Employer Holding Your Passport in Saudi Arabia: What You Can Do

What the rule says

Employers may not keep a worker's passport. MHRSD guidance states that employers must not retain a worker’s official documents.

If your employer is holding your passport, you can complain to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD).

Your passport is not security for anything the company says you owe. If the employer claims you owe it money, that is a separate matter with its own legal routes.

Why it matters in practice

A held passport is often used as leverage at the worst moment:

• to discourage a worker from resigning or transferring;
• to pressure a worker into signing a final settlement or release;
• to delay a worker's departure after the contract has ended.

After your contract ends, a final-exit route may be available subject to the current official requirements. See Employer Refusing Final Exit Visa.

Do not sign a release you disagree with just to get your passport back. A release signed after your employment ends may be used against you later. See Signing a Final Settlement.

Step by step

1. Ask in writing. Send HR a short, polite message by email or WhatsApp asking for your passport back by a specific date. Keep a copy.
2. Keep copies of your documents. Keep a scan of your passport, iqama and visa pages on your phone and in email.
3. Note who has it. Record who took the passport, when, and any receipt or message confirming it.
4. Complain to MHRSD if the passport is not returned.
5. Deal with money issues separately. If you are owed wages or an end-of-service award, those claims go through amicable settlement and then the labor court. See How to File a Labor Complaint.

Example: A Filipino technician in Jubail resigns and asks for his passport so he can travel home after his final settlement. HR says the passport stays with the company until he signs a release stating he has received all his dues. He sends a written request, keeps a copy, and files a complaint with MHRSD. He also checks the settlement figures before signing anything.

Costs the employer bears

The employer bears the fees for your iqama and work permit and for their renewal, including late-payment fines that it causes (Article 40(1)). A passport held by the company does not change that.

If the employer claims you owe it money, it can deduct only in the cases the law allows (Article 92), and only work-related debts can be deducted from your final dues (Article 88).

If you also have money claims

Passport retention often goes with other problems, such as unpaid salary or a disputed end-of-service figure. Keep each issue documented separately.

A claim based on the Labor Law or your contract must be filed within 12 months of the end of the employment relationship. After that, it is not admissible unless the court accepts an excuse or the employer acknowledges the right (Article 234(a)).

For employers

Do not keep workers' passports, including "for safekeeping". Collect what you need for government processing and return the passport promptly. Keep copies on file instead.

If a worker owes the company money, use the lawful routes for recovering it. Holding a passport exposes the company to a complaint. See Labor Law Support for Employers.