A client came to me after another consultant overcharged him by about AED 10,000, and he did not find out until he asked me to check.
He was new to this. His company had just been formed, he did not have a business bank account yet, so he paid everything in cash. The only record he had of what he had agreed to pay was a WhatsApp message.
What actually happened in his case
The government fees for his license and his visa were real, and he paid those separately, no issue there. On top of that, the consultant charged him a service fee of AED 13,000 to 14,000 and told him it was all tied to government cost, so he never thought to question it. A fair service fee for this kind of work runs AED 3,000 to 4,000 at most. The extra had nothing to do with government charges. It was marked up and folded into the number he was told was government cost, so it would not stand out.
Then they came back and asked him for another AED 2,000, saying there was a problem with his medical test. That is when he came to me instead of paying it.
When I went through what he had been charged and checked the service fee against what it should reasonably cost, even being generous with the numbers, he had been overcharged by around AED 10,000. All of it sat in the service fee. None of it had anything to do with what he actually owed the government.
How the government cost label hides a markup
This is the part that actually bothers me. Government fees are fixed, published, and the same for everyone who applies. A service fee is not fixed, it is whatever the consultant decides to charge for their own work. The moment someone tells you a number is all government cost without breaking it down, you lose the one piece of information that would let you check if it is fair. Most people assume government fees are non negotiable, so folding a markup into that label is what stops the question from ever being asked.
What a fair service fee actually looks like
For a standard visa case like this one, a fair service fee sits around AED 3,000 to 4,000. That covers the paperwork, the government liaison work, and the follow up needed to get the visa through. It does not mean every case costs the same, activity type and complexity change the number, but a jump to 13,000 or 14,000 for the same scope of work is not a pricing difference, it is a markup with no explanation attached to it.
Why cash and a WhatsApp message made this worse
New founders are often in exactly this position. The company is freshly formed, there is no business bank account yet, so payment happens in cash because there is no other option on the table. When that is the case, a WhatsApp message becomes the only proof of what was actually agreed. It is not a strong document, but it is something, and in this case it is what let us reconstruct what he had actually been told to pay. If you are in that position, keep whatever confirmation you get, even if it is informal. It is better than nothing when you need to check the numbers later.
The follow up problem that was not real
Asking for a further AED 2,000 over a manufactured medical issue is a pattern, not a one off. Once a client has already paid once without asking questions, a second smaller request is easier to slip past them, especially when it is framed as something outside anyone’s control, like a medical result. In this case, there was no real problem with the medical test. The request existed to extract another payment, nothing more.
How to protect yourself before you pay a consultant
Ask for the government fee and the service fee on separate lines, in writing, before you pay anything. If a consultant cannot or will not break the two apart, that alone tells you something. Get the total in writing rather than a spoken number, and if you are paying cash because you have no bank account yet, keep the confirmation message or receipt, whatever form it takes. None of this takes long to ask for, and it is the only way to tell what you are actually paying for.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a visa service fee actually cost in the UAE?
For a standard case, a fair service fee runs around AED 3,000 to 4,000. It can move depending on the complexity of the case, but a consultant should always be able to explain what the fee covers.
How do I know if a quoted price includes a markup?
Ask for the government fee and the service fee listed separately, in writing. If a consultant only gives you one combined number and calls all of it government cost, you have no way to check it, and that is the point.
Is it normal to pay in cash if I do not have a business bank account yet?
It happens, especially for a newly formed company. If you do pay in cash, keep whatever written confirmation you get of what you agreed to pay, even an informal message, so you have something to check against later.
What should I do if a consultant asks for extra money after the fact?
Ask exactly what the extra charge is for and get it in writing before paying anything further. A vague explanation, especially for something like a medical problem, is worth a second opinion before you pay.
If a quote feels off
If a consultant has quoted you a number that feels off, or you just want a second set of eyes on what you have already been charged, talk to us before you pay anything else. It costs nothing to ask, and it is a shorter conversation than untangling an overcharge after the fact.
