There is a particular kind of story that reaches our office more often than it should. A family, usually hoping to send a son or daughter to study or work abroad, pays a large sum to an agent who promised a visa. The agent is persuasive, the office looks respectable, and the assurances are confident. Months later the visa has not come, the phone is switched off, and the money is gone — or worse, the application went in with documents the family did not know were forged, and the applicant now faces a refusal that follows them into every future application.
This guide is about avoiding that. It sets out how to check an agent's registration yourself in a few minutes using public government records, what the common accreditations actually mean, the offers that should end a conversation on the spot, and how to pay in a way that protects you. It applies to every agent, including us. The checks work precisely because you do not have to take anyone's word for anything.
The one promise no genuine agent can make
Start here, because it filters out most fraud immediately: no genuine agent can guarantee a visa. The decision belongs entirely to the embassy or consulate, and no agent, however well connected, controls it. An agent can prepare a strong, complete, correctly documented application, and that genuinely improves your chances. But anyone who says a visa is guaranteed, assured, or certain for a fee is either mistaken or lying, and in practice it is almost always the latter.
Related phrases carry the same warning: an agent who claims a special contact inside the embassy, a guaranteed work permit, a job abroad arranged in advance for a fee, or a way to skip the normal process. Consulates do not work through back channels for private agents, and these claims are the signature of fraud. Our guide to US visa refusals under 214(b) and 221(g) explains how decisions are genuinely made, which is the best antidote to promises that sound too good.
Check the company registration yourself
Any registered company in India has a Corporate Identification Number, or CIN, and you can look it up yourself on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs website. The record shows the company's legal name, its registration date, whether it is active, and its registered address. If an agent cannot give you a CIN, or the number does not match the name on their letterhead, or the company is marked as struck off, that tells you a great deal. Sole proprietors will not have a CIN, but they should have other registrations.
A registered business collecting tax should also have a GST number, or GSTIN, which can be verified on the government's GST portal and should match the business name. A genuine agent issues GST invoices for their services. For overseas tour packages, a legitimate agent must also collect Tax Collected at Source and show it on the invoice — an agent who offers to skip it to make the price look lower is signalling that they are operating outside the rules. Our explainer on TCS on overseas tour packages sets out how it works and how to claim it back.
What the accreditations actually mean
Agents display logos, and it is worth knowing what they signify. IATA accreditation allows an agency to issue airline tickets directly. IATA TIDS — the Travel Industry Designator Service — is different: it provides a recognised identification code to travel intermediaries, but it is not the same as a ticketing accreditation. Both are legitimate; they simply mean different things, and it is reasonable to ask an agent which they hold.
Industry memberships such as TAFI, TAAI or ADTOI indicate that an agency belongs to a recognised trade body, and many of these bodies let you confirm membership. State tourism recognition is another genuine signal. The point is not that any single logo proves an agent is honest, but that each one can be checked, and an agent displaying credentials that do not check out has told you something important. Our own registration and memberships are listed on our accreditations page, and we would rather you verified them than took them on trust.
Offers that should end the conversation
Some suggestions are not merely red flags but reasons to leave immediately. The most dangerous is an offer to arrange documents for you: a bank statement showing funds you do not have, an employment or salary letter from a company you do not work for, a fake invitation, or an inflated income tax return. This is document fraud. Consulates check, and when forged documents are detected the consequence is not just a refusal but, in many countries, a finding of misrepresentation that can bar the applicant for years or permanently.
That consequence falls on the applicant, not the agent, which is exactly why fraudulent agents are relaxed about it. The same applies to agents advising you to hide a previous refusal on a new application, which is itself treated as misrepresentation. Our guide to US visa restrictions for fraud and misrepresentation explains how seriously these findings are taken. A genuine agent will tell you when your profile is weak and help you build a real case, or tell you honestly that now is not the time to apply.
Other warning signs worth taking seriously
Several patterns recur in fraud cases. The agent asks you to hand over your original passport and keeps it for weeks without a clear reason and a receipt. Payment is requested in cash only, with no invoice. There is pressure to decide and pay immediately because a slot or an offer is about to disappear. The office is temporary, shared or impossible to find again, and the only contact is a mobile number. The agent discourages you from reading the official embassy website yourself, or claims the official process is closed and only they can get you in.
Online, the same patterns appear on fake websites that imitate genuine agencies or even government visa portals, charging inflated fees for forms you could submit yourself. Our guide to common travel scams and how to spot them covers the online versions in more detail. When in doubt, go to the official embassy or visa-centre website directly by typing the address yourself rather than clicking a link or an advertisement.
How to pay in a way that protects you
Pay by a method that leaves a record — bank transfer to a business account in the company's registered name, card, or UPI to a verified business — and always obtain a proper invoice showing the business name, GSTIN, what was paid for and the date. Avoid paying the full amount up front for a visa service; the fee for preparing an application is normally modest and separate from embassy fees, which you can often pay directly to the official visa centre.
Keep copies of everything: the invoice, the agreement, messages, and receipts for your documents. If something does go wrong, a paper trail is what allows you to file a complaint or pursue a refund. Genuine agents are comfortable with all of this because it is how legitimate businesses operate. An agent who resists giving you an invoice or insists on cash is telling you they do not want a record to exist.
Frequently asked questions
Can any agent guarantee a visa? No. Visa decisions are made solely by the embassy or consulate. An agent can prepare a complete and well-documented application, but any promise of a guaranteed visa is a warning sign.
Is it illegal to use an agent? Not at all. Using a registered agent to prepare and submit your application is entirely normal and legal. The problem is only with agents who make false promises, handle documents dishonestly, or submit forged papers.
What should I do if I think I have been cheated? Stop further payments, gather every record you have, and file a complaint with the police and, where relevant, the cyber crime portal for online fraud. If documents were submitted in your name, contact the embassy's official channel. Acting quickly improves the chance of recovering something.
How can I check Explera's own registration? The same way as anyone else's. Our company registration and industry memberships are listed on our accreditations page, and you are welcome to verify each one on the public government and industry portals before you trust us with anything.
The safest agent is one who welcomes these questions rather than deflecting them. Explera Vacations plans travel and prepares visa applications from Surat, and we will tell you plainly when an application is weak, never promise an outcome we cannot control, and always put what you pay for on a proper GST invoice. If you are weighing up an application and want an honest assessment first, including of our own credentials, talk to us through the contact page. And if you are preparing the file yourself, our tourist visa document checklist and our guide to visa photo requirements are good places to start.
