Job Discussion Forums

[BajaLaJaula]

Raytheon/SALTS is direct hire and they keep your passport....Raytheon is an American Company Fortune 500....and SALTS is a Saudi store front subcontractor that is there is skim off the top...but does not provide any support...they also keep passports.
Thought this is against the law...They have been doing it for over 45 years in KSA.

[wavelength]

[veiledsentiments]

There is what is written in your passport, there is the law, and then there is what a significant number of employers in Saudi Arabia do... which is keep your passport.

VS

[wavelength]

Yup!

[nomad soul]

And now, from the Ministry of Labor...

Workers can keep passports: Labor Ministry
Saudi Gazette | March 06, 2015
Source: http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150306235952

RIYADH — The Ministry of Labor confirmed the right of the expatriate working in the Kingdom to keep his passport and all official papers. A passport is considered to be an official document and it is the right of its bearer and he is responsible for it, the ministry said.

The director of the ministry’s information center Tayseer Al-Mufarrij said it is not legal procedure for the employer to keep the worker’s passport with him. He stressed that it is the right of the worker to keep his official documents and whoever violates this regulation would be subject to prosecution. He said the updated Ministry of Labor contracts indicate the worker’s right to keep his or her passport.

(End of article)

[scot47]

The passport alone is not enough to get out ! You need an exit visa ! I have never understood the fetish that some Westerners make of the travel docucment issued by their home countries. A piece of paper !

[plumpy nut]

A new passport can be obtained in 4 days if you're American. It can only confuse things, the employer has to put a stamp in the new one. Lots of luck at immigration if they stamp the old passport and not the new one. This is in addition to the exit visa paper.

[nomad soul]

Cautious welcome to new guidelines on expat passports
By Abdul Hannan Tago, Arab News | 8 March 2015
Source: http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/715276

RIYADH--The Labor Ministry issued a series of warnings to expatriates to keep their passports and other personal identification cards with them. The move has been described as part of the ministry’s efforts to balance the demand and supply of foreign workforce, including the protection of workers’ rights.

A memo issued by the ministry states that workers under the sponsorship of certain contracting companies cannot continue providing their services if the firm fails to complete the projects agreed upon. It also applies to firms that have had labor problems with its workers, including failure to issue residency permits, delayed payment of salaries for more than three months and other labor contract violations. To make use of these expats, the MoL is permitting them to be transferred to a new company without the permission of their previous sponsor or company, but in many cases the ministry has had to budge because those companies retained the workers’ passports with them.

According to the ministry, withholding passports is now against the law and it does not guarantee that the employee will not run away. Expatriates welcomed the new regulation, but they also question the readiness of Saudi companies to enact the system. They are especially concerned about the issue since sponsors have the authority to issue or renew resident permits, re-entry and exit visas.

“Legally, the passport is not a property of the expat workers, but rather a privilege guaranteeing a citizen to travel or pass safely freely to the national border and given entry to the host government with an entry visa” said Migrante-Middle East (M-ME) regional coordinator, John Monterona. According to Monterona, withholding an expat’s passport is an illegal act as per international convention. “Even so, we welcome it, since no other than King Salman re-issued clearly his government policy against withholding passports. So we call on all companies and employers to respect and heed the new policy,” he stated.

It is a legal document validating that you are a citizen of a particular state and hence in case of need should be given lawful aid and protection by the host govt. And passport secures the national identity of one’s person if he or she is abroad, traveling or working. "In fact just last week, my entry to Qatar at the border was denied because I was not able to show my original iqama being their basic policy before granting entry visa” an IT expert working in the Kingdom told Arab News, adding that his company had retained his passport. He suggested that the Saudi authority should penalize any company that does not allow their staff to keep their basic credentials such as the passport and residential permit. Denial of such rights is tantamount to being detained in police headquarters, he said.

(End of article)

* * * * * * * * *

For those of you who responded that your employer keeps your passport, what are your thoughts? What do you think your employer's reaction will be to this (old) news?

[scot47]

If you get nervous about the passport business, maybe you should stay at home in Nebraska or Newcastle ?

[DesertDuck]

[nomad soul]

[BajaLaJaula]

Having a multiple exit/re-entry visa only works IF YOU HAVE YOUR PASSPORT IN HAND.

Saudi employers should not hold anyone's passport. They are still of the mind-set that their slaves (prior to 1962), now called shagal or shagala (worker), will run away if they don't hold their passports.

Then again, what other recourse does a shagal or shagala have when they are being mistreated and/or abused daily and their wages withheld?

For the highly educated (note: I left off highly-skilled), they still want to hold passports with this outdated mentality. TEFLers fall into the category of migrant worker or indentured servant. They can get their passport if they finish their contract and if the employer (Saudi) decides to grant them permission to leave the country (final exit visa).

When I wanted to leave, I was threatened by the Saudi employer that I would not be granted the final exit visa. This was most absurd considering that I did not work for a Saudi company.

Remember....you are just there to save some money, so you are willing to put up with the abuse.

Now that the law states that they (Saudi employers) are not allowed to hold passports, will it make any difference? Not bl**dy likely!!

[scot47]

Reasonable employers now give multiple exit/re-entry and let you keep your passports.

For me this was never a big deal, but I know that some Westerners are really obsessive about this.

[DesertDuck]

[cnthaiksarok]