Interviewer asked for passport scan

mauraf

Hi
I had a first, and only interview for a role last week. During the interview, one of the panel asked me to scan a copy of my passport into them later that day....which I did.
I haven't heard back yet....bit dubious about how the interview went....but do you think this would be a good sign? Or why would they want the passport anyway?
Thanks,

jeamimus

I would think that everybody has been asked this. Even if the interview was going well it would be unusual for one panel member to effectively make a hiring decision in the middle of the interview without referring to the others.

Was the company non-irish or the job one that might require vetting?

mauraf

jeamimus wrote: »

I would think that everybody has been asked this. Even if the interview was going well it would be unusual for one panel member to effectively make a hiring decision in the middle of the interview without referring to the others.

Was the company non-irish or the job one that might require vetting?

Thanks for reply! It's my first interview in over ten years....so maybe a bit rusty on what is the norm these days....but yes...agree it wouldn't be normal for 1 panel member to ultimately make a decision....

Non irish company but very strong irish presence...I wouldn't have thought I would need to be vetted otherwise...but again...maybe that's the norm now...
Hopefully I will hear soon anyway...role I really want....

shar01

It's sometimes used for a few different reasons:
- as an aide memoire for summing up
- that you are who you say you are at the interview
and (hopefully for you OP)
- that the person commencing employment is the person who attended interview.

Also - if it's asked for in the invitation to interview - that the interviewee has read their letter properly.

It's possible that the interviewer forgot to ask at commencement of interview.

Irish_Elect_Eng

A common reason to ask for a passport is to check that you can legally work here, or if you need a visa. Sometimes to avoid discrimination claims, they ask everybody, even if it is clear that you have never left the county :-)

seamus

This has become policy in Ireland over the last five years. Virtually every employer will ask for a passport to ensure you're legal to work here. They're legally required to.

shar01

shar01 wrote: »

It's sometimes used for a few different reasons:
- as an aide memoire for summing up
- that you are who you say you are at the interview
and (hopefully for you OP)
- that the person commencing employment is the person who attended interview.

Also - if it's asked for in the invitation to interview - that the interviewee has read their letter properly.

It's possible that the interviewer forgot to ask at commencement of interview.

Not to mention it confirms your legal right to work in Ireland.

daheff

seamus wrote: »

This has become policy in Ireland over the last five years. Virtually every employer will ask for a passport to ensure you're legal to work here. They're legally required to.

They are also legally required not to keep a copy of it.

https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/Data-Protection-in-the-Workplace/1239.htm#6

3.6 Can my employer keep a copy of my passport?

An employer may ask to see your passport at recruitment stage if this is necessary to show that you are entitled to work in Ireland. An employer may note such passport details on your personnel file. It should not be necessary for an employer to retain a copy of your passport and such action could be a breach of the Data Protection Acts.

Edups2.0

daheff wrote: »

They are also legally required not to keep a copy of it

The last line says COULD be.

ZolaGood

Edups2.0 wrote: »

The last line says COULD be.

It is v likely to be a breach. Viewing your passport or your visa docs should suffice with maybe keeping a copy of the visa if it's necessary for statutory reasons, but requesting and retaining a copy of the passport seems excessive.

Mrs OBumble

ZolaGood wrote: »

It is v likely to be a breach. Viewing your passport or your visa docs should suffice with maybe keeping a copy of the visa if it's necessary for statutory reasons, but requesting and retaining a copy of the passport seems excessive.

But how can they prove that they viewed it, when they later get audited for having illegals working for them?

Edups2.0

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

But how can they prove that they viewed it, when they later get audited for having illegals working for them?

Exactly. We're all a bit too worried in this country about the most stupid stuff.

OH JESUS HIDE YOUR PASSPORT WHAT IF THEY KNOW WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE

micks

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

But how can they prove that they viewed it, when they later get audited for having illegals working for them?

I worked in a company a few years back, when there was someone deported for out staying visa or similar
Shortly after every one had to present there passport to HR
Some had reservations - I dont know why
But we weer told that no record would be held other than the passport was checked and nationality confirmed
They told us that the onus was on the company to ensure that workers were eligible to work in Ireland
The only reason they carried out the check was that, they'd bought out an old company and hadnt hired the legacy staff
I'd assume that if a company doesnt see an Irish passport they follow up visa etc. Once they have seen and proved the passport there shouldnt be a need to do so again in future?

daheff

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

But how can they prove that they viewed it, when they later get audited for having illegals working for them?

they can take down details required from it and keep those on a file. the company can also ask for those details on a form that is signed by the employee and by HR, after HR verifying the details vs passport.


I understand that the link from Data protection mention the word "could", but from experience this means "is" until proven otherwise in a court.

Love2love

Actually asking for identity at this point of the recruitment stage and can open a company up for discrimination on the basis of age or nationality. They do not need to prove your identity at this point, only when an offer has been made. I'm not saying that people would discrimate on that basis or even sue but there has been claims made against employers because the interviewer made a silly comment or action that left them open. It should go more like this; "So we would like to offer you the position on the condition we can prove who you are and you are legally allowed to work in the country"

H3llR4iser

Does the role require or even have the possibility for travel? Other than the visa and employ-ability statuses that many mentioned (you haven't said if you're Irish or not), some will check you're not banned from traveling to certain places - e.g. people being refused entry to the US because they've recently been to Syria and so on...

