PANAJI
Despite repeated warnings and a steady rise in complaints, illegal recruitment agents continue to operate in Goa with little fear of immediate action. In a stark revelation, the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has identified 15 unregistered recruitment agencies functioning in the State as of December 2025, prompting the Centre to seek police action to crack down on such operators. Also, there are 13 registered active recruitment agents or agencies in the State.
The Ministry has released the list on its eMigrate portal after receiving grievances from emigrants and their families, while simultaneously cautioning prospective job-seekers against falling prey to unauthorised agents.
Significantly, official data shows that only five of the listed agencies or individuals have verifiable addresses, while the remaining ten are operating solely through mobile or phone numbers, making tracing and enforcement difficult.
The names listed on the MEA website include Ms Maushmi Khan from Navelim; Nitin Kumar Juvekar and Swapnil Jadhav from New Vaddem, Vasco; Perfect Tour and Travels (Umesh Chavan) from Calangute; Sabir from Margao; and Nova Life Global Recruiters from Patto Plaza, Panaji. Others flagged include Oman Travels & Moula International, Borkar, Sagar Enterprises, Masthan, Rabab Pintu, Kasim Shaik, Fathima, Imran, Ocean Travel and Mohidini.
“As per Section 10 of the Emigration Act, 1983, no person or agency can function as a Recruiting Agent (RA) without a valid Registration Certificate (RC) issued by the Registering Authority, i.e., the Protector General of Emigrants (PGE),” the Ministry said in its advisory.
It added that it regularly coordinates with State governments to address the challenge of illegal recruiting agencies and to strengthen enforcement of emigration rules and regulations.
Sources in the State government said the list of unregistered agencies was prepared based on complaints filed by emigrants or their families. “Once grievances are received and verified, the data is shared with the State authorities for further crackdown and legal action,” sources said.
“In most cases, the addresses and phone numbers provided are either fake, or the offices are found locked and non-functional, with phones remaining unreachable or out of network, making it virtually impossible to trace the operators,” sources said.
The MEA’s warning comes against the backdrop of several recent cases where Goans were allegedly duped in the name of overseas employment followed by deportation of Goans from US -- some who were found living there illegally.
In the last month alone, Goa police registered two separate cases in Valpoi and Porvorim wherein the youths were duped of over Rs 8 lakhs, together, for promised jobs in foreign countries.
