BAIRA license check before you pay: verify the Bangladeshi agency and the Ukrainian employer

Why agency checks matter more in autumn 2026

One labour market has already closed to new Bangladeshi workers this autumn, with unauthorised brokers among the stated reasons. On 16 September 2026 The Business Standard reported that Laos's Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare had suspended new work permits for Bangladeshis by a directive issued on 9 September, in force from 1 September until the end of 2026, "to curb illegal entry, human smuggling, unauthorised labour brokers and employers who evade responsibility for workers they bring into the country" (TBS). BMET data cited in the same report show about 3,300 Bangladeshis received clearance to work in Laos this year up to September.

In Dhaka, holders of valid visas for Serbia, North Macedonia and Moldova are waiting for BMET clearance (see our update of 28 September). Every Ukraine offer deserves a check before any money moves.

Step 1. Check the Bangladeshi agency's licence

A recruiting agency in Bangladesh works legally only with a licence issued by the government under section 9(1) of the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act 2013. Each licence has an RL number, and BMET publishes licences with their status and validity date in the Recruiting Agents' Information System (RAIMS).

How to run the check

1. Ask the agency for its full registered name and RL number in writing.
2. Open the RAIMS list and search by name or RL number.
3. Compare the name, office address and phone number with the ones on the agency's receipt and letterhead.
4. Read the status and the licence validity date.
5. Cross-check membership in BAIRA's member list, which lists member agencies with their RL numbers. BAIRA is the agencies' association; the licence itself comes from the government.

Counts: our tally of the RAIMS list, 28 September 2026. Total 2,857 licences, including 6 with the status "Server Locked".

Red flags at the agency stage

• "We work under another agency's licence." Section 17(1) bars transferring a licence to another person in any way.
• A sub-agent with no paper. Section 14A allows a licensed agency to appoint a registered person as its sub-agent or representative, under the rules, and acting as a sub-agent without that registration is an offence (section 35(2)). Ask the sub-agent for the appointing agency's name and RL number, then check that agency.
• A demand letter or visa "for sale". Obtaining demand letters, visas or work permits by illegal means and trading them inside Bangladesh carries 2 to 7 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of at least BDT 3 lakh (section 33).

Step 2. Check the Ukrainian employer

A real Ukrainian employer appears in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (EDR), searchable for free at usr.minjust.gov.ua. The register matters for the permit itself: Article 42-9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Employment of the Population" makes the absence of the employer from the register, or its liquidation, a ground to refuse the work permit.

• Ask for the company's EDRPOU code and search the register by that code. Our EDRPOU explainer shows how to read the record.
• Status: the record should show the company as registered, with no entry about termination or liquidation.
• Activity codes: a construction firm hiring welders fits; a trading shell hiring "factory workers" is a warning sign.
• Director and address: they should match the invitation letter and contract.

Our step-by-step method with examples is in how to verify a Ukrainian employer.

Step 3. Check the documents: permit, contract, invitation letter

A Ukrainian work permit is issued to the employer by the regional office of the State Employment Service (Article 42), on the employer's application with a draft employment contract (Article 42-2). The law gives the office up to seven working days to decide after the application is registered (Article 42-6), and a certified copy of the permit is required for a Type D work visa (paragraph 8 of the visa rules, Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 118).

Signs of a fake work permit or a paper offer:

• The permit or invitation names a company that fails Step 2.
• The employer on the permit differs from the employer on the contract. The employer must apply to amend the permit when its own name, the worker's passport or the job title changes (Article 42-5), so the names on your papers should match.
• An agent sells a permit "ready" before the employer has filed anything, or says it is "pre-approved".
• The contract leaves out wage, accommodation, duration, compensation for death or injury, or travel costs. Section 22 of the Bangladeshi Act requires all of these, makes the agency and the employer jointly liable, and requires the agency to send a copy to BMET.

More patterns: fake work permits, fake job offers and our forensic guide to reading an invitation letter.

Step 4. Money: who pays what, and to whom

The Ukrainian permit fee is paid by the employer, and if the permit is refused the fee goes back to the employer's account (Article 42-4). On the Bangladeshi side, the government may cap migration costs by order (section 21 of the 2013 Act), and every applicant for a recruiting licence files an affidavit undertaking to charge no more than the amount the government sets (section 9(2)).

Pay by bank transfer to the licensed agency's own account, keep every receipt and every WhatsApp message, and pay in stages tied to documents you can verify. Promising overseas work falsely and taking money for it is a crime under section 31: up to 5 years in prison and a fine of at least BDT 1 lakh.

Step 5. If you already paid: where to complain in Bangladesh

Any person harmed by fraud, illegal collection of money or breach of an employment contract can complain to the government against a recruiting agent or anyone else (section 41). The law sets up to 30 working days for the investigation; if the complaint is proven, the government may settle it by order or arbitration within 3 months after that. Section 43 lets the government recover illegally taken money and pay it to the victim.

1. Collect evidence: receipts, bank slips, chats, the agent's name and phone, the RL number he gave you, copies of every document he handed over.
2. File with BMET: BMET's website links an online complaint login for workers, and on 24 September 2026 it posted a notice on forming a complaint settlement cell.
3. Use the government grievance system at grs.gov.bd when an office does not act.
4. Go to the police or court for offences under sections 31 and 33; the complaint route under section 41 runs alongside your right to sue.

Our dossier on BAIRA broker scams lists the common patterns, and the economics of a broker scam explains where the money goes.

Why applicants bring their files to us

1. We check the Ukrainian side at the source: EDRPOU code, Unified State Register status and tax status of the employer.
2. You get a written verification report within 24–48 hours for a fixed $79.
3. We verify and advise only. We do not place candidates or source jobs, so our report has no stake in the hire.
4. Document reviews are lawyer-led and come back as a written redline in 1–3 business days.
5. We publish our no-guaranteed-visas policy: no one can promise a Ukrainian visa, and we say so up front.

Frequently asked questions

Next read: the Ukraine work permit step by step.