I would like to get some more input from foreign RM's whether or not their passports were confiscated by the mission office during their missions. I'm particularly interested in missions in the last 5 years and centering on South America. Also, someone on my original thread said it was possibly covered in the leaked mission handbook. Does anyone have a link? I would like to read this anyway. Thanks, again.

Link to past thread: http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1120153


I didn't get a chance to comment before it was closed, but I would just like to add that mine was taken (Tokyo North, Japan '98-'00)

We were asked to surrender it for "safe keeping" as soon as we got to the Mission Home. I do understand the point Jack Rabbit made (on the previous thread) that it's quite possible to lose it between transferring so much and the general irresponsibility of 19-year-olds.

However, there are just too many stories of missionaries being held against their will. I personally had a companion who hated his mission for about the first year (I was paired up with him near the end of his mission). He told me that he tried several times to go home, but was always foiled due to lack of passport.

His final plan involved eating very little and mooching off of his companion for a couple months to save enough money for some kind of ticket home, and figuring out how to break into the mission home to retrieve his captive passport.

Sorry - this was in 1984, but mine was taken then too.

I was in venezuela in the mid 90's and mine was taken by the mission office. We were given a color photocopy of our passport to carry with us. About halfway through my mission we were given our original passports back. The reason given at the time was the political unrest and we needed to be ready to hightail it out of commieland to a neighboring craphole on a moment's notice. That never happened for me

I had a friend go to work for a cruise line on a six month contract, the purser kept all of the crew's passports for the duration.

Same as what is described here for missions...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2013 03:22PM by csuprovostudent.

They took my passport when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer... Though that was a no fee passport.

Do all the foriegners doing missions in the US (temple square for you example) surrender their passports?

DS is on a mission in South America right now. Yes, they took his passport for safe keeping and he carries a photocopy.

Japan 94-96 yes, they took my passport. Incidentally, confiscation of passports is one of the signs to look for for human traffiking

I didn't need a passport to serve in Canada in the '70s. So they took my soul and mental health instead.

I absolutely refused to surrender my passport even when threatened with dishonorable release and sent home. A few months later it was the only reason my companion and I did not get first hand information about Argentinian jails.

I tell my grandchildren never, never, never surrender your passport to anyone unless it is an official demand from a government or police agency



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2013 06:55PM by thedesertrat1.

France & Swirzerland '69-'71. Yes, after we got a "Carte de sejour" issued by France - it replaced the need for a visa.

After a while I was assigned to Switzerland. The Swiss border guard told me I'd have to get one for Switzerland but I never did.

Passports were held by mission office until we were released.

I doubt that the LDS church cares about the gravity of taking one's passport. A passport is the property of the government, issued to a person who is the sole steward of the document. When you are a guest in a country, you have to carry documentation on your person at all times. When I was in Italy on my mission, our residence permit specifically said that it was invalid without the passport.

The passports are surrendered to the mission office for one purpose alone, to keep the missionaries from suddenly bolting if they get unhappy. And if you want to go home early, you would have to report to the office and go through the rigmarole of confronting the mission president, calling home, and all that other crap. In the end, you would be talked out of it or made simply to go back to your apartment.

That being the case, one can always contact either the consular section of the US embassy, or go to a consulate in another city, and declare that your passport was confiscated, and the mission office will get a stern call from a consular office and will have your passport delivered to the consulate. If you want to avoid that, you can declare your passport missing, and get a passport waiver for a trip home.

South America, 1984-85

Yes, they took my passport for safe-keeping, issued us a government copy of visa with our photo on it.

Ecuador - 1980. They took mine. Though it would be nice to blame a conspiracy to hold us against our wills, I don't think that washes. Fact is, if you want out, they can't hold you no matter what anyone tries to claim. I realize some MPs are rather pushy but they absolutely CAN'T keep you against your will. No way, no how. We shouldn't confuse someone's unwillingness to push the issue with being held against one's will.

I do agree with cludgie that another reason was to make the mishies have to "think" about things by going to the office to get the passports. But here again, ain't no way you could be forced to stay.

Cludgie makes another good point that all you would have to do is scream to the right folks and you'd have the MP surrendering your PP in record time.

Keep in mind you are talking about 19-21 year olds, ok, 18 now. Even more reason to take a document so vital to a person's return back home out of his hands. I actually feel it was a good move on the mission's part to keep our passports in a safe location. So many of our mishies got robbed and an original passport at that time wasn't an easy thing to replace. The sisters, not zoo bad. But the elders? Holy smokes, what a bunch of dough-heads!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2013 09:02PM by GetTheLedZepOut.