Such practice, where the employer retains the passport of an employee, is strictly prohibited under the law of the United Arab Emirates. It finds strict emphasis under the U.A.E. Labor Law, or particularly under Law No. 33 of 2021. From this law, the provision of Article 13, subsection 2, articulates that “employers shall not seize official documents” of employees.

Passports are recorded as “official documents,” and that category also includes other important documents, such as labor cards, contracts of employment, and such other similar legal documents. The rationale for such legislation is to protect workers’ rights and freedoms, where these workers can be in possession of their identity documents or other personal legal documents.

Besides, this practice is prohibited under the enforcement of the U.A.E. Constitution on safeguarding an individual’s rights and freedoms. Keeping an individual’s passport or any other similar documents constitutes a suppression of these rights, let alone a breach of the legal framework on which the country stands. Thus, the employer engaging in such an activity is breaking the laws of the U.A.E. and shall be addressed legally.

In short, it is not only a contravention of the U.A.E. Labor Law but also against the constitutional principle of protection of individual rights for an employer to retain the passports of employees. The employee should be aware of their rights with respect to their personal documents and be empowered to advocate for themselves under the U.A.E.’s rule of law.