Sending passport to prospective employer

purplepple · Post by **purplepple** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 6:25 am

Hi guys,

I would like to know if it is usual for a prospective employer to see your passport with a work permit visa first before issuing the employment contract.

I'm currently outside the UK, already have a work permit approved and just waiting for the work visa to be issued. My prospective employer (a large company in financial services) is asking me to send them my passport with the work visa for them to see it personally. Afterwards, they said they'll send it back together with my employment contract. They haven't issued the employment contract and I only submitted the offer letter to the embassy for the work visa application.

I'm just concerned that my passport will get lost or fall into the wrong hands but they said they cannot issue the employment contract without seeing the work visa first hand.

Is this a usual practice? Do I need to worry?

Thanks for the advice.

try-one · Post by **try-one** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 6:38 am

?
This is very strange;
The work permit would have been issued to your prospective employer; they requested it and they would have received it.

That should be enough for them, they directly requested the WP, got approval from HO, end of story..........

This is not normal practice, as they had direct contact with the HO and hence they have first hand verification that a WP has been issued.

Only explanation is that HR is not experienced or have been burned before by employees failing to gain Entry Clearance.... so, you can hire DHL and pay them to bring the passport and retrieve it from the employer, that reduces the chances of it being lost (ask a friend or family member to bring it to the employer and retrieve it)....

balajo · Post by **balajo** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:48 am

I don't understand why you have to send your passport. Can't you just send a copy of the permit?

vinay shanthi · Post by **vinay shanthi** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 2:23 pm

i am not sure it is legal to send passport out of the country u r resident in via courier etc. some countries frown upon such things as this gives scope for fraud.

ask ur prospective company to send u that request in headed paper asking for your passport etc and then submit the same to BIA and ask them if this indeed is a procedure the company should follow regarding workpemits the company themselves applied for.

unusual for a company who applied for wp asking the wp holder to provide the original when they themselves would have got direct communication from bia about this wp being issued etc

ashishashah · Post by **ashishashah** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 2:44 pm

I would STRONGLY recommed againts it..Identity therft is all time high in UK now..forget abt. sending passport, now a days people are told to use a shredder before throwing their post in rubbish bin ,so that no one can know about their identity from rubbish bin..and here u r talking abt. sending Passport.!!!!..Any one can get your identity,open bank account,get a Credit card, use it, get a mortgage , i even dont know what else can be done..

Sed them a copy of your Visa/EC stamp...I hope that they trust u enough that the photocopy is genuine...And if they cannot trust the photocopy sent by you,then i am not sure they want to hire you/you want to join them..
What if they dont send your passport back??

try-one · Post by **try-one** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:29 pm

another option is to get the copy of the visa certified by a solicitor and send the copy (apostille/apostilla are internationaly accepted validations; there are also international notaries)

Post by **Administrator** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 6:20 pm

.

That is one of the more bizarre requests I've heard of.

No. It is not a normal request.

It is highly unusual, and the reason they seem to have given stretches credibility. They seem to be saying that they need to see these originals, attached to each other, to confirm that the work permit is somehow valid.

There are a number of other ways to confirm that you've been issued a valid work permit that would take a lot less time and effort.

the Admin

ashishashah · Post by **ashishashah** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 6:32 pm

Let us know what happened??

One of my friends had an unusual exp..He was offered a job in one of the MNCs ,but then told to "get a WP"..he had tough time explaining that ONLY an employer can file for a WP, and he cannot "get" a WP from some where else/some other company(even if he managed it somehow it would be illegal)..WP it self means that employer needs that particular resource and is applying for a Work permit...

Imagine such a scene in one of the global IT MNC...!!!!
No wonder ppl. find it hard to find an employer in UK on a WP...

vinay shanthi · Post by **vinay shanthi** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 6:46 pm

send an email to hr dept in that company with a link to this thread to show them how unusual their request is

may be they will see better sense then

purplepple · Post by **purplepple** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 2:33 am

I've already asked them if I can just send a scanned copy then present them the original when I've arrived in the UK. But the HR said they cannot issue the employment contract and book my flight and hotel if they have not seen the visa in my passport.

I'm also wondering why they have to ask it when they are the ones who applied for the work permit and had it approved. They then sent me the letters for submission to the embassy here in my country.

