keeping helper's passport?
- Thread starter MeowMeow
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Hi MeowMeow,
You can not keep your helper's PASSPORT, it's illegal, you know why i know? my prevoius employer working as Immigration officer and he told me about this, it's so happened that i had a friend who is the employer wanted to keep her passport and begging me to ask this to my boss as they know that he's an immigration officer and that's it, he told me that Passprt is our GOVERNMENT PROPERTIES, not any other.
Hope it will help you.
You can not keep your helper's PASSPORT, it's illegal, you know why i know? my prevoius employer working as Immigration officer and he told me about this, it's so happened that i had a friend who is the employer wanted to keep her passport and begging me to ask this to my boss as they know that he's an immigration officer and that's it, he told me that Passprt is our GOVERNMENT PROPERTIES, not any other.
Hope it will help you.
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rani
Administrator
i know some employers keep them cos they're afraid their helpers may use it to get a loan. i heard there was a helper in our complex that managed to get the passport of a few of her friends and secured a substantial loan without their consent. i gave our helper a long lecture on trusting people in HK when she arrived. there are a lot of people who will take advantage of new helpers
i have a previous helper who did exactly as rani has said. but yes, keeping their passport is illegal, BUT that is still what agents are recommending. my previous helper (she was fired after a long episode, this was just 3 months ago) lied and told us that she needed her passport to apply for some filipino document, we gave it to her as it is illegal afterall to keep her passport.
she ended up borrowing 10's of thousands of dollars, AND on top of that because lending agencies won't lend her so much, she managed to have loans under ALL of my extended families' maids (my other maid, my mom's maid, my grandmother's maid), it's really crazy, she didn't even need their passport to do that, just their names, info and consent. she has outstanding loans when we fired her, and we ended up having to repaid part of her loans, especially the ones involving the maids we know. a lot of them will do things like that when their 'friends' as them to help them borrow.
still, i'm not that uptight about keeping their passports, but would like to share, so people would understand where the risks are if you don't do that.
she ended up borrowing 10's of thousands of dollars, AND on top of that because lending agencies won't lend her so much, she managed to have loans under ALL of my extended families' maids (my other maid, my mom's maid, my grandmother's maid), it's really crazy, she didn't even need their passport to do that, just their names, info and consent. she has outstanding loans when we fired her, and we ended up having to repaid part of her loans, especially the ones involving the maids we know. a lot of them will do things like that when their 'friends' as them to help them borrow.
still, i'm not that uptight about keeping their passports, but would like to share, so people would understand where the risks are if you don't do that.
Enforceable?
That sounds really scarry. Did all those helpers who "lent" their name to their friend need to sign any contract when their "so called" friend borrowed money from the banks?
I hope it is impossible for banks to lend money to anybody merely based on some names and info the lender provides. Having said that, has anyone experienced these kind of nonsense before? How did you tackle that situation?
That sounds really scarry. Did all those helpers who "lent" their name to their friend need to sign any contract when their "so called" friend borrowed money from the banks?
I hope it is impossible for banks to lend money to anybody merely based on some names and info the lender provides. Having said that, has anyone experienced these kind of nonsense before? How did you tackle that situation?
Regardless of what your helper may use their passport for, it is illegal to keep it. I think the rule of thumb shoul be - how would you feel of your employer.....? For example, if your employer said to you - ' Give me your passport, I will keep it,' you would know straight away that what they were asking was illegal and refuse to let them have it. So why should anyone have the right to keep their helpers passport?
rani
Administrator
bekyboo44 said:
Beky, you can't compare the two. If you default on a loan the collection agency will not call and harrass yr boss or send thugs to his house. If you have a naive and gullible helper then I don't think its wrong to hold her passport, you're protecting her and your family
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rani
Administrator
Hermoine,
I would definitely call the police. We had to call the police a few months ago because our ex-helper had an outstanding phone bill. An automated machine would call our home phone 4X day as a payment reminder. We spoke to the company and told them she'd left us over 18 months ago and to stop calling. They said we needed to send a fax, so I faxed them a letter, but the calls didn't stop. We called them again, and we threatened them but they didn't care. In the end we called the police and within 24 hrs the calls stopped.
