Korean Job Discussion Forums

[crazy teacher]

Ok I love my job, decent hours, decent pay, decent school, decent flat overall I am happy (it has only been a month!). I even get on with my boss although he can be a little stressed at times! However I just went my visa run to Japan and when I came back he asked to see my pasport. I assumed he wanted to see that eveything was ok with the visa but no.... he wanted to keep my passport!

I said no and well we had a bit of a 'discussion' where of course the word trust came up. Apparently my being reluctant to give him my passport shows him no trust (of course him wanting to take my passport in case I do runner shows immeasurable trust!).

Basically I have said no at the moment and that I would speak to the embassy and see what they say.

I have still to speak to them but their website says "Retain your passport. Your employer has no legal right to hold your passport, and is not required to do so by the Korean authorities. Your passport remains the property of the British Government at all times. Please contact the Consular Section of the British Embassy for advice, if your employer insists on keeping your passport."

I do actually trust him and really dont think he is going to be selling my passport on the black market or anything however, ... its my passport!

Is this a normal request? I dont really know what to do because apart from this everything is great and I also dont want to ruin a very good working relationship to date!

I dont know what else I could do to make him feel at ease. I have no intention of doing a midnight flit but do understand his concerns!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

[Dan The Chainsawman]

Tell your consulate you lost yours, and apply for another.

Or if you feel like taking the moral high road, show your employer the consulate web site, and any applicable quotes from Korean law.

I doubt it matters, best to tell him to shine that sum a @%!$@# up real nice and turn that sum a !#$@# 180 degrees and jam it up his candy Q#!@$ .

I doubt many other employers require you to hand in your passport, in fact my boss lady went out of her way to make sure I had mine back as soon as possible from immigration.

[Gopher]

It's not a matter or trust but one of propriety.

It's simply not appropriate for him to seize or even just "hold" (euphemism for "seize") your passport.

Your passport is your government's property. No one has the right to seize your passport: not the local police, not Immigration, not any Korean banker, and also not your boss.

Tell him, "I must politely refuse. I am not going to surrender my passport." (And don't apologize for saying this.)

[crazylemongirl]

sounds to me like your boss has been burnt by someone doing a runner. And wants some insurance about you running.

However never surrender your passport. Print out the thing from embassy. He probably won't fire you over it now.

However this is a red flag that the boss has had some probems with foreigners (might not be his fault) so best be wary and have money stashed away just in case things go awry.

[SuperHero]

Give him a photocopy

[dg611]

Embassy officials will likely tell you that you should not surrender your passport to anyone other than an immigration official. It is the property of the US government. If North Korea decided to attack tonight and you don't have your passport...you might find it difficult to leave the country. Of course, this arguement won't work on your boss since koreans would never believe such a thing would happen...
I disagree with the previous poster who said

[VanIslander]

One may have to hand over one's passport for a short time to allow paperwork to be processed, but one can insist on knowing when it'll be returned in the near future.

Any longer than that is unacceptable. Hold it until the end of my contract? I don't think so.

I need my passport to work. End stop. No passport, no work. I'd communicate it nicely but make it very clear that if I don't get it by such-and-such date, I can't work. I "need" to always have it with me. If that date comes and no passport is in my hand I then go to work but refuse to teach that day, saying I'm waiting for my passport.

I can't imagine not getting it handed over, and quickly.

You play a role in your own subjugation.

One has to decide where one draws the line. Do it nicely, but insist: There is a line here.

[hari seldon]

Who the *beep* would allow their school to keep their passport?

Bosses that seem like "nice guys" frequently have ulterior motives here.

[mindmetoo]

I gave my boss my passport twice, once to have my visa transferred to a new school (long story) and once for my visa renewal. The first time I was a bit worried and what they wanted to do seemed a bit hokey but then I had to fall back on "okay, my boss has always been an upstanding guy". Generally, if you assume everything your boss is doing is because he wants to rip you off, this can quickly lead to a downward spiral.

That said, a request by your boss to hold onto your passport for the duration of your contact is just out of line and you should refuse (politely). Just explain you need your passport for money transfers back home. The bank won't accept your ARC as they need to passport to stamp with the amount sent home. You need to transfer money on a monthly basis as you're paying off a student loan or something.

[livinginkorea]

An attempt by your director to hold onto your passport is an attempt by the director to own you!! He is thinking that you can't leave or that you are now tied down. But God forbid what if he lost it? Nobody wants to think about that...

Tell him that you have to hold onto it and tell him that the embassy said that ONLY YOU can hold onto it. Maybe this is just a test by the director to see how easy you are. If you say yes then he would ask for something else next. They took my degree scroll (at the last job) and kept saying that they HAD to hold onto it and that it would be save. That didn't agree with me and eventually I had to sneak into the office and "get" it back.

I know that mine was a more extreme case but you never know what will happen in the future.

[Hagwon Muppet]

[joe_doufu]

I believe most countries require foreigners to carry their passports at all times. It's not enforced and a photocopy is usually OK, but in theory you need to be able to present your passport if a police officer demands ID. It is in no way OK for you not to have your passport. I am freaking out just because immigration has it this week for my ARC application.

[gypsyfish]

[sheba]

I gave my director my passport twice, first to get my ARC card, and then to sort out my insurance. Both times, the longest it was gone was one week.

Unless there is a specific reason to give your passport then DON'T!!

I can understand your directors worry, but it is no reason to trap you. This gives your dirctor full control... if there are any problems in the future then this will only make thigs waaay worse.

[Saxiif]