286 Philippine passports illegally seized by employers returned to owners

  DUBAI - Withholding someone's passport is illegal in the UAE, the Philippine consul general in Dubai reiterated as he revealed that the consulate helped retrieve 286 Philippine passports confiscated by employers. Philippine Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes said that the consulate's Assistance to Nationals (ATN) section facilitated the retrieval of the passports. Cortes said "keeping someone else's passport is illegal", and emphasised that the "Philippine passport is the property of the Philippine government and should not be ”. UAE government officials have repeatedly said that no employer should retain an employee's passport. While individuals may hand over their passports to authorities to obtain visas, the document should not be handed over to unauthorised persons or bodies, including employers. It is not an easy task to get employers to cooperate, Cortes said. "The most difficult part is running after the employers... regrettably, the consulate is not a law enforcement office and we cannot enforce the law on to erring employers here in the UAE," he told Expatmedia.net. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has advised that “retaining workers’ passport also amounts to forcible work in violation of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on the Abolition of Forced Labour, to which the UAE is a signatory”. In 2002, the UAE Ministry of Interior issued a decree saying that “the passport is a personal document and as the law obliges its owner to keep and show when required by the governmental authorities, it is not allowed for any party to detain the passport except by the official parties with a judicial order and according to the law. Consequently it will be considered as an illegal action to detain the passport in UAE except by the governmental parties.” UAE employers who seize and keep workers’ passports can be jailed and fined up to Dh20,000. If an employer refuses to return a passport, the individual can register a case against them at the ministry and even file a police case.

Thousands of Filipinos given assistance

Last year, there were 6,004 Filipinos who sought the consulate's assistance for issues that included court assistance, imprisonment, civil cases, labour issues, passport retrieval, temporary shelter and repatriation. The Philippine Consulate General in Dubai reportedly spent Dh2.97 million in financial help to Filipino expats in trouble last year. Cortes urged Filipinos to seek the consulate's help, saying that the mission is ready to "fight for their right”. DAJ/MFD/Expat Media
IMPORTANT INFO ATN Hotline: 0565015755 or 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