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Am leaving my company. My passport (UK) is currently with my sponsor.

If they are difficult about giving it back, who should I complain to?
I need it before the end of the month to fly home for a holiday.

appreciate you advice!

Rosbif71 wrote:Am leaving my company. My passport (UK) is currently with my sponsor.

If they are difficult about giving it back, who should I complain to?
I need it before the end of the month to fly home for a holiday.

appreciate you advice!

According to the law, the Sponsor is not supposed to hold your passport, the Police may help, if you try labour it may take some time.

thanks sage. Think I will have a word with the Consulate to see about getting a new passport issued!

the easiest way to to inform you sponsor that if the passport is not returned to you by a specified time you will notify the police that it has been lost while in the sponsors possesion.

if he tries to call your bluff phone then police and tell them you would like to report a theft; they will send someone around to investigate and the employer will then have to explain the dissapearance or hand over the passport. if it come to this, make sure you have someone who can translate for you. most police i have encountered do speak good english, but it is aways good to have someone who can fill you in on what is happening if the officer and the employer break into arabic (unless of course you speak or can understand arabic).

while it is illegal for a sponsor to hold passports, in practical terms it still happens. if the document is lost or stolen while in their custody they are fined 5,000 aed buy the labour and immigration departments and have to also bear the replacement costs of the document.

in anycase if you apply to the consulate for a new document, you have to show that you have reported the theft/ loss to the police and normally provide a case number for their records. remember that you are only the bearer of the passport, legally the document belongs to the uk government.

some sponsors hold onto the passport and only have their pro's hand it over to the employee inside the airport on departure.

Thanks. nobody in my office spaks any arabic so that shouldnt be a problem!

Hopefully I am just being a bit paranoid! just I dont want then to mess u my visit home!

It shouldn't happen, but many companies hold emloyees passports for 'Safe-keeping'. Go to your PRO and make them aware of when you need the passport by and see what their reaction is. A company cannot refuse to give you your passport back.

Your company only needs some Govt document to keep. My policy has always been to let them keep my labour card, and I keep my passport. Tell your PRO/Admin that you want to take your passport, and will submit your labour card in its place. When you're done, you'll return passport and take back labour card. Of course, once passport is in your hand, don't even think about giving it back to the company.

will find out tomorrow if I will have a problem. Might have to rearrange my flights until later in the year, and whill be charged by the airline!

just a bit of clarification???

in your opening sentence it says "Am leaving my company", is this to go on holiday or are you actually leaving your company to start a new job (taking a short holiday in between)?

taking a short holiday before starting a new job!

really getting worried about this now!

I have a car loan from the comany. They asked for it to be paid before I leave which I cant do because they have my passport, hence I cant get a car loan to repay them. Have offered them custody of the car but just expect them to cause trouble! there is nothing written that I have to repay in full before i leave them!

I could end up being held hostage by them because they have my passport!

If I were you I would now be treating this as a criminal offence.

Call the police and tell them that the sponsor has stolen your passport, which effectively he has as he is refusing to give it back.

You could then go to embassy and ask for a new one as the old one was stolen.

Not surprised they are upset though if they bought you a car!

soke to my embassy and they were useless!

I will be staying in Dubai as i have another job to move to and they will get their money back on the car loan in full next month as soon as I have my new visa! I would already have done it if they hadnt witheld my passport!

your'e between a rock and a hard place.

they are entitled to with hold your final payment and not canell you labour card until all debts are setled with the company. should you get your passport and leave without servicing the outstanding debt they can actually have a criminal case opened against you - abscoding (compounded by the fact that you are leaving the country) - while this may cost them a little money to process you will recieve a permanent ban and risk being prosicuted if you do try to return.

depending on what the balance of the loan is on the car (you said you could repay it in full in one month), simply take a bank loan, or draw the money off your credit card if you have one. don't tell the bank it is for a vehicle, else they will insist that you take a car loan.

additionally you should only need a copy of your passport and employment contract to to take a car loan - not nessisarily the original!

dxbsoul is right, you are supposed to finish off all loans before you leave the country (since there is the theoretical possibility that you will not return). Or they will catch you at the airport.

Article 135 (UAE Labour Law)

"An employer may deduct any amounts owed to him by a worker from the latter's severance pay."

This is a trickey issue, as the employer may not with hold your salary (in it's entirity) else he is in breach of the contract (Atricle 121), they may however provide you with a pay-slip claiming deductions of the amount owed over a reasonble period of time. obviouly in order to service this debt you would then have to remain in thier employ until the amount was settled in full!

in the article above it does state severence pay, which under your current circumstances you may not even be entitled to.

bear in mind if you pay the amount in full, the vehicle is yours - to dispose of as you see fit. is the vehicle registered in your name or the companies?

The car is in my name.

I have put the car up for sale, but dont know how long it will take to sell!.

I could try to take a car loan, but surely the bank will check with my employer to make sure i am working there! and I guess that the bank would not give e a loan based on my new labour contract because it won't match my Visa.

Is it possible to do this without leaving the country?

My new employer is a Freezone company. If I can get the passport can they get my new visa without me leaving the country? that would mean the old employer would have no worry about me not returning?

I have offered my company custody of the car and registration documents.

Rosbif71 wrote:My new employer is a Freezone company. If I can get the passport can they get my new visa without me leaving the country?

Yes

dbxsoul wrote:Article 135 (UAE Labour Law)

"An employer may deduct any amounts owed to him by a worker from the latter's severance pay."

This is a trickey issue, as the employer may not with hold your salary (in it's entirity) else he is in breach of the contract (Atricle 121), they may however provide you with a pay-slip claiming deductions of the amount owed over a reasonble period of time. obviouly in order to service this debt you would then have to remain in thier employ until the amount was settled in full!

in the article above it does state severence pay, which under your current circumstances you may not even be entitled to.

bear in mind if you pay the amount in full, the vehicle is yours - to dispose of as you see fit. is the vehicle registered in your name or the companies?

the company have severed my employment and cancelled my visa!

they still have my passport and say they will only give it back at the DNATA desk at the airport when I am due to fly out!

problem is I dont trust them now to give it back even if I give them the money! they have refused to honour the 1 month minimum notice period that was in a contract I had with them!