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Why should I be forced into obtaining a passport?

This is a genuine question and I am interested in others's opinions.

I do not have a passport. I have not had a passport for 10 years and I don't need or want one now. That is my opening position.

In the past I have been abroad and travelled quite extensively however these days, being on my own I have no desire or need to do so again. This being so and having no intention of leaving these shores again why in the name of God would I need to pay a premium to obtain a piece of paper that merely certifies who I am and that I am a British Citizen?

As I say I have no interest in travel and really cannot envisage any circumstance which would involve me in leaving the UK. For those of you who will no doubt point out to me that holidays are a necessary part of a life balance - balls!. I can quite happily take a holiday from work and never leave my house. I have lots of books that I haven't yet read many films that I haven't yet seen and Sky TV. As a result, if I ever feel the need to observe foriegn culture there is always the Discovery Channel.

I mentioned above that I have in the past travelled and perhaps it would be useful if I outline the reasons I no longer have any wish to do so:

1. As a working Joe and in common with most people on here ( I suspect) if I am off work no other bugger is going to pick up the slack, as a result I need to work my arse off for several weeks before departure to ensure that no sh*t hits any fans whilst I am away. Similarly, when I get back I need to work my arse off to catch up with the sh*t I could not anticipate prior to departure awhich has been festering on my desk for a week or fortnight or however long I have been away.

2. Whilst I am not scared of flying I can see no good reason to pay out a considerable amount of money to spend several hours in an uncomfortable seat, being subjected to inedible food and tortured by appalling "in flight entertainment", only to arrive at a destination where they all speak a different language and you can't drink the water.

3. Having put up with the above and arrived, you spend most of the time there starting to unwind and at the very moment you begin to relax it's time to pack and do all of point 2 in reverse.

What is the point?

Now, I realise that this is only my opinion but I wanted to set out my stall in advance of the real issue. I have today been told that I MUST obtain a passport in order for the HR dept to be able to certify that I am legally entitled to be employed in the UK. I have refused and I will continue to refuse until they come to their senses. I have offered my photo drving license as evidence and offered to produce my birth certificate all to no avail.

As a fifty something who has been born and raised here why should I have to prove my bona fides to anyone? I believe I can do so without pandering to the whim of legislation and applying for a meaningless document that tells you no more than any other document I can produce however I am not going to do so without a fight.

As mentioned I am interested in others views but I am probably not going to be persuaded otherwise.

Am I alone?
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Comments

  • If you can produce whatever documentation is needed in order to obtain a passport, then shouldn't that be sufficient, without having to pay for something you don't want or need? Is everyone in your company being asked to show their passports...not everybody has one, even these days. So basically I'm with you.
  • stick to your guns mate or tell them you will get one as long as they pay all the associated costs. surely your Birth Certificate will suffice?
  • Load of old bollocks about holidays, but amusing nonetheless. However I am with you 100% - I suggest they pay for your passport if they insist you get one.
  • unless it is in your contract of employment or the company regulations to which you have agreed to abide then to me the answer is NO.

    Common sense says that the main document required to obtain your passport is your birth certificate, so if you offer that then there should be no problem.
  • You shouldn't have to have a passport to prove who you are. I think your HR department are being inflexible. I think you're right to take a stand. It's like the last govt failed to bring in ID cards and now there's all sorts of petty work regulations to soften us up for the next time a govt tries to do this. Passports are quite expensive as well - are they offering to pay?
    for it
    And I do have a passport and would go abroad for a holiday at the drop of a hat even though I've not been able to afford it for 7 years. It's a separate issue.
  • Are you currently employed by this company, or about to be?
  • MrLargo said:

    Putting aside all the stuff about not wanting to go abroad etc, that seems a ridiculous position for an HR Dept to take. I suggest you refer your HR Dept to this page of the Government's own website and present them with either an expired passport or a copy of your birth certificate accompanied by your NI number, then tell them to learn how to do their job properly in future.

    https://www.gov.uk/check-an-employees-right-to-work-documents

    Well said, that man. I'd click 'Like' multiple times if I could.

    If you still have trouble and you have a Trade Union at your work, join and get your union rep. involved.
  • https://www.gov.uk/legal-right-work-uk

    try this, am assuming you are a British citizen
  • Hello

    I work in a role in which I have to judge peoples entitlement to free hospital treatment so work with these sort of requirments and can look further into the matter for you to see what the baseline law says. Before that however it is useful to point out that if you still have your previous passport this is acceptable to confirm you are a British Citizen(i am presuming you are British).
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  • Employers do have a legal duty to check their employees' eligibility to work in the UK. This doesn't seem unreasonable, it is an important immigration control, and there are hefty fines for employers who don't comply.

    However, you should not need a passport to prove your eligibility to work if you have an original birth certificate and an old P60 or P2 with your NI number on. Stick to your guns.
  • Hello

    I work in a role in which I have to judge peoples entitlement to free hospital treatment so work with these sort of requirments and can look further into the matter for you to see what the baseline law says. Before that however it is useful to point out that if you still have your previous passport this is acceptable to confirm you are a British Citizen(i am presuming you are British).

