If your passport or ARC has been taken

Your passport and Alien Registration Card belong to you. It is not legitimate for an employer or broker to hold them.

Why it matters

• You cannot prove your identity — hospitals, banks and government offices become inaccessible.
• Your freedom of movement is restricted, which is often why people cannot leave a job.
• It is a tool of forced labour. Internationally, holding passports is treated as an indicator of forced labour.
• There is a risk of loss or damage.

What you can do now

1. Ask for it back. If possible, in a message: "Please return my passport."
2. If refused, record it — date, who, what they said.
3. Report it.
   • 1350 Ministry of Employment and Labor
   • 1345 Immigration Contact Center
   • 112 if coercion or threats accompany it
4. Ask a support centre for help. They will accompany you and make the request together.
5. If you cannot get it back, look into reissue. See the lost-passport and lost-arc guides.

What you need

• A copy or photo of your passport (take one in advance)
• A record of your request (messages)
• Labour contract
• Witnesses

Where to go

• 1350 Ministry of Employment and Labor
• 1345 Immigration Contact Center
• 112 coercion, threats, confinement
• 1577-1366 Danuri Helpline (13 languages, 24 hours)
• Your local support centre for foreign workers
• Your country's embassy for passport matters

Questions people ask

They say they hold it "in case I run away". No such reason gives anyone the right to hold your ID. Record that statement itself.

They say it is security for a debt. A passport cannot be collateral. That remains true even if a debt exists.

I left it in my dormitory room and the boss took it. Taking it without consent may be a separate crime. Talk to 112.

I got it back but fear retaliation. Retaliation is itself reportable. Stay in contact with a support centre.

Take care

Photograph your passport today and save it to the cloud. With a copy, reissue and reporting become far easier if it is taken. Best of all is refusing the request to hand it over in the first place.

Related

forced-labor · lost-passport · lost-arc · accident-employer-refusal

Source

Ministry of Employment and Labor www.moel.go.kr / HiKorea www.hikorea.go.kr / As of 2026-08