Check migration agent Uganda: the two registers to search before you pay

Tips · 2026-11-02 · 8 min read

A Ugandan woman and man in a Kampala office review a laptop beside an open notebook before choosing a migration adviser.

Before you pay anyone for visa help, look their name up yourself. For Australia the check is the Register of Migration Agents; for New Zealand it is the public register of the Immigration Advisers Authority. If the name is not there, the person is not a legitimate source of immigration advice, however friendly the WhatsApp messages are.

This guide is for people in Uganda who are planning to work in Australia or New Zealand and have been offered help by an agent, a "consultant" or a friend of a friend. We are a jobs and information site: we are not a migration agent, an adviser or a recruiter, and nothing here is personal advice.

Who is allowed to give visa advice

The two countries have different rules, and one country's registration does not carry over to the other.

Destination	Who may give immigration advice	Where to check
Australia	A registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person	Register of Migration Agents on the OMARA website
New Zealand	A person licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority, unless exempt	The public register on the Immigration Advisers Authority website
Both	Anyone else who gives advice or takes money for it	Treat as a red flag until proven otherwise

Australia's Department of Home Affairs says anyone giving immigration assistance with an Australian visa must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person. Exempt persons, such as a sponsor, nominator or close family member, may help but must not charge a fee.

How to check an Australian migration agent

Every registered agent has a Migration Agents Registration Number, called a MARN. Registered agents must also be listed on the Register of Migration Agents kept by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA). The OMARA page on people who are not registered explains the rule in plain words.

Ask the person for their full name and MARN before you discuss money. A real agent will give both without fuss.
Open the OMARA website yourself by typing the address, not by tapping a link someone sent you, and search the register.
Match the name and number to what you were told. A listing under a similar name is not enough.
Write down what you found and the date, then continue only if everything matches.

Someone who claims to be an agent but has no MARN or OMARA listing is not legitimate. That is Home Affairs' own position, and it applies to agents in Kampala, Entebbe or any other town, and to people who message you from abroad.

How to check a New Zealand adviser

New Zealand works differently. By law, anyone giving New Zealand immigration advice must be licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority unless exempt, and it is a criminal offence for anyone else to give it. The Authority's public register shows whether a person is currently a licensed immigration adviser. Its page for migrants is the place to start.

The key point for Ugandan applicants is simple: Australian registration is not a New Zealand licence. A person with a MARN is not therefore allowed to advise on New Zealand visas. If someone offers both, check both registers separately.

You may not need an agent at all

For New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand states that you are not required to use an adviser to apply for a visa, and it will not prioritise an application because one is used. Its guidance on protecting yourself from immigration scams is worth reading before you speak to anyone.

Many sponsored workers go through an employer who has already offered the job. Our guides to the Skills in Demand (482) visa and the New Zealand Accredited Employer Work Visa show what the process looks like, so you can judge whether you need paid help.

Warning signs that appear before any register check

Scamwatch lists signs of job scams that fit migration offers too: unexpected contact on WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram, a quick hiring process with no interview, and being asked to pay a "recruitment fee" or for training materials before you start. The official guidance adds several more.

Nobody can promise you an Australian visa. Anyone promising a visa, permanent residency or citizenship is misleading you.
Australia does not issue "work permits", visa labels or Labour Market Impact Assessments, so anyone offering one is running a scam.
A visa grant that cannot be found in the VEVO checking service is probably fake, and ImmiAccount is the only official website for applying for an Australian visa.
Emails claiming to be from the Department of Home Affairs whose address does not end in .gov.au are scams.
Immigration New Zealand never asks for visa fees to be paid into a bank account, and its official email addresses end with immigration.govt.nz or mbie.govt.nz.
You cannot work in Australia on an Electronic Travel Authority or a Visitor visa.

Our post on Australian course switches also covers an adviser warning that students should read.

Job offers, payments and your documents

In 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. Immigration New Zealand will decline a work visa application if the applicant or their agent offered or promised money to the employer in exchange for a job offer. Paying for a job can end the application as well as cost you the money.

Be careful with your passport and identity documents too. Scamwatch advises never sending them to an employer or recruitment firm unless you are certain they are genuine. People who commit visa fraud through a scam agent risk refusal or cancellation and a ban from Australia of up to 10 years. If an offer sounds real, look at roles already listed with us, for example a carpenter role in Cairns or a fitter, turner and welder role in Christchurch, and compare how a genuine ad reads: a role, a place and a way to apply, with no request for money.

When your documents are in order, a clear English CV helps you show your real experience to an employer. A tool such as Build AI CV can help you set it out, but keep your own facts accurate.

Common mistakes

Trusting a MARN or licence number that someone typed in a chat without searching the register yourself.
Assuming an Australian agent can also advise on New Zealand visas, or the other way round.
Paying a "processing fee" or "recruitment fee" to a person you have only met by phone or WhatsApp.
Sending passport scans before you know who is receiving them.
Believing a promise of a visa, a job or residence. Nobody can promise these, and a temporary New Zealand visa does not mean you will be given residence.
Using a link from a message instead of typing the official address.

If you want a second view on a particular agent's claims, NaijaAbroad's guide on checking two registers walks through the same idea for Nigerian readers, and the principle is identical for Uganda.

For general questions about this site, use our contact page, and see our wider visa guides for the official routes.

Frequently asked questions

Can an agent in Kampala give me advice on an Australian visa?

Only if they are a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person under Australian rules. Being based in Uganda does not change that. Ask for the registration number, then look the name up on the official register yourself.

Is a registered Australian migration agent also allowed to advise on New Zealand visas?

Not automatically. New Zealand has its own system, and the Immigration Advisers Authority says anyone giving New Zealand immigration advice must be licensed by it unless exempt. Check the New Zealand register separately, even if the person already shows an Australian number.

Do I have to pay an agent to apply for a New Zealand visa?

No. Immigration New Zealand says you are not required to use an adviser, and it will not prioritise an application because one was used. You can apply yourself, and an adviser is a personal choice.

What if the person is not on the register?

Treat that as a serious warning. For Australia, someone claiming to be an agent without a registration number or a listing on the register is not legitimate. Do not send money or identity documents, and stop the conversation until you have checked.

Can an employer ask me to pay for a job offer?

In New Zealand, employers cannot charge fees for a job or pass their recruitment costs on to you, even through a third party. Immigration New Zealand will also decline a work visa application if money was offered or promised in exchange for a job offer.

Key takeaways

Search the official register yourself before you pay: OMARA for Australia, the Immigration Advisers Authority for New Zealand.
An Australian registration is not a New Zealand licence, so check both when a person offers both.
For New Zealand you are not required to use an adviser at all.
No one can promise a visa, and paying for a job offer can end an application.
Keep your passport and documents until you know exactly who is receiving them.

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