    Given the tone of the post I think we can safely assume he's British

    (just kidding JW!)
  • Well never make presumptions in my line of work but re reading JW does make clear he is British.
  • Hows about a compromise, tell them that if they pay for it you will get it ?
  • Completely with you. Although the above picture is nice, I'm more than happy to spend a week off indoors as opposed to abroad. My wife's idea of a holiday involves so much running around that I end up back at work more knackered than when we set off!
  • Completely with you. Although the above picture is nice, I'm more than happy to spend a week off indoors as opposed to abroad. My wife's idea of a holiday involves so much time in the bedroom that I end up back at work more knackered than when we set off!

    that's rough
  • For info, one of my staff (who is Canadian and works in Montreal) was asked to go to New York (i.e. USA) for a meeting. He did not have a passport. He was asked to get one, and claim the costs back as expenses, which he did and our company duly paid. Good luck!
  • In the past, you were prepared to sit in uncomfortable seats, eat inedible food and put up with a foreign language, but not now!

    Personally, I look forward to my holiday months in advance of the event and just love to travel. Roll on August for The Maldives.

    Each to their own, of course, but to spend ones holiday period sitting in front of a television???
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  • Is that you Karl?
    Box tickers is all they are. Stick to your guns.
  • What would you do if we all needed to move to mars?
  • I once got a job at a University where i had to provide passport and certificates as proof of identity and qualifications.

    I wouldn't have minded but I'd shown them my passport when I enrolled on a degree 14 years earlier, once again when I became a full time employee and then again when I came back to do some consultancy work just a few months previously. Providing the certificates was no problem though as my job of 9 years was producing them - for the same organisation!
  • JWADDICK said:

    This is a genuine question and I am interested in others's opinions.

    I do not have a passport. I have not had a passport for 10 years and I don't need or want one now. That is my opening position.

    In the past I have been abroad and travelled quite extensively however these days, being on my own I have no desire or need to do so again. This being so and having no intention of leaving these shores again why in the name of God would I need to pay a premium to obtain a piece of paper that merely certifies who I am and that I am a British Citizen?

    As I say I have no interest in travel and really cannot envisage any circumstance which would involve me in leaving the UK. For those of you who will no doubt point out to me that holidays are a necessary part of a life balance - balls!. I can quite happily take a holiday from work and never leave my house. I have lots of books that I haven't yet read many films that I haven't yet seen and Sky TV. As a result, if I ever feel the need to observe foriegn culture there is always the Discovery Channel.

    I mentioned above that I have in the past travelled and perhaps it would be useful if I outline the reasons I no longer have any wish to do so:

    1. As a working Joe and in common with most people on here ( I suspect) if I am off work no other bugger is going to pick up the slack, as a result I need to work my arse off for several weeks before departure to ensure that no sh*t hits any fans whilst I am away. Similarly, when I get back I need to work my arse off to catch up with the sh*t I could not anticipate prior to departure awhich has been festering on my desk for a week or fortnight or however long I have been away.

    2. Whilst I am not scared of flying I can see no good reason to pay out a considerable amount of money to spend several hours in an uncomfortable seat, being subjected to inedible food and tortured by appalling "in flight entertainment", only to arrive at a destination where they all speak a different language and you can't drink the water.

    3. Having put up with the above and arrived, you spend most of the time there starting to unwind and at the very moment you begin to relax it's time to pack and do all of point 2 in reverse.

    What is the point?

    Now, I realise that this is only my opinion but I wanted to set out my stall in advance of the real issue. I have today been told that I MUST obtain a passport in order for the HR dept to be able to certify that I am legally entitled to be employed in the UK. I have refused and I will continue to refuse until they come to their senses. I have offered my photo drving license as evidence and offered to produce my birth certificate all to no avail.

    As a fifty something who has been born and raised here why should I have to prove my bona fides to anyone? I believe I can do so without pandering to the whim of legislation and applying for a meaningless document that tells you no more than any other document I can produce however I am not going to do so without a fight.

    As mentioned I am interested in others views but I am probably not going to be persuaded otherwise.

    Am I alone?

    You don't HAVE to have a passport by law mate.

    And good luck to you on the reading, people don't read enough!
  • Just looked up some stats and it seems around 30% of adults in the UK don't have a passport, so you're certainly not alone here. Are any of your collegues having these problems?
  • Buy one to please them and then sell it....you will make a nice little profit. (:
  • I think the simple answer is no you should not be forced to have a passport.
    Trouble is the lazy box tickers want you to prove your id, by photo id.
    This seemed to come about when my young lads tried to get into pubs about 8 years ago.
    Had the same issue in selling my house, and going for a job interview lately, except they wanted passport, p60, and driving licence.
    Ironically my wife has worked at the same place of work for the past 13 years.
    So I obliged with all this nonsense, and still did not get the job!. Probably detected my frustration at all of this!
    At present I could not give up my passport, the thought of being stuck in this country is enough to buy a passport every year?
  • PeterGage said:

    In the past, you were prepared to sit in uncomfortable seats, eat inedible food and put up with a foreign language, but not now!

    Personally, I look forward to my holiday months in advance of the event and just love to travel. Roll on August for The Maldives.

    Each to their own, of course, but to spend ones holiday period sitting in front of a television???

    Off to the Maldives myself ext Friday! Yippee!!
  • Macronate said:

    https://www.gov.uk/legal-right-work-uk

    try this, am assuming you are a British citizen

    This.

    It would appear your HR bod pressed the computer and it said NO. They couldn't have known the alternative options other than a passport.

    Yes you must be able to prove your eligibility to work in the UK and without a Passport then as others have said (as does this link) a long birth certificate and NI number are sufficient. If you refuse to provide this then the company cannot fulfill their legal obligations and have every right to withdraw the job offer (note eligibility checks must be completed before you commence work).
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