I asked my company to hand over my

passport because I wanted to travel to Dubai for the Eid holidays for three days. But to my surprise my boss refused.

He told me that I was not allowed to get hold of my passport because I was working for them and that I might run away.

I even asked our human resources manager regarding this issue and about the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) rules on passports. She simply said that these rules from LMRA were only for the newspapers and are not official.

So, all these rules regarding passports were just for show to make the authorities look good in public and to show the world that Bahrain is taking care of all the expatriates which is really contrary to what I just experienced.

Lynette dela Cruz

An LMRA spokesman said: “We would like to point out the following:

“The answer to this query and similar questions is already published on our website under the Frequently Asked Questions section (FAQ) http://www.lmra.bh/en/faq_category. php?id=5

“Laws are official and should be followed from their publication date in the official gazette; there is no law for newspapers only! This law existed even before LMRA was created, the fact that some employers are not following the laws of the country does not legalise any illegal practice, and pleading ignorance of the law is not an excuse and does not stand in court. “The expat can lodge a formal complaint against the employer at the complaints department of the Labour Ministry, as well as take this issue to the court of urgent matters to get his passport back (through the nearest police station to his place of work).