The National Employment Authority (NEA) has outlined measures Kenyans seeking employment opportunities abroad should take before paying recruitment agencies or accepting overseas job offers.
The Authority advised prospective job seekers to carry out thorough checks on both the recruitment agency and the advertised position before beginning the recruitment process.
As a first step, Kenyans should establish whether the agency handling their application is officially registered with the NEA.
Job seekers have been advised to check the National Employment Authority Integrated Management System (NEAIMS) portal to confirm that the recruitment agency appears on the list of registered agencies.
The Authority also urged applicants to establish whether an agency's registration and operating licence are still valid before engaging its services or making any payments.
“Job seekers should verify the specific overseas job being advertised and ensure that the opportunity can be independently confirmed through the NEAIMS portal,” NEA stated.
The advisory comes amid ongoing investigations into alleged fraud involving labour and travel agencies offering Kenyans jobs abroad.
In January 2026, Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua disclosed that authorities were investigating 390 cases of alleged fraud linked to labour and travel agencies.
Mutua said 116 of the cases involved travel agents who were allegedly not registered either with the NEA or the Business Registration Service (BRS).
The investigations were being conducted by a multi-agency team comprising officials from the Ministry of Labour, the Office of the Attorney General, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The Cabinet Secretary further revealed that the task force had finalised 15 case files and forwarded them to the DPP for further investigations and consideration for prosecution.
Against this backdrop, NEA has cautioned Kenyans to be particularly vigilant when approached with overseas employment offers that cannot be independently verified through official government channels.
The Authority stressed that confirming an agency's registration status, checking the validity of its licence and authenticating the advertised job through NEAIMS can help applicants avoid fraudulent schemes.
NEA encouraged job seekers to complete these checks before making any financial commitments or travelling abroad to take up employment.
