Job Discussion Forums

[nomad soul]

The latest (and hopefully last) word on employers not withholding passports...

Employers told not to keep expat passports
Arab News | 16 July 2016
Source: http://www.arabnews.com/node/954496/saudi-arabia

RIYADH: An employer does not have the right to retain the passport of his expat employee without the employee’s consent, Khalid Aba Al-Khail, spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, said.

However, if the expat worker wishes the employer to keep his passport, he has to sign a written statement in both Arabic and his native language stating that the employer has received his passport and the date of receipt, Mr Al-Khail said.

He called on employers not to keep the passports of their employees to avoid any penalty stipulated by the executive by-laws of the labor law. The penalty includes imposition of a fine of SR2,000 for each case, but can carry multiple fines in case he retains the passports of additional workers.

Mr Al-Khail said the ministry seeks to regulate the contractual relations between the two parties and fix the rights and duties of both sides, which aims to streamline the Saudi labor market and create a suitable work environment for all parties to ensure increased productivity and promotion of the national economy. He stressed there will be no tolerance for whoever violates the labor system. In this context, he called on the parties concerned to read the executive by-laws of the labor law on the Ministry’s website at mosa.gov.sa.

(End of article)

************

For some history and prior discussion on this issue, see Do employers/sponsors still withhold passports.

[babur]

NS. When did you last work here? I first came to Saudi 1990. (Left for 2 years, otherwise I've been here all the time). The Arab News has been putting out news like this for donkeys years. The Labor office can proclaim as many laws as they want. Employers can ignore them. And they do. Fines are very rarely paid. It's all eye wash. Passports are retained for months while teachers await their iqama. Your employer will tell you it's still bein "processed".

New teachers:

- Sorry, but it's easy to be lured into a false sense of security by anything you read in thr press.

- Only enter KSA on a work visa.i

- Get your contract BEFORE you go. Go through it VERY carefully.

- Make sure you'll get a Multiple Exit / Re-Entry visa. You need this visa to take vacations.

- Business / Visit visas cannot be converted into Work Visas. The latter can only be issued in your home country. Anybody who heads for the Labor Office complaining they've no Work Visa will be told to head for the airport.

- Scout around for info on how previous teachers have faired.

- Google the school/college. You'll find info on Dave's Cafe much faster. Info on this site is the best advice you'll get

- In general, the bigger the college/university the better you'll be treated.

- Smaller privately run language schools are risky. If they're not making any money, you won't get yours.

- Make sure you'll be getting "single" not "shared" accommodation. You don't want to end up sharing with people you'd never dream of associating with.

[desertfox]

The post from Babur is spot on.

It's the difference between the theory and the practice.

Desertfox

[veiledsentiments]

I didn't note NS saying that the rules were enforced and/or how they were used/abused in real life.

She is merely posting for employees what their rights should be. It is up to each teacher to know those rights... AND... to figure out if fighting for enforcement of the rules is worth the aggravation or the possibility of losing said job.

VS

[nomad soul]

[desertfox]

"The Ladies doth protest too much, methinks!!"

[Hatcher]

Maybe NS could give some examples where people she knew walked into the boss's office and said, "here are the rules and I have the right..."

YOu can do that in Korea. Saudi? You're fired and I can give several examples.

[veiledsentiments]

[2buckets]

In SA and the UAE I complained about this policy at my consulate. In both cases they notified my employer who reluctantly gave me my passport. Employers were unhappy because they felt "embarrassed", and "humiliated" by being contacted by consulate.

[desertfox]

[Hatcher]

Great. We have one case of a consulate calling the employer to demand the passport back.

VS, why post if it isnt of value?

[plumpy nut]

It doesn't matter if your employer holds your passport in Saudi Arabia. You have to have an exit visa provided by your employer before leaving the country anyway, so they may as well just keep your passport unless you plan on escaping by camel to Egypt. There are no midnight runs in Saudi Arabia.

[veiledsentiments]

[nomad soul]

[scot47]

In my last job (KFUPM/HBCC) I had in my possession most of the time my passport with multiple exit visa. Nice feeling.