I'm thinking the possibility of just paying for my own flight then reimbursing it when I've arrived. However, the immigration at UK airport might ask for my employment contract but all I have is the work permit approval letters and the company's offer letter. Also, here in my country, there is such a thing as exit clearance where I have to present the employment contract before getting it.

You guys are right that fraud and identity theft are at all time high now, what with HSBC CDs containing customer info getting lost in Royal Mail. That is why I'm worried and I would like to raise this to my prospective employer. I am just afraid that they will get turned off and not pursue hiring me.

global gypsy · Post by **global gypsy** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 5:54 am

You should stress the fact that it may be illegal to send a passport outside the country, and also there is the danger of it being lost/stolen in transit.

WorkPermitIssues · Post by **WorkPermitIssues** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:51 am

The bottomline is "You cannot send your passport to anyone except your own govt authorities". If that costs you your job you should be prepared for it. It sounds a bit bitter and harsh but i would do the same.

Let them figure out the ways to get you in the country. The other way to look at this is..If they are so finicky about getting a legal identity document which does not even belong to you (Remember it belongs to your govt.) what else will they do after your arrival in UK and working with them.

It looks like you are entering in a dark tunnel. There could be a roadblock ahead or maybe an opening with a Ray of light.

vinay shanthi · Post by **vinay shanthi** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:06 am

if u r from india then u dont need ECR (emigration clearance required) if u r a degree holder. if u r a degree holder u can get the ecnr stamped on ur passport then they cant ask u about contract etc when u leave india. i dont know the procedure for other countries.

vinay shanthi · Post by **vinay shanthi** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:29 am

ask ur countrys passport office in writing if they will give a written reply, or alternatively ask over phone if it is legal to post ur passport out of the country u r resident in etc. see what they say.

Rozen · Post by **Rozen** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 9:12 am

I know for a fact that DHL does not accept to send passports across borders!

They refused to send my Dutch husband's passport from England to Holland. There's no way around it with DHL, because they inspect the parcel before you can seal it!

Post by **Directive/2004/38/EC** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 10:39 am

I would never send an employer my passport unless there was a really good reason.

Send them a copy of the details page and a copy of the visa page.

If they want confirmation that the visa has been issued and that you have the right to work, they have to contact the UK Border Agency "employer checking service". See http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/employ ... pport/ecs/

vinay shanthi · Post by **vinay shanthi** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 10:59 am

Directive/2004/38/EC wrote:I would never send an employer my passport unless there was a really good reason.

Send them a copy of the details page and a copy of the visa page.

If they want confirmation that the visa has been issued and that you have the right to work, they have to contact the UK Border Agency "employer checking service". See http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/employ ... pport/ecs/

atlast a foolproof method that solves the OPs problem. but then depends on whether this satisfys the employer. hope the OP use the link and advises hr in that company

purplepple · Post by **purplepple** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 11:36 am

In a way, I can say that I can trust the company since they already incurred costs for me when they invited me for a face-to-face interview, all expenses paid by them, and when they applied for a work permit on my behalf. I'm just very uncomfortable sending out my passport with a risk that it may not come back.

global gypsy wrote:You should stress the fact that it may be illegal to send a passport outside the country, and also there is the danger of it being lost/stolen in transit.

Where can I find proof that it is indeed illegal to send a passport outside the country of citizenship?

vijay wrote:if u r from india then u dont need ECR

Unfortunately, I'm not from India, I'm from the Philippines.

Directive wrote:If they want confirmation that the visa has been issued and that you have the right to work, they have to contact the UK Border Agency "employer checking service". See http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/employ ... pport/ecs/

I will definitely check this link and inform HR if they can just use this service intead.

Rozen wrote:I know for a fact that DHL does not accept to send passports across borders!

If it is the same case with DHL Philippines, then I can inform my prospective employer of the situation. Together with the employer check service of UKBA and the illegality of sending passports out, hopefully HR will be satisfied with my explanation.

You guys have all been helpful. Thank you so much. I truly appreciate your enormous help.

Post by **Directive/2004/38/EC** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 11:56 am

I would trust my future employer also (otherwise I would not want to work with them).

But I would not trust that the passport would stay safe while being handled by so many people in so many different countries before it gets back to me. And if it gets lost, who do you think has to deal with it?

