Recruitment Agency Register

Official online lookupHas not ratified ILO C181

Recruitment agency licensing in Pakistan

Licensing authority: Federal Government, on applications made through the Director General of the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BE&OE), which licenses Overseas Employment Promoters (OEPs).1

How to check an agency in Pakistan

BE&OE advises checking an OEP's status against the valid OEP licence list on its website and with the Protectorate of Emigrants office. In June 2024 BE&OE said 2,577 OEP licences were valid and more than 5,048 had been declared invalid, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.1,2

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Who needs a licence

Anyone who wishes to recruit emigrants for overseas employment must apply to the Federal Government for an Overseas Employment Promoter licence, according to BE&OE.1

Fees charged to workers

The OEP code of conduct quoted by BE&OE says "No Overseas Employment Promoter shall charge any fee other than the service charges." The BE&OE emigrant fee structure page lists OEP service charges of Rs. 15,000 (Rs. 6,000 for processing cases), alongside a Welfare Fund contribution of Rs. 4,000, insurance premium of Rs. 2,500, registration fee of Rs. 500 and OEC fee of Rs. 200, a total of Rs. 22,200.1,4

Licence conditions

Applications go in Form 2 with a character certificate from the District Magistrate and a non refundable application fee of Rs. 5,000. BE&OE lists a licence fee of Rs. 15,000 and a security of Rs. 300,000 for good conduct, of which Rs. 100,000 is in cash and Rs. 200,000 in pledged Defence Saving Certificates. A licence is valid for three consecutive calendar years. The renewal fee is Rs. 15,000 per year, and the renewal term depends on how many workers the OEP sent abroad in the last three years.1

Reporting an unlicensed agency

Complaints can be filed at BE&OE headquarters, any Protector of Emigrants office, a Community Welfare Attache abroad, the Overseas Pakistanis complaint cell of the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat or the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development. Complaints about fake recruiting agents are referred to the Federal Investigation Agency under rule 29(4) of the Emigration Rules, 1979, according to BE&OE.1

ILO Private Employment Agencies Convention (C181)

Not ratified3

Main law

Checked 28 October 2026. This page describes the licensing system. It does not list or rate individual agencies.

Sources

  1. Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, Government of Pakistan, FAQs
  2. Associated Press of Pakistan, BEOE advises emigrants to reach out only valid OEPs (30 June 2024)
  3. Government of the Netherlands, Treaty Database, Convention concerning Private Employment Agencies, Geneva, 19-06-1997 (29 January 2026)
  4. Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, Government of Pakistan, Fee structure for emigrants