Official online lookupHas not ratified ILO C181
Recruitment agency licensing in Uganda
Licensing authority: Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, through its External Employment Unit.2,1
How to check an agency in Uganda
The Ministry's External Employment Management Information System lists approved and vetted companies with status and validity dates, linked from the Ministry website as licensed recruitment agencies.3,1
Who needs a licence
Recruitment companies that place Ugandans in jobs abroad must hold a licence from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, according to The Independent and Pulse Uganda. Pulse Uganda reported in February 2026 that the Minister said individuals cannot be licensed to take people abroad for work and that tour and travel companies are not mandated to do so.5,7
Fees charged to workers
The Daily Monitor reported in 2021 that Cabinet scrapped fees for jobs in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, and that under the agreements with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar the foreign recruitment agencies pay the costs of recruitment and deployment.6
Licence conditions
The Independent reported that under the 2021 Regulations all shareholders and directors of a recruitment company must be Ugandan. The Daily Monitor reported that the bank guarantee for claims against a recruiter rose from 50 million to 100 million shillings, that job adverts need Ministry approval, and that charging migrant workers unauthorised fees is a ground for revoking a licence.5,6
Reporting an unlicensed agency
Pulse Uganda reported that suspected illegal recruitment can be reported through the EEMIS complaints module (eemis.mglsd.go.ug), the Sauti 116 Migrant Help Line app, or +256 414 341 250. The Minister also advised applicants to check whether the Ministry has approved the job orders a company claims to have.7
ILO Private Employment Agencies Convention (C181)
Not ratified4
Main law
- Employment (Recruitment of Ugandan Migrant Workers) Regulations, 2021 (Statutory Instrument 47 of 2021) (2021)5,6,7
Checked 28 October 2026. This page describes the licensing system. It does not list or rate individual agencies.
Sources
- Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development
- Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, External Employment
- Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, EEMIS, Listed Companies
- Government of the Netherlands, Treaty Database, Convention concerning Private Employment Agencies, Geneva, 19-06-1997 (29 January 2026)
- The Independent (Uganda), Govt tightens grip on external labour companies (28 September 2021)
- Daily Monitor, Govt scraps migrant workers fees, revises labour export law (30 September 2021)
- Pulse Uganda, Government warns tour companies engaging in labour externalisation (5 February 2026)