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Some one is holding on to my passport for money.... what are my options ? Please help.

Alisha8055

Member
Jun 25, 2019
12
0
Hello Everyone,
I am in a bit of a situation and would be great full for some sort of advice. Last July my roommate locked me out for non payment of rent and has all my stuff,official documents and passport and refuses to give it back to me untill I pay. I do not have a work permit and can not work.my legal status has expired and I have to leave the country so that I can rectify my situation but she refuses to talk ( she has blocked me on all channels) I want to pay her but for that I have to leave the country.I do not want a deportation order as I have worked hard to reach to a point where I can apply for immigration.I have had to change my flights multiple times just so I can get to her in some sort of way to get my passport back.
If anyone has any sort of advice for me that would help me a lot.At this point I am almost 6 months with out status. Will the Canadian immigration help ?

Thank you
 

Bs65

VIP Member
Mar 22, 2016
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Contact the police as this is not an immigration matter or failing that report passport stolen/ lost and either get an new one assuming you have access to documents for that or an emergency travel document if your home country issues those. For the latter options always recommended that everyone keeps a digital copy of their passport bio page, makes life so much easier to get a replacement.

The police probably not interested in any debt as that is a civil issue but in someone holding someone else’s Id they may well have some interest.
 
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scylla

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Agreed. This is not an immigration matter. Call the police. What she is doing is illegal. She cannot hold your passport.
 

Alisha8055

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Jun 25, 2019
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I did call them in January when I was scheduled to leave but since she was not at home We could not do anything. It was a 911 call.She did graduate from Law school and I feel she should be aware of all this.I feel hesitant just because of my status here but my intention is to leave i feel like a hostage and all the mental trauma is extra.

Do you think I should lodge an official complaint ? I am just scared due to my status.I have never had any problem with law never even got a ticket and due to some financial crises have landed in this mess.
 
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scylla

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I did call them in January when I was scheduled to leave but since she was not at home We could not do anything. It was a 911 call.She did graduate from Law school and I feel she should be aware of all this.I feel hesitant just because of my status here but my intention is to leave i feel like a hostage and all the mental trauma is extra.

Do you think I should lodge an official complaint ? I am just scared due to my status.I have never had any problem with law never even got a ticket and due to some financial crises have landed in this mess.
Yes - you absolutely should log an official complaint. What she is doing is illegal. She cannot hold your passport. You should not be afraid to ask for it back.

Don't call 911. Call the non emergency police line in your area and log a formal complaint.
 

Alisha8055

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Jun 25, 2019
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I am just so scared because of my legal status and was hesitant because I thought they might feel I didn’t want to leave. But I have all the emails I sent her trying to get her to talk.My last email also mentioned let me sell my stuff so that I can pay you the money no response.
So maybe I am at a good standing and will not be in a situation of jeopardizing my immigration.

Are there any other options that are available to me ?
 

scylla

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28-06-2010
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I am just so scared because of my legal status and was hesitant because I thought they might feel I didn’t want to leave. But I have all the emails I sent her trying to get her to talk.My last email also mentioned let me sell my stuff so that I can pay you the money no response.
So maybe I am at a good standing and will not be in a situation of jeopardizing my immigration.

Are there any other options that are available to me ?
Apart from calling the police, the only other option I see is to report your passport as stolen / lost an obtain a new passport from your home country's embassy or consulate in Canada. You'll need to see what the requirements are for applying for a new passport from outside of your home country. In some cases a new passport will only be issued if you have valid status in Canada. You can also ask your home country embassy / consulate if they will issue a temporary travel document to allow you to return home.
 

Alisha8055

Member
Jun 25, 2019
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Apart from calling the police, the only other option I see is to report your passport as stolen / lost an obtain a new passport from your home country's embassy or consulate in Canada. You'll need to see what the requirements are for applying for a new passport from outside of your home country. In some cases a new passport will only be issued if you have valid status in Canada. You can also ask your home country embassy / consulate if they will issue a temporary travel document to allow you to return home.
I am sorry to ask so many questions I have just never been in this sort of a disaster.
Would it be a problem that I didn’t go to the Indian consulate right away ?!? I was just trying to get her to talk to me and get to a solution but now it’s getting a little out of hands.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,541
20,360
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
I am sorry to ask so many questions I have just never been in this sort of a disaster.
Would it be a problem that I didn’t go to the Indian consulate right away ?!? I was just trying to get her to talk to me and get to a solution but now it’s getting a little out of hands.
Sorry - I don't know anything about the process. I've helped as much as I can. Good luck.
 

