Passport and identity-document retention as a forced labour indicator

Identity documents are leverage. Holding them restricts movement, deters complaints to authorities and makes leaving a job expensive or dangerous — particularly for migrant workers whose legal status depends on the papers. The ILO's indicators describe retention of identity documents as a sign that a worker may not be free to leave, especially where the worker cannot get them back on request.

Some jurisdictions treat confiscating or withholding documents in connection with forced labour or trafficking as a criminal offence in its own right — for example 18 U.S.C. § 1592 in the United States. The position varies by country; check local law.

Not every arrangement is coercive. The test is control: can the worker get the document back, without delay, without asking permission and without penalty?

• Ask for the written document-holding policy, then check whether practice matches it.
• Look at the physical arrangement: lockers, who holds keys, where originals are stored.
• Ask agencies — including sending-country sub-agents — the same questions as the site.
• Never ask workers about documents in front of supervisors or agents.
• Use a confidential channel so workers can raise it without being identified.

• Return all originals to workers and record the date — confirmed by workers, not only management.
• Provide individually controlled storage if workers want it.
• Correct the policy for the site and every agency involved.
• Look for the indicators that commonly accompany retention: debt, restricted movement, withheld wages.
• Re-check through worker voice after a period, rather than closing on attestation.