Boss is asking for passport, but it has a stamp in it I don't want him to see. What to do?

As others have pointed out, this is one of the ways that the rights of workers (from anywhere in the world) can be abused by having their passports confiscated. Before jumping to conclusions, you should ask your boss the reason he wants to see your passport. It might possibly be a mandated requirement that a company hiring a foreign worker needs to do their due diligence on them.

One solution to this that I couldn’t see mentioned anywhere else (so apologies if it has), is to provide a scan of your passport instead. If it’s for ID purposes, then the page with your photo ID and passport number is all your boss needs (the stamps are irrelevant). You will need to find an official who can witness and sign your scanned document to verify it is legitimate such as a notary public (or equivalent in the country you are in).

Given a passport is an extremely valuable document, ultimately I would recommend consulting your local embassy and asking them for advice. They would also be aware of any rules/regulations in the country you are in and tell you what is right and wrong. It is possible the embassy may also be able provide any required proof of identity/citizenship documents for your boss without needing to hand over your passport.

A passport is a serious legal document and damaging it by gluing it will immediately invalidate it, so DO NOT glue your passport.

On the basis of the above answers, if your passport is taken without your consent or by coercion or social pressure you can’t resist, and isn’t immediately given back, take it seriously and go to police or your country’s consulate if you don’t get it back in minutes (and mean it, and do it).

Don’t take chances or excuses, and don’t let anyone else put off giving it back. Tell them if it’s not in your hands in (X minutes, or once they’ve done whatever they do), then you’ll be going to your consulate – and mean it. It’s too serious to let people play with games. Anyone who takes a passport would know exactly what they’re doing, so assume they have some intention or other and act accordingly.

This is abuse for the reasons outlined above, even the request is very strange and sounds like abuse. You should contact your embassy and seek help.

That said, if you want to keep your current job – You can always get a new passport (without the stamp). I’m not sure why no one suggested it but it sounds like the most obvious situation.

If there is a valid reason for your boss validating something in your passport, but a plausible reason to give why the rest is none of his business:

Maybe you and your boss could go to a notary or lawyer, who then handles the passport and confirms what needs confirming?

The advice others have given of not handing over your passport and potential abuse are very valid and should be adhered to.

But then this raises the question of how to maintain relations with your boss, how to refuse his illegitimate request.

I would say to give him a photocopy of the photo-ID part of your passport and of your work visa.

These are the only parts of your passport that an employer has a legitimate reason to need to see, on many occasions when working abroad I have had to give copies of these documents. Its fairly standard and often it is even a legal requirement for employment.

This smells like your boss is abusing you.

I advice to contact your embassy or directly I recommend to contact Minister of External Affairs of India (Sushma Swaraj). You can e-mail her or just tweet her. She would definitely help you, explain your situation.

She is the most responsive minster, there are many occasions like this, people have tweeted and she has solved it in no time.

Here is the contact details of Ministry of External Affairs of India.

Asking copy of passport for proof is different thing, but asking for a original passport is not the right thing to do. I hope this helps you and you will come out of this situation soon.

Make a color photocopy of the most important pages. That is, the ones with your photo and the details that he needs to see. Only show the copies to your boss. It’s up to you if you want to let him keep them or not. You probably don’t need to and you can destroy the copies after s/he has seen what they need to see.

You ought to be able to get color copies at a stationary shop (such as Staples here) or various other service centers. It should only cost you a few (4-5) dollars.

You never stated why your boss needs to see it and many (most) of the answers and comments here seem to have made certain assumptions about why. We don’t really know. Maybe he just wants to verify some personal information. If your boss is not divulging those reasons, then the photocopies really ought to suffice. Then, you can leave it at that.

Some lines from my Indian passport (originally written in all caps):

CAUTION

This passport is the property of the Government of India.

It should be in the custody either of the holder or of a person authorised by the holder. It must not be altered or mutilated in any way.

In short, keep it safe and in your possession, do not tamper with it, and keep in mind that you do not own the passport, it belongs to your country.

Don’t glue anything! It will make your passport invalid. Also most passports have numbered pages, so no options to hide.

Also contact your lawyer or some other help. I don’t believe that your boss can legally demand your passport

Don’t dig a pit deeper than what it already is, just be honest and tell your boss I did undertake the trip. These cover up operations like the one you’re thinking of have a habit of going from bad to worse.

Just remember that changing a bad boss is far easier than changing an intentionally altered passport

Getting in trouble with your boss might cause a temporary financial issue but getting in trouble with immigration might get you in jail (possibly in a foreign country)

Do not ever try to make any alterations to your passport whatsoever.

You might have another boss tomorrow and forget about the current one but once passport tampering is recorded on your immigration history it will stay with you for a long long time.

Boss is asking for passport, but it has a stamp in it I don’t want him to see.
What to do?

Sorry, I can not handover my passport to anyone except legal authorities.

Did you take the trip when I said no?

Yes I did, it was urgent and I had no other option. It did not impact my work.

Its these small fears that make people do things which are even worse than before and the pile keeps on growing until they are neck-deep in legal troubles.

1. Do not give your passport to your boss. You may not get it back; this is standard procedure for abusing domestic help or human trafficking.
2. Contact your embassy for suggestions.

If you glue pages together in your passport you may as well throw it away.

No immigration official will ever accept it and you’ll probably even have trouble going back home with it.
“Trouble” as in you’ll be pulled aside into a little room until they’re satisfied you’re not an illegal immigrant.
You may even be denied boarding by the airline if they notice that your passport looks suspicious.

The only people with any real authority to demand your passport are immigration and/or law enforcement officials.

Do NOT hand your original passport over to your boss.
The only legitimate information your employer might need from your passport would be a copy of the ‘main’ page with all of your details and the passport’s issue/expiry dates and a copy of a visa page if you require a visa to work in that country.