4

I live in Thailand.

My previous passport which has 5 years of multiple visas, which my employer kept, on the basis of which I gave resignation. They accepted my resignation letter, and reprimanded me for the passport that they will give me back this day. Now, they have refused to give me my passport, and have issued the ticket and are forcefully asking me to leave the country.

What should I do?

If I leave on my current passport, will this weaken my case? Will I loose my previous passport?

How will I be able to recover my previous passport by law or legally?

Improve this question
2
  • What is your nationality? What visa do you have in your current passport, and how much longer is it valid? How much information do you have about this ticket they say they have bought for you? If you don't use it, can you afford to get home?
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 5:45
  • If you cannot retrieve the old passport, there may be ways to get the visas reissued for your new passport. You would need to contact appropriate authorities for the countries that issued the visas.
    – Patricia Shanahan
    Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 10:26

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
7

Talk to your embassy and the police, in that order. The passport is the property of your country, not you, and the company has absolutely no right to hold onto it. A stern phone call from either will likely convince the company to cooperate.

That said, you really should never have given them your passport in the first place, but it's a little late to fix that...

Improve this answer
7
  • Embassy is closed today,I want to know if i leave on my current passport will this weaken my case and will i loose my previous passport? how will i be able to recover my previous passport by law or legally ??
    – illiac
    Commented Jul 16, 2016 at 13:41
  • they took my passport by lying to me to apply for HK visa .
    – illiac
    Commented Jul 16, 2016 at 13:42
  • 1
    @illiac It's going to be far more complicated to try to get anything done from overseas. What happens if you don't fly on their ticket, or can you change the date? (It's your ticket now, they can't stop you from doing this.)
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Jul 16, 2016 at 13:43
  • In your shoes, I would change the flight date, then tell them you have done so and that you will go to the police and charge them with theft if they don't return the passport today.
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Jul 16, 2016 at 13:45
  • the problem is that the ticket is not in my hands,its with the company they have booked it and secondly I live in their premises.
    – illiac
    Commented Jul 16, 2016 at 14:00
6

Companies in Thailand like to hold your work permit, as it is possible that they might be asked by immigration to show it to them. They will sometimes take your passport if they need to apply for an extension of stay or to extend your work permit - or if they will get a visa for you to visit another country for business purposes.

However, be aware that as a foreigner in Thailand you are required to carry your passport with you at all times as a form of identification, and so police can check that you are in the country legally.

Additionally, your passport (despite how much money you paid for it) belongs to the country that issued it, and not to you. By holding it when they do not strictly need to, your company is holding it illegally.

If I were you, I would go to the Department of Labour and explain your case to them, as they are FIRMLY on the side of employees when there are disputes with their employers, and they can put sanctions on (and fine or even close) companies that mistreat their employees. They can probably sort everything out within a couple of days. Of course, everything is closed this week with the beginning of Buddhist Lent, but on Wednesday or Thursday everything should be up and running again.

Good luck.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    This seems like an advice from someone with experience with handling the problems in Land of Smiles, and not just abstract expat.
    – Peter M. - stands for Monica
    Commented Sep 29, 2017 at 21:26

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.