Rani
I would definitely call the police. We had to call the police a few months ago because our ex-helper had an outstanding phone bill. An automated machine would call our home phone 4X day as a payment reminder. We spoke to the company and told them she'd left us over 18 months ago and to stop calling. They said we needed to send a fax, so I faxed them a letter, but the calls didn't stop. We called them again, and we threatened them but they didn't care. In the end we called the police and within 24 hrs the calls stopped.
Rani
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barbwong_130
Registered User
If you have problems with threatening people and telephone calls please do contact the police. A friend of mine had problems with triads trying to find her husband. These men were very frightening for her and her young family. But once she called the police the threats stopped immediately.
What I remember is surprising in this story was her maid?s reaction. She was amazed that the police in Hong Kong could be so helpful without being bribed.
Best wishes,
Barb
What I remember is surprising in this story was her maid?s reaction. She was amazed that the police in Hong Kong could be so helpful without being bribed.
Best wishes,
Barb
Keeping helper's passport
Rani wether Becky has a naive and gullible helper it is still not right to hold her passport. What are you trying to imply is , it is right to take an advantage to those naive helpers and that is absolutely not right. There should be no descrimination in the level of knowledge of every helper.
rani said:
Rani wether Becky has a naive and gullible helper it is still not right to hold her passport. What are you trying to imply is , it is right to take an advantage to those naive helpers and that is absolutely not right. There should be no descrimination in the level of knowledge of every helper.
Well, I think can see both sides of the fence.
There is a desire to protect a helper, given that passports are very often misused by loan sharks.
Yes, the helper can report the passport lost and get a new one, and yes, you can call the cops if the loan sharks harrass you (we have.. and it worked).
However, every society has boundaries that are enforced. To use an extreme situation, to justify my point -- I know GI Joes in the US who claim that they're being persecuted because they can die for their country at the tender age of 19, but they cannot drink legally in their countries. Why? The goverments (elected by us, the citizens) have figured that they are not responsible to make a certain decisions on their own.
Many helpers who come to Hong Kong, specially from rural areas have not experienced the many temptations that are going to be thrown at them. Just like some of our children have not. It is almost essential to protect them.
Now, if your value system says that you want to protect them by keeping their passports, after explaining to them, that they can ask for the passport at any time, they want it... for a legitimate reason.
Would you give your 16 year old full access to your platinum Amex? I don't think so ... not until he's proven his ability to use it wisely and even then, you'd probably want to get him a low limit credit card. (You'd be surprised how many orders we get on shopinhk.com from kids who have taken their parents credit cards without their permission...).
I know I'm using extreme examples .. but I also do hope that you consider that you're not taking the passport to enslave someone and deprive them of their freedoms, you're taking it to protect them.
There is a desire to protect a helper, given that passports are very often misused by loan sharks.
Yes, the helper can report the passport lost and get a new one, and yes, you can call the cops if the loan sharks harrass you (we have.. and it worked).
However, every society has boundaries that are enforced. To use an extreme situation, to justify my point -- I know GI Joes in the US who claim that they're being persecuted because they can die for their country at the tender age of 19, but they cannot drink legally in their countries. Why? The goverments (elected by us, the citizens) have figured that they are not responsible to make a certain decisions on their own.
Many helpers who come to Hong Kong, specially from rural areas have not experienced the many temptations that are going to be thrown at them. Just like some of our children have not. It is almost essential to protect them.
Now, if your value system says that you want to protect them by keeping their passports, after explaining to them, that they can ask for the passport at any time, they want it... for a legitimate reason.
Would you give your 16 year old full access to your platinum Amex? I don't think so ... not until he's proven his ability to use it wisely and even then, you'd probably want to get him a low limit credit card. (You'd be surprised how many orders we get on shopinhk.com from kids who have taken their parents credit cards without their permission...).
I know I'm using extreme examples .. but I also do hope that you consider that you're not taking the passport to enslave someone and deprive them of their freedoms, you're taking it to protect them.
If you can't trust your helper with her passport, how on earth can you trust her with your house and your children?
There are plenty of naive and gullible helpers, as there are plenty of naive and gullible people but it is still illegal to hold someone elses passport.
There are plenty of naive and gullible helpers, as there are plenty of naive and gullible people but it is still illegal to hold someone elses passport.
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