AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Recruitment fees are the employer's cost in the main destinations Nigerians apply to. UK sponsors must not pass on the Certificate of Sponsorship fee or Immigration Skills Charge, Canada bars employers and their recruiters from charging recruitment or LMIA fees, and Saudi labour law puts recruitment, iqama and work permit fees on the employer; what you normally pay is your own visa fee and, for the UK, the Immigration Health Surcharge.
"Pay ₦1.5 million for your visa, CoS and job placement, balance after you land." Messages like this circulate in Nigerian WhatsApp and Telegram groups every week. Some come from fraudsters with no job to offer; others come from real agents who are charging for things the law in the destination country says the employer must pay. Either way, the worker carries a cost that should not be theirs. This guide sets out what the rules in the UK, Canada and the Gulf say, so you can separate a lawful personal cost from a payment you should never make.
The principle: the employer pays to recruit
Across the countries below, the pattern is the same. The costs of finding, licensing and sponsoring a worker sit with the employer. The worker usually pays only for things that are personal to them, such as their own visa application. The British High Commission and NAPTIP put it simply in February 2026: legitimate employers do not recruit through social media, do not ask for upfront payments and do not ask people to travel on a tourist visa to work.
Country by country
| Country | What the worker must not be charged | What the worker normally pays | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) fee, Immigration Skills Charge, sponsor licence fee, and related admin costs; GB recruitment agencies may not charge work-finding fees | Own visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge | UKVI sponsor guidance (Aug 2026); DHSC code of practice (Mar 2025) |
| Canada | Recruitment fees, LMIA fees and employer compliance fees, including through recruiters | Own work permit and visa fees | ESDC, Sept 2022 |
| Saudi Arabia | Recruitment fees, iqama (residence) fees, work permit and renewal, exit and re-entry fees, return ticket at end of contract | Not listed as a worker cost in Article 40(1) | HRSD, Labor Law Art. 40 |
| Qatar | Recruitment fees and related costs (reported under the labour law) | Depends on contract; medical may be a government fee | Secondary reporting, Jul and Oct 2026 |
| UAE | Recruitment costs are borne by employers, per MoHRE as reported | A real offer comes with an official work entry permit | Gulf News, Oct 2025 (secondary) |
United Kingdom in more detail
The Home Office's sponsor guidance, version in force from 3 August 2026, says a sponsor "must not recoup, or attempt to recoup, by any means, any part of the CoS fee" and will normally have its licence revoked if it does. It also bars passing on the Immigration Skills Charge, which the same guidance sets at £480 for small sponsors and £1,320 for large sponsors for the first 12 months. The DHSC code of practice for health and care adds that it is illegal under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 for GB recruiters to charge candidates work-finding fees, and that Nigeria is on the red list, so active recruitment of Nigerian health and care staff is not allowed without a government-to-government agreement. Direct, independent applications are still allowed.
Before trusting any UK offer, check the employer on the Register of licensed sponsors on GOV.UK, which is updated several times a week.
Canada in more detail
Employment and Social Development Canada announced in September 2022 that employers may not charge or recover recruitment fees from temporary foreign workers, and must make sure recruiters they use do not either. Because the LMIA fee is an employer cost the worker must not bear, anyone selling an LMIA to you is offering something you should not buy.
The Gulf
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Human Resources sets out in Article 40(1) of the Labor Law that the employer bears recruitment fees, iqama and work permit fees and their renewal, and the return ticket at the end of the contract. For Qatar and the UAE we found only secondary reporting, not the ministries' own pages; it describes recruitment fees to workers as banned in Qatar and recruitment costs as the employer's in the UAE. Check the ministry websites before relying on that.
Worked example: reading a quote
Example only. An agent offers a UK care job and sends this breakdown:
| Line item | Agent's price | Who should pay |
|---|---|---|
| Job placement fee | ₦800,000 | Employer, never the worker |
| CoS fee | ₦400,000 | Employer; sponsor may not recoup it |
| Visa application and health surcharge | ₦600,000 | Worker, paid directly to the Home Office |
| Total requested | ₦1,800,000 |
₦800,000 + ₦400,000 + ₦600,000 = ₦1,800,000. Of that, ₦1,200,000 is money the worker should never be asked for, and the remaining ₦600,000 should go to the Home Office through the official application, not to the agent. In this example the whole payment to the agent is a red flag, and with Nigeria on the DHSC red list, an agent actively recruiting Nigerians for care jobs is a further warning sign.
What to check first
- Ask for the employer's full legal name and check it on the destination country's official register (UK sponsor register, Saudi or UAE ministry portal).
- Ask the employer directly, by email from its own website, whether it uses this agent.
- Refuse any payment for a job, CoS, LMIA or 'slot'. Pay government fees only on the government's own site.
- Refuse travel on a tourist or visit visa for work. The UAE's MoHRE warns that working on a visit visa can lead to fines and legal action.
- Check the agent's Nigerian licence status; see checking a recruitment agency's licence.
If you have been asked to pay, report it to NAPTIP and see how to report a visa scam. Related: working remotely for a foreign company from Nigeria.
Where Pryme fits
When you do pay a legitimate visa fee in pounds or dollars, a Pryme multicurrency account lets you hold that currency and see the rate before you swap.
Questions people ask
Is it legal to pay for a CoS to work in the UK?
No. UK sponsor guidance says a sponsor must not recoup any part of the CoS fee and will normally lose its licence if it does. An agent selling a CoS is a red flag.
Do I pay for my Canada LMIA?
No. Canada's rules bar employers, and recruiters they use, from charging workers recruitment or LMIA fees. Workers pay their own permit and visa fees.
Who pays the iqama fee in Saudi Arabia?
Article 40(1) of the Saudi Labor Law, as published by the HRSD, puts recruitment, iqama and work permit fees on the employer.
What fees can a worker going abroad pay?
Usually only personal ones, such as your own visa fee and, for the UK, the Immigration Health Surcharge, paid directly to the government.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Workers and Temporary Workers guidance for sponsors, Part 2 (from 3 Aug 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Code of practice for international recruitment of health and social care personnel (27 Mar 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- Canada.ca: New amendments to the IRPR for temporary foreign workers (26 Sep 2022) · accessed Oct 2026
- HRSD: Labor Law article on employer obligations · accessed Oct 2026
- Gulf News: MoHRE warns UAE jobseekers of fake job offers (25 Oct 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- NAN: UK, NAPTIP warn Nigerians against fraudulent overseas job offers (23 Feb 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.