3071-The political economy of new slavery

114 Migrant Domestic Workers and Slavery
2. Immigration rights
Immigration rights are absolutely crucial for MDWs. The immigration
situation for migrant domestic workers is different across Europe.
Different countries have different mechanisms for allowing migration
to work in private households. It is not possible generally to get a visa for
this kind of work. In Greece it is difficult to enter legally as a domestic
worker, but it is tolerated if the worker is accompanying her employer. 7
The same system operates in France and Germany. In Germany, there
are a large number of Polish immigrants who do not need visas to be
in Germany, so they are usually present legally, but are often working
illegally, in domestic work. In the Netherlands, domestic workers can
only enter as au pairs. In those countries like Spain and Italy where you
can get visas, you are tied to your employer and the numbers of visas
applied for are far greater than the numbers that are given in their quota
systems. In the UK, domestic workers can only enter the UK if their
employer is entering the UK and the employer wishes their domestic
staff to accompany them. They also have to be over 18 and to have
worked for the employer for a minimum of one year. The RESPECT
network campaigns for independent immigration status for MDWs across
Europe. Lack of independent immigration status results in dependence
on employers, the fear of deportation, threats from employers and so on.
3. The right to hold your passport
MDWs all over the world often are unable to hold onto their passports.
Employers demand them from their workers as an effective means
of control. As the statistics kept by Kalayaan show, on average around
60–65 per cent of the MDWs we see do not have their passports and
often do not know what type of visa they have or for how long it
has been given. The right to hold your passport is a fundamental right.
As an Eritrean domestic worker said ‘When somebody is holding your
passport, where do you go? Your passport is your life.’ Not having access
to their passports results in innumerable difficulties for MDWs. They
have to use a solicitor to discover what entry clearance was granted to
them to enter the UK, they have to negotiate with their embassies for
new passports, often costing large sums of money. Some embassies, such
as the Indian Embassy, will not give new passports without a photocopy
of the old passport and evidence of the right to stay in the UK. Others,
like the Philippine Embassy are more lenient, recognizing that often
MDWs are unable to have a photocopy of their passports. Some MDWs
will have unintentionally overstayed their visa because of lack of access
to their passports. Some employers will have told their workers that they