Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

I've heard that hotel which issued visa, hold your passport until u leave the hotel... is it usual in Dubai?
I dont like it.... they take my passport with them and wont let me have it until i leave...hmmm only if i leave the hotel... it's really strange...
Is it correct information or someone wants to cheat me?
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Normally a hotel will ask for your passport, to keep your information for their records, but they should only take a copy of your information page and visa page, they have no right to keep it.

Just give them a copy.

Oh thanks, i feel better now, huhh
I knew that it cant be the way they told me...

chocoholic is right
you are the "bearer" of your passort which is in fact a government document belonging to your country of residency. no one may hold or retain it without a legal reason.
this applies to sponsors in the uae as well

So you say that if they want to see my passport i can give them only to see it, but if they want to keep it, i call police? ok?

they are not allowed to hold your passport.
they can make a copy of it and keep the copy for thier records.
the only reason a hotel may want to keep a guests pasport is if they feel the bill may not be settled; although they will normally ask for a credit card to swipe as insurance.
if they want to keep it without any vaild reason (such as you not settling the bill ) then ask them to call the police for you as you would like to report your passport stolen... this will normally work

only in vietnam do the hotels take your passport, but that is to check in at the police station each day as a means of confirming your place of residency - and i don't think they do this anymore in anycase

dbxsoul wrote:they are not allowed to hold your passport.
they can make a copy of it and keep the copy for thier records.
the only reason a hotel may want to keep a guests pasport is if they feel the bill may not be settled; although they will normally ask for a credit card to swipe as insurance.
if they want to keep it without any vaild reason (such as you not settling the bill ) then ask them to call the police for you as you would like to report your passport stolen... this will normally work

only in vietnam do the hotels take your passport, but that is to check in at the police station each day as a means of confirming your place of residency - and i don't think they do this anymore in anycase

Nice, i thought it is like that, but some of them told me different.... i couldnt beleive cause it's really unbelieveble....
I started to worried.... No i feel much better thank you so very much!

if you work in dubai, you may find your employer may try to hold your passport, although that is a different story..........

when r u due to arrive?

My work hold my passport and I am not happy about it! I am trying to summon up enough energy to argue about it - has anyone got any legal info on this that I can use as back up?

KC wrote:My work hold my passport and I am not happy about it! I am trying to summon up enough energy to argue about it - has anyone got any legal info on this that I can use as back up?

yes, the issue about sponsors holiding onto passports came up a while back in the media. as i said above, you are the legal bearer of the passport, this means that it does not belong to you, but you carry it on behalf of your government....

the governments reply in the media was that it IS illegal for sponsors to hold passports from their staff. i was in a similar situation with my previous employer. the staff drafted a letter to him stating that if the passports were not returned by the following day we would call the police, ask them to come to the office and report the passports stolen. we had the passports back the following day...

phone your consulate they will tell you it is illegal for anyone to otherthan you to hold your passport.....

the sponsor is responsible for a 5,000 aed fine if he looses or misplaces a passport held in his possesion....

BUT......

the reality of the matter is that sponsors will continue to hold expats passports as leverage... to prvent them running away, abscoding etc....

the best advice, is never had it over in the first place. they do require your passport to process your labour and immigration papers. offer to accompany the pro to the offices when he does this, or offer to meet him there. do the paperwork and pocket your passport at the same time!

that's good advice, im guessing im going to be in the same boat KC!

At the last company I worked in the situation got quite farcical...After employees protested against handing over their passports, the company made it a policy that either the labour card OR the passport must be in the company's possession at all times...and people preferred handing over their passport obviously, even the ones who protested before, coz the likelihood of an emergency that required the labour card was much more than that of one that required the passport

Yeah, you will be Alex.

What emergency requires the labour card? I haven't had to use it for anything yet....I think I'd rather have my passport???

I don't think I've ever been given my labour card!

Even now I know of lots of people where their company is holding their passports and refuse to give it to them. It's crap and the companies don't care.

labour inspectors and the cid can and do ask to see you labour cards.

if you are a labourer in this country most things revolve around your labour card and not passport. the labour card is used as an id card when going into many government buildings and free zones. hence the majority of the workforce would rater have thier l/c with them than thier passports.

while i don't agree with employers holding passports at all (even mine is held at the moment - voluntary surrender) you need to put the whole passport thing in its historical perspective.

unfortunatley i've even had ex-friends that have worked here, run up all thier accounts, shipped thier goods off home, maxed all the credit cards out (and it is very easy to get credit in the uae if you have been here for a while), then pocketed some of the companies money .... and finally hopped on a plane and headed out of dodge... and it has happened a LOT here in the past, hence a lot of companies reservations about letting thier staff hang onto thier passports.

of course you do get companies and employers that take advantage of the "un-written rule", to keep thier labour force in check and under control. my opinion is that if you are working for a company or sponsor who has to resort to strong-arm tactics to keep the rule of law, then you shouldn't be working for him/ them ... thing normally go from bad to worse and not bad to good!

one of my staff just got held trying to get into ja free zone without his labour card (he forgot it in the office). cops held him until someone brought the card for him and fined him 30 aed!