paying for sponsorship.

If you have already paid

Stop sending money, even if one more payment is said to "release" the visa, and keep every message, receipt and name.

BMET's citizen charter lets outgoing, returned or cheated workers complain against a recruiting agency at no cost, with a signed application and evidence, to the Director General of BMET. It aims to settle the case within 30 working days after an inquiry and hearing. Section 41 of the Act also lets anyone harmed complain to the Government against any person, not only a licensed agent. Our guide on how to complain to BMET after being cheated by an agency or dalal walks through both routes.

The Probashbandhu call centre is open 24/7 on 16135 inside Bangladesh, or +88 09610 102 030 from abroad. For Australian visa questions, read the Home Affairs visa scams page before you trust anyone's promise.

The legal way to a job in Australia or New Zealand

The honest route is slower but it holds: you apply to real vacancies, an employer that needs your skills sponsors you, and you lodge your own visa application online. Before leaving Bangladesh, you register with BMET and get emigration clearance, as explained in our BMET smart card checklist for Bangladeshi workers.

If you are a cook, look at how a sponsored role is advertised, for example this tandoori and curry chef job in Sydney. The ad describes the work; it does not sell you a visa.

Frequently asked questions

Can I legally buy an Australia work visa in Bangladesh?

No. Australian visas are applied for through ImmiAccount and decided by Home Affairs, not sold by people. In Bangladesh, buying or selling visas, work permits or demand letters is an offence under section 33 of the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013.

Is the buyer punished, or only the person selling the visa?

Section 33 covers buying as well as selling inside Bangladesh, with rigorous imprisonment of 2 to 7 years and a fine of at least 3 lakh Taka. In Australia, paying for sponsorship can also lead to visa refusal or cancellation, fines or imprisonment.

Can I pay an Australian employer back for sponsoring me?

No. Paying an employer to sponsor you is illegal, including through salary deductions. The employer must pay its own costs of becoming a sponsor and nominating you, and cannot pass them to you or your family.

How do I know if an Australian or New Zealand visa is real?

Check an Australian grant in VEVO; if it is not there, it is probably fake. For New Zealand, use INZ's Visa Verification service. Never rely on a PDF, photo or screenshot sent by an agent or dalal.

Where can I report a visa seller in Bangladesh?

The Australian High Commission in Dhaka asks people to report scam agents to the local police and to the Probashbondhu hotline on 16135, which is toll free in Bangladesh. You can also complain to BMET, with your evidence, against a recruiting agency.

Key takeaways

No one can lawfully sell you an Australian or New Zealand visa, work permit or demand letter.
Section 33 of the 2013 Act punishes the buyer as well as the seller inside Bangladesh.
Paying for sponsorship in Australia, or for a job offer in New Zealand, can sink your visa.
Check every visa in VEVO or INZ's Visa Verification service, and every agency on BMET's licence list.
Report sellers to the police and to Probashbondhu on 16135.

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