At christmas I was sent a present from another country. They sent it by registered mail so that it would not get lost and it could be tracked. In spite of this it did get lost for three weeks, before it magically surfaced at a post office near my house. It had been handled in the intervening time by the post offices of two different countries and by two private delivery firms. In the meantime nobody actually knew where it was, and that was in spite of it being "tracked" by various web sites and employees in the call centres. It arrived safely, but we were asked for no ID when picking it up.

purplepple · Post by **purplepple** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 2:36 pm

Directive/2004/38/EC wrote:But I would not trust that the passport would stay safe while being handled by so many people in so many different countries before it gets back to me. And if it gets lost, who do you think has to deal with it?

Do you think it will be safer if sent through DHL or Fedex instead of the local post office? I think items are also insured.

Post by **Directive/2004/38/EC** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:25 pm

purplepple wrote:
Directive/2004/38/EC wrote:But I would not trust that the passport would stay safe while being handled by so many people in so many different countries before it gets back to me. And if it gets lost, who do you think has to deal with it?
Do you think it will be safer if sent through DHL or Fedex instead of the local post office? I think items are also insured.

I would not send it by courier. I would not send it by post. I would not send it on a plane. I would not send it on a train. I would not send it at all.

If you really feel you have to do this, I would have them arrange somebody in the philipines to see it. Do they have an office there?

Post by **PaperPusher** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:27 pm

purplepple

I do not think you should send the passport by post to them. What if customs open the package?

Just pointing out that I think it is reasonable for the employer to want to see your entitlement to work before you start, it is the law after all, it is not reasonable to get you to send your passport by post/courier/however from abroad.

If they give you the contract & you do not have the right to work it does not matter. I do not think anyone can enforce a contract which would make someone break the law (layman's understanding). If you do not have the right to work, they do not have to employ you.They have to check your entitlement to work before you start, that is it. It could be one minute before you start.

Also, just becasue you have a work permit does not mean you have permission to work, so I can understand why they need to check further.

They should ring the employer's helpline if they are not satified with you saying no to sending your passport.

Good luck.

purplepple · Post by **purplepple** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 9:41 am

I checked DHL's website and passports are considered a usual document. They are not prohibited.

Isn't it that for Tier 1 applications, you now have to send passports to HO since it is now a one-stop process unlike the two-stage process for HSMP (ie HSMP approval from HO then entry clearance from local embassy)? Therefore, somebody from overseas who is interested to apply will really have to send his passport across borders.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/worki ... dpassport/

alina76 · Post by **alina76** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:45 am

Hi,

First of all for tier 1 application you will not send your passport to HO but you will apply to your own local British Embassy. so no question about sending a passport across the border.

no offence please, it seems that you actually want to send your passport so I dont really understand the purpose of this discussion.

anyways best of luck.

vinay shanthi · Post by **vinay shanthi** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:11 pm

looks like the OP wants to send the passport, so people like me have said what we wanted to say.

best of luck if u do indeed send the passport out of country of residence.

as a person who suffered due to an embassy losing my passport for about 6m. i can tell u it causes loads of problems. that especially if the embassy stonewalls u on losing the passport luckily they managed to find t and returned it after 6m when i was just about to report it misplaced by embassy to police and get a replacement.

my friend similarly lost ALLL his document courtesy of home office, everything including all his professional degrees, payslips, bank docs, passports of full family. they stonewalled him 6-8 months, then he hired lawyer and had sent notices. then they sent him just visa granted letter plus visa sticker !! and no news about passport. he then involved MP and follwed it up pretty seriously. in a few weeks he got all documents back. i wonder why they couldnt find it many months he was running after them earlier. home office similarly lost my latest bank statement when i applied for hsmp approval. i had to get new one to apply for hsmp visa.

when i posted my docs for schengen visa inspite of special delivery used, most of my documents were damaged with few centimeters hole in them including marriage certificate etc

another person i knew had applied for wifes visa by reg post. they lost passport and later when complained they then said yes they had got envelope but there is no proof that passport was enclosed inspuite of mentioning in covering letter sent for visa renewal. later they offered Â£50 compensation on condition that person affected agrees not to take matter further and no blame pointed to home office for losing passport. person got fed up of running after them and then got replacement from indian embassy later.

best of luck what ever u decide

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Sending passport to prospective employer

Sending passport to prospective employer