In some cases, I've known companies to also keep the passport scan in order to arrange travel for their employees - book flights, hotels and so on - probably why the law specifies it "could" be a breach rather than categorically stating "it is a breach".

Heart Break Kid

I ad an issue with a UK firm requesting a copy of my assport. Apparently its legally required there. I however worked in ROI so i felt it didnt apply to me. So Igot in touch with the data protection commissioner who stated that a copy of a passport would be onsidered excessive and simply seeing the passport and noting the passport number down would suffice. Saying that if you need a job you dont want to be complicated.

"The Data Protection Acts lay down certain requirements which must be adhered to in relation to the collection, processing and storage of personal information. In particular, Section 2(1)(c) of the Acts preclude the excessive collection or processing of data. This means that an organisation or in this case an employer has to have a legitimate basis for requesting information from employees.
This Office acknowledges that an employer needs to satisfy itself that prospective employees are eligible to work within Ireland and on this bass it may request 'sight' of the documents at recruitment stage to satisfy itself about their eligibility. However, there is currently no legal basis for a copy of passports to be retained on file by employers."

boobycharlton

An Post wanted a passport photocopy included in application for temp Xmas jobs. First company I've encountered wanting it before interview stage.

jeamimus

The simplest way of noting the details and being able to prove that they are correct later is to take and keep a copy of the passport.

I think we have got too anal about these things.

By the way, if the employer takes a photocopy and puts it in a paper file, is this different legally to scanning the document and keeping it on a hard drive, from a data protection perspective?

AndrewJRenko

jeamimus wrote: »

By the way, if the employer takes a photocopy and puts it in a paper file, is this different legally to scanning the document and keeping it on a hard drive, from a data protection perspective?

No, data protection law applies equally to paper and electronic records. I'd be very reluctant to give a passport scan to an employer.

jeamimus

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

I'd be very reluctant to give a passport scan to an employer.

Why? Do you mistrust your employer that much? If you go on holidays to many countries the hotel will take a copy of your passport and they are way less trustworthy.

AndrewJRenko

jeamimus wrote: »

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

I'd be very reluctant to give a passport scan to an employer.

Why? Do you mistrust your employer that much?   If you go on holidays to many countries the hotel will take a copy of your passport and they are way less trustworthy.

Why would they need to keep a copy of it? How long would they need to keep it? What measures will they be taking to keep it confidential? How many people can access it?

So many questions....

Edups2.0

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Why would they need to keep a copy of it? How long would they need to keep it? What measures will they be taking to keep it confidential? How many people can access it?

So many questions....

But what does it matter really?
A photocopy of it can't really be used in any dangerous fashion.

AndrewJRenko

Edups2.0 wrote: »

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Why would they need to keep a copy of it? How long would they need to keep it? What measures will they be taking to keep it confidential? How many people can access it?

So many questions....

But what does it matter really?
A photocopy of it can't really be used in any dangerous fashion.

Do you know how identity theft works? A scan of a passport would be very valuable in an identity theft situation. For a start, it would allow the person to set up an AirBNB account in my name, and similar for any other service that uses passports for remote identification. Identity theft works in stages, so each step forward is one step closer to full identity theft.

But really, why does an employer need to hold a scan of a passport? Data Protection law requires organisations only to ask for information they need, and to keep for only as long as necessary. How does taking and keeping a passport scan comply with this?

Edups2.0

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Do you know how identity theft works? A scan of a passport would be very valuable in an identity theft situation. For a start, it would allow the person to set up an AirBNB account in my name, and similar for any other service that uses passports for remote identification. Identity theft works in stages, so each step forward is one step closer to full identity theft.

But really, why does an employer need to hold a scan of a passport? Data Protection law requires organisations only to ask for information they need, and to keep for only as long as necessary. How does taking and keeping a passport scan comply with this?

So they know you're not an illegal worker and if autdited they can provide proof of this

AndrewJRenko

Edups2.0 wrote: »

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Do you know how identity theft works? A scan of a passport would be very valuable in an identity theft situation. For a start, it would allow the person to set up an AirBNB account in my name, and similar for any other service that uses passports for remote identification. Identity theft works in stages, so each step forward is one step closer to full identity theft.

But really, why does an employer need to hold a scan of a passport? Data Protection law requires organisations only to ask for information they need, and to keep for only as long as necessary. How does taking and keeping a passport scan comply with this?

So they know you're not an illegal worker and if autdited they can provide proof of this

They don't need to keep a scan for this. They need to inspect the passport, and keep a record of some of the details (passport number, expiry date probably). I don't believe that immigration or employment inspection authorities have given any instruction that keeping a passport scan is legitimate or appropriate.

And the Data Protection Commissioner agrees with me;

If they are determined to keep a record that they inspected the passport, they can take a video recording of the HR person inspecting the passport, but not showing any of the passport details on the video. This proves that they inspected the passport, with risking the security of the passport details.