Every year, applicants lose money, and sometimes their file, to fake intermediaries. A few habits are enough to avoid most traps.
Impossible promises
No one can guarantee a visa: the decision belongs to the consular authorities. An agency promising a result, a “contact at the embassy” or a 100% success rate is lying to you.
Payments outside official channels
- For France, Campus France fees are paid only at TLScontact, after authorisation on the Études en France platform.
- No embassy officer asks for payment by phone or message.
- For Germany, registering for a visa appointment is free and done once: paying an intermediary speeds nothing up.
Fake documents
Housing certificates, AVIs, guarantors or job contracts provided “no questions asked”: a fake document can lead to refusal, a visa ban and prosecution. A real document reflects a real, verifiable situation.
Fake job contracts
A job offer abroad with no interview, paid in advance, or asking you to pay “visa fees” to the employer is almost always a scam.
How to check an agency
- A physical address you can visit.
- Prices in writing before any payment, and an invoice for every payment.
- Explanations of the official procedure, with links to the authorities’ websites.
- Your originals never leave your hands without a receipt.
Key points
- No one can guarantee a visa.
- Pay only through official channels.
- Ask for written prices and an invoice.
