Real Government Visa Site vs Fake Visa Service
How to tell an official government visa portal from a lookalike site that charges inflated fees or steals your personal data.
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Fake visa sites clone official government portals, charge large 'processing fees', and collect passport scans and payment details. In some cases they submit nothing on your behalf. The comparison below helps you apply safely through the right channel.
Side-by-side comparison
| Official visa portal | Fake visa service | |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | Government-owned domain (e.g. .gov, .gov.uk, .gc.ca); listed on the embassy's official site | Looks official but uses a commercial domain; not linked from any government source |
| Fees | Exact official fee listed on the government portal; paid to the government directly | Higher fee plus unexplained 'service' or 'processing' charges |
| Data security | Secure government system; data not sold to third parties | Collects passport scans, photos, and payment details with no privacy policy |
| Application outcome | Application is submitted to the relevant authority and tracked officially | May submit nothing; you discover the fraud only at the border |
| Contact | Dedicated embassy or immigration authority contact; real address | Only a webform or email; no verifiable physical address |
Common red flags
- Domain not listed on the embassy's official website
- Fee significantly higher than the government's published rate
- Requests passport scans and card details on a non-government site
- No refund policy or customer-service telephone number
- Unsolicited email with a 'fast-track' visa link
Verification steps
- Start at the relevant country's official embassy or consulate website
- Compare the exact fee shown with the government's published schedule
- Check the domain ownership if in doubt using a WHOIS tool
- Use only the payment method listed on the official government portal
What not to do
- Don't use a visa site found through a paid search advertisement without verifying the domain
- Don't pay via wire transfer or crypto to any visa processing service
- Don't submit passport copies to an unverified third-party site
A safe response
Close any site you are unsure about and go directly to the destination country's official embassy or government immigration portal. Bookmark the correct URL for future use.
Frequently asked questions
Are third-party visa agencies ever legitimate?
Some licensed travel agents and visa agencies provide a genuine service for a fee on top of the government charge. The key difference is transparency: a legitimate agency discloses both the government fee and its own fee separately, and can be traced to a registered business.