Legal Matters
Modern Slavery Statement
WorldPassports.org (“WorldPassports”, “we”, “our”, “us”) is firmly opposed to all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human-trafficking. Although our size currently falls below the statutory reporting thresholds in most jurisdictions, we voluntarily publish this statement to explain the steps taken to minimise modern-slavery risks within our business and supply chain.
• Nature of services – WorldPassports is an information and comparison portal that helps individuals understand residency, citizenship, real-estate-linked investment and visa options world-wide. We offer:
– free web content and downloadable guides;
– a call-back service that connects users with vetted immigration or investment advisors;
– a partner programme for law firms, licensed agents and real-estate developers.
• Primary supply chain – web-hosting & cloud services; customer-relationship-management (CRM) software; pay-per-click marketing; freelance content production; referral/affiliate partners; limited office-support services (e.g., accounting).
Policy Framework
• Code of Business Conduct – prohibits forced, bonded, child or compulsory labour and applies to employees, contractors and partners.
• Supplier & Partner Code of Ethics – mandatory for all third parties; requires them to cascade equivalent standards through their own supply chains.
• Recruitment Policy – direct hiring only; no worker-paid recruitment fees; right-to-work checks for every employee and freelancer.
• Whistle-blowing Policy – confidential reporting channel (report@worldpassports.org) operated by an independent service provider.
• Anti-Bribery & Anti-Money-Laundering Policy – helps prevent exploitation through illicit financial activity.
• Board oversight – the Board of Directors reviews modern-slavery risk annually.
• Executive accountability – the Chief Operating Officer (COO) is the designated Modern-Slavery Officer.
• Escalation – suspected breaches are investigated within five business days and reported to the Board.
Due-diligence & Mitigation Actions
• On-boarding questionnaire aligned with the International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour; completed by 100 % of new suppliers in 2023.
• Contractual clauses – all partner agreements now include: (i) zero-tolerance modern-slavery warranties; (ii) audit-co-operation obligations; (iii) immediate-termination rights.
• Sample audits – desk-based document reviews of five high-spend service providers and virtual worker-interviews with 12 freelancers; no indicators of forced labour were found.
• Remediation – one contact-centre partner in Eastern Europe retained employee passports contrary to our Code; corrective action was implemented and verified within 30 days.
• Affiliate network – launched a risk-rating tool; 27 “high-risk” prospects were declined or suspended.
• 100 % of permanent staff completed a 90-minute e-learning module on recognising and preventing modern-slavery (renewed annually).
• All team leaders attended a live workshop run by Anti-Slavery International.
• A short explainer leaflet (in English, Spanish, Tagalog) was distributed to freelancers.
How Does WorldPassports Ensure Expert-Verified Content?