Dubai: Passport seizure hinders marriage of Indian

Dubai, Apr 11: A plumber from Kerala working in Sharjah has complained that he is unable to get married because his passport is in the custody of his employer and he is unable to travel home since arriving in the UAE eight years ago.

Venu Gopal, 38, says if he does not return to India to wed soon, he will be too old and may have to remain a bachelor for the rest of his life.

He had planned to marry in 2002 but could not do so because the Sharjah-based marine services company he worked for would not return his passport.

It was then that he discovered he had been working without an employment visa because the company had not arranged one.

In 2006, his visa had expired and it was not renewed by the company managed by an Indian.

Moreover, the company would not settle his end-of-service payment, Gopal alleged, saying he had filed a complaint with the Sharjah labour department.

''They are now preventing me from going home by refusing to settle my accounts,'' he told Emirates Today.

A labour official, when contacted by the newspaper, said he would personally investigate the case and resolve the matter.

UNI