Pay for sponsorship in Australia from Uganda? The fee that can end your visa

Tips · 2026-11-07 · 8 min read

If someone in Kampala, Jinja or anywhere else in Uganda asks you to pay for sponsorship Australia employers supposedly offer, treat it as a warning, not a fee. Home Affairs says it is illegal for a person to pay an employer to sponsor them for a visa, and New Zealand's immigration service says employers cannot charge you for a job. A "processing fee" paid to an employer or a middleman can cost you the money and the visa.

Why a payment for sponsorship puts your visa at risk

Many people hear the same line on WhatsApp: "The employer will sponsor you, but you must send a fee first." It sounds like a normal business cost. The official rules say otherwise.

In Australia, Home Affairs states that paying an employer to sponsor you, including through salary deductions, is illegal. It can lead to visa refusal or cancellation, fines or imprisonment. The cost of sponsoring page also says the sponsoring employer must pay all costs of becoming a sponsor and nominating you, and cannot pass those costs to you or your family.

Applicants for the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) carry their own responsibility. They must not have asked for, offered, received or provided a benefit in return for visa sponsorship in the past 3 years. So the person who pays is not only a victim. They can also fail a visa requirement.

If you want the legitimate pathway explained first, read our guide to moving from Uganda to Australia on the Skills in Demand (482) visa.

What the rules say in Australia and New Zealand

Situation	What the official page says
Paying an Australian employer to sponsor you	Illegal; can lead to visa refusal or cancellation, fines or imprisonment
Employer sponsor and nomination costs	The employer pays them and cannot transfer them to you or your family
Cashback scheme (money handed back for a job)	Illegal in Australia where an employer unreasonably requires it
Paying a New Zealand employer's recruitment costs	Not allowed, including indirectly through a third party
Offering or promising money for an AEWV job offer	INZ will decline the application

The Australian points come from Home Affairs and the Fair Work Ombudsman's page for visa holders. The New Zealand points come from Immigration New Zealand's scam protection page and its Accredited Employer Work Visa page. Our guide to the AEWV for applicants in Uganda explains how a genuine job offer works.

Payments that look different but are the same trap

Scammers rarely use the word "sponsorship". They change the label, so the request feels routine.

"Processing fee" or "registration fee" sent before you have met anyone from the employer.
"Training materials" or a "placement charge" before you start. Scamwatch lists a recruitment fee or training materials requested before starting as a warning sign of a job scam.
Salary deductions that repay the "cost of your visa" once you arrive.
Cash handed back to a manager after you begin work.
A payment to an individual instead of to an official government account or approved centre.

Scamwatch also lists unexpected contact on WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram and a quick hiring process with no interview as warning signs. Read the full list on the Scamwatch jobs and employment scams page. If two or three signs appear together, stop.

Costs that can be legitimate for you

Not every payment is a scam. The test is who the money goes to and whether an official page names the cost. Your own paperwork is a fair example. If a visa or employer asks for a police clearance, you apply through the Uganda Police Force online process: register on its website, fill in the form, pay the fee and book a fingerprint appointment. The Police Force advises people to avoid middlemen or brokers.

A Certificate of Good Conduct is valid for six months from the date of issue, so check how recent the receiving authority wants it. As of the Police Force release of 13 November 2024, the official fee was UGX 76,000, plus bank charges. That figure is dated, so recheck it on the official portal before you pay. Our post on checking a migration agent in Uganda before you pay covers the registers to search.

Also remember that INZ never asks for visa fees to be paid into a bank account. It only accepts debit or credit card payment on its forms, or payment at an approved Visa Application Centre.

Five checks before you send any money

Ask who the money is for. If the answer is the employer, a recruiter or "the sponsor", do not pay.
Look for an official page. Home Affairs, INZ, the Uganda Police Force or a named bank or mobile money channel should publish the cost.
Check the helper. A registered migration agent has a MARN and is listed on the OMARA register. In New Zealand, the Immigration Advisers Authority register shows whether someone is a licensed adviser.
Verify the visa. A visa grant that cannot be found in VEVO is probably fake. INZ has a Visa Verification service for New Zealand.
Keep every record. Save chats, voice notes, receipts and mobile money confirmations in one folder.

The simplest route is to look at real vacancies on a platform where job seekers pay no fee to apply. You can browse roles such as this baker position in Mackay or the manufacturing category before you speak to anyone who asks for cash.

Common mistakes people in Uganda make

Paying to "reserve" a visa. Australia does not issue "work permits", and no one can promise a visa, so a reserved visa is not a real product.
Trusting a photo of a grant. The ImmiAccount site is the only official place to apply for an Australian visa, so check the grant yourself.
Sending a passport scan too early. Scamwatch advises never sending your passport or identity documents to an employer or recruitment firm unless you are certain they are genuine.
Believing "everyone pays". The rules apply to every applicant, and a paid arrangement can cause refusal or cancellation.
Treating a temporary visa as residence. A temporary New Zealand visa carries no promise of residence, and scammers often overstate how likely it is.

Our post on jobs in Australia for Ugandans and the routes that are real shows why employer sponsorship is the usual door, and why the sponsorship itself should cost you nothing. When you prepare an application, a clear CV helps more than any fee: you can build your own with Build AI CV and read the CV mistakes that get applications skipped.

What other guides say about paying for sponsorship

Costs are a worry for workers in many countries. Employer Sponsored Jobs explains who pays for visa sponsorship in Australia, line by line, and Talynx has a short warning on cashback scheme visa offers.

Frequently asked questions

Is it illegal to pay an Australian employer to sponsor me?

Yes. Home Affairs says it is illegal for a person to pay an employer to sponsor them for a visa, including through salary deductions. The consequences can include visa refusal or cancellation, fines or imprisonment, so the risk sits with the worker as well as the employer.

What is a cashback scheme?

It is an arrangement where an employer unreasonably requires someone to pay them in exchange for a job. The Fair Work Ombudsman's visa-holder page says these schemes are illegal in Australia, so a request to hand money back after you start is a red flag, not a normal cost.

Can a New Zealand employer ask me to cover recruitment costs?

No. Immigration New Zealand says employers cannot charge you fees for a job or make you pay any of their recruitment costs, including indirectly through a third party. INZ will also decline an AEWV application if money was offered or promised to the employer or its agent in exchange for a job offer.

Which costs are genuinely mine to pay?

Costs that belong to you personally, such as documents you order for yourself, can be legitimate when the official body names them. A Certificate of Good Conduct is one example, and you pay it to the Uganda Police Force through its portal. The employer's sponsorship and nomination costs are not yours.

What should I do if someone has already asked me for money?

Stop paying, keep every message, receipt and mobile money record, and do not send your passport or identity documents. Then check the person on the official registers and read the scam pages of the Australian or New Zealand authority. You can also write to us before you decide anything.

Key takeaways

Paying an employer to sponsor you is illegal in Australia, and the risk includes visa refusal or cancellation.
The sponsoring employer pays its own sponsor and nomination costs, not you or your family.
New Zealand employers cannot charge you for a job or pass on recruitment costs.
Legitimate personal costs, such as a police clearance, have an official page and an official payment route.
Keep records, check registers and stop paying anyone who asks for money to "secure" sponsorship.

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