Quick answer: No. A Canadian employer cannot take your passport or work permit away from you. Temporary foreign workers are protected by Canadian labour laws and have the right to keep their personal identity and immigration documents.
Your passport belongs in your control
The Government of Canada’s temporary foreign worker rights guidance states that an employer cannot take away a worker’s passport or work permit.
An employer may ask to see documents needed to verify identity or authorization to work. Viewing or copying a document for a lawful employment purpose is different from keeping the original, blocking access to it or using it to control the worker.
Documents an employer should not keep from you
- Passport or travel document
- Work permit or study permit
- Social Insurance Number document
- Health card
- Bank card
- Other personal identity documents
Keep originals in a secure place you can access. Provide copies only when legitimately required and record who received them.
Why passport retention is serious
Keeping a worker’s passport can restrict movement, prevent access to services and make it harder to leave an abusive situation. Threatening deportation or immigration consequences is also a form of abuse. An employer cannot personally deport a worker or cancel their immigration status.
What to do if an employer has your passport
- If it is safe, request the document’s immediate return in writing.
- Save messages, names, dates and details of what occurred.
- Keep copies or photos of your documents in a secure personal account.
- Do not sign a statement you do not understand.
- Use the federal temporary foreign worker abuse reporting process.
- Contact local police when documents are withheld, stolen or you face threats.
- Call 911 when there is immediate danger.
The federal reporting process says the identity of a person reporting abuse will not be revealed to the employer or workplace.
Other warning signs of employer abuse
- Demanding payment to get or keep a job
- Recovering LMIA or recruitment fees from wages
- Threatening deportation for raising concerns
- Forcing work not authorized by the permit
- Paying less than the employment agreement
- Unsafe housing or working conditions
- Preventing access to healthcare
Read our LMIA fee guide and Canadian job-scams guide for related protections.
Can an employer make a copy?
Employers may need records showing that a worker is legally authorized to work. Ask why a copy is needed, how it will be protected and who can access it. Privacy rules may apply to the collection and storage of personal information.
Frequently asked questions
Can a recruiter keep my passport for a visa application?
Only an authorized process should require temporary submission to the responsible government or visa service. Get a receipt and verify the process independently. Do not leave an original passport with an unverified recruiter.
Can my employer cancel my work permit?
An employer can end employment and may notify government authorities, but it does not personally issue or cancel immigration status.
Will reporting abuse automatically cancel my status?
Reporting abuse does not itself cancel a valid permit. Workers in abusive situations may also qualify for specific immigration protections; check current IRCC guidance.
Last reviewed September 27, 2026. If safety or immigration status is at risk, obtain independent professional help.
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