Alisha8055

Member
Jun 25, 2019
12
0
Contact the police as this is not an immigration matter or failing that report passport stolen/ lost and either get an new one assuming you have access to documents for that or an emergency travel document if your home country issues those. For the latter options always recommended that everyone keeps a digital copy of their passport bio page, makes life so much easier to get a replacement.

The police probably not interested in any debt as that is a civil issue but in someone holding someone else’s Id they may well have some interest.
Thank you !! I am just hesitating because of my status in Canada as I do not want them to feel that my intention was not to leave but I have all my airline ticket extension and emails that I sent to her requesting her to return my document.

Do you think it would be a problem if a lodge a complaint now after 6 months ? This is causing me so much anxiety I just want to sit on a plane and go back home ( India )
 

Bornlucky

Hero Member
May 15, 2018
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Thank you !! I am just hesitating because of my status in Canada as I do not want them to feel that my intention was not to leave but I have all my airline ticket extension and emails that I sent to her requesting her to return my document.

Do you think it would be a problem if a lodge a complaint now after 6 months ? This is causing me so much anxiety I just want to sit on a plane and go back home ( India )
Hello, this is a police matter and what you need to do is file a report with the police, get a case number from the police that you can use with the Indian Consulate to get a new passport, and with the CBSA should you face some sort of enforcement issue.

That's it and that's all. Get a new or emergency passport and retain all of this evidence of her theft of the property of the government of India - all passports are ultimately the property of the issuing authority even though it has your information and photograph within it.
 

bellaluna

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May 23, 2014
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Something's not adding up here. Are you out of status in Canada? Are you trying to apply for a work permit? The cops don't give a flying f about your roommate situation and will honestly do nothing. If your objective is to get back to India asap, you need to contact the Indian embassy and they will help you get a temporary passport and you fly back home. You will have to come up with money for a flight ticket unless CIC is deporting you and then Canada pays for your air ticket. Did your roommate ever ask you to not bother him/her? If they did and you still try to contact them, you could just be digging a deeper hole. As scylla said, your better off moving on and getting a new passport. Good luck and hopefully things get better for you soon.
I know. I'm with the roommate, I don't trust OP either, but one wrong doesn't justify the other.
 

Alisha8055

Member
Jun 25, 2019
12
0
Something's not adding up here. Are you out of status in Canada? Are you trying to apply for a work permit? The cops don't give a flying f about your roommate situation and will honestly do nothing. If your objective is to get back to India asap, you need to contact the Indian embassy and they will help you get a temporary passport and you fly back home. You will have to come up with money for a flight ticket unless CIC is deporting you and then Canada pays for your air ticket. Did your roommate ever ask you to not bother him/her? If they did and you still try to contact them, you could just be digging a deeper hole. As scylla said, your better off moving on and getting a new passport. Good luck and hopefully things get better for you soon.
I did apply for work permit and to extend my stay in Canada so that I could work and pay her and get my stuff but since she has all my documents in her house my file was incomplete and resulted in a refusal. All this happend in January.Since than I am just trying to figure out how to deal with this. I called 911 in January when all of this started but they wouldn’t do anything as it is a civil case.

I do have a ticket as I had originally booked it to go home and since than I am just extending the flight.I can’t work i have no money I am literally sleeping on peoples couches or spending nights at McDonald’s or Tim Horton’s.I just don’t know how to handle this
 

Alisha8055

Member
Jun 25, 2019
12
0
I know. I'm with the roommate, I don't trust OP either, but one wrong doesn't justify the other.
As of now I am haven’t received any removal order from Canada maybe I just got lucky but I do not want the situation to get to that point where I am handcuffed and ruin all the chances to come back. As of today it’s been 6 months since I am without a status here in Canada.