Gate security asked for passport

[keith101]

The last time the wife and I went to Bangkok to see her daughter and family the security guy on the gate asked for my passport to which i said no three times and then showed my Thai dl , am I right in assuming he had no right to ask to see my passport .

Edited July 24, 2019 by keith101
spelling

[Gumballl]

The security guard wanted to see some ID. Because you are a foreigner, he assumed that you could provide this evidence in the form of a passport.

 

You should have showed him your DL upon the first request for ID, not the third.

 

I will not attempt to answer your last question. You're a grown man; answer it yourself.

[BritManToo]

Can't answer, gate security always wave white folk through, we're all too rich to rob..

[keith101]

9 minutes ago, Gumballl said:

The security guard wanted to see some ID. Because you are a foreigner, he assumed that you could provide this evidence in the form of a passport.

 

You should have showed him your DL upon the first request for ID, not the third.

 

I will not attempt to answer your last question. You're a grown man; answer it yourself.

If I had a chance to  would have but he was very stubborn in asking for passport before I got a chance to get my dl out.

[jackdd]

The security guard is not the one who made the rules.

Probably the members of this gated community made a rule which says that visitors have to present their ID card if they want to enter.

They employed a security guard to enforce this rule.

If you want to enter you can show him our ID document, if you don't want to do this it is your right to not do so, but this means he might not let you in.

[KhunBENQ]

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Can't answer, gate security always wave white folk through, we're all too rich to rob..

Don't know whether high security gated communities (already) exist in Thailand.

What I experienced is, that the person to be visited had to pick me up at the gate/entrance or at least confirms my visit over the phone. No ID to be shown.

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Probably the members of this gated community made a rule which says that visitors have to present their ID card if they want to enter.

If the rules say 'ID card' why is the gate man asking for a 'passport'.

[KhunBENQ]

4 minutes ago, keith101 said:

If I had a chance to  would have but he was very stubborn in asking for passport before I got a chance to get my dl out.

How good was this guard with English.

Some will just know foreigners having "patpot".

[keith101]

2 minutes ago, jackdd said:

The security guard is not the one who made the rules.

Probably the members of this gated community made a rule which says that visitors have to present their ID card if they want to enter.

They employed a security guard to enforce this rule.

If you want to enter you can show him our ID document, if you don't want to do this it is your right to not do so, but this means he might not let you in.

He took my dl and photo copied it and that's what i was worried about being done with my passport

[transam]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

If the rules say 'ID card' why is the gate man asking for a 'passport'.

Thought PP was farang ID "card", as we do not have a Thai ID card...

[geoffbezoz]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

If the rules say 'ID card' why is the gate man asking for a 'passport'.

No doubt being a security guy he has litlle or no grasp of English, no understanding of what he should be asking for and why and no doubt just sick and tired of seeing hi-so prats (not saying you are in that group) everyday going in and out of that gated community so hence prefers to be obnoxious to Farangs as he know a Thai may well just report him.

[geoffbezoz]

5 minutes ago, keith101 said:

He took my dl and photo copied it and that's what i was worried about being done with my passport

yep id theft is rife in Thailand.

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

No doubt being a security guy he has litlle or no grasp of English, no understanding of what he should be asking for and why and no doubt just sick and tired of seeing hi-so prats (not saying you are in that group) everyday going in and out of that gated community so hence prefers to be obnoxious to Farangs as he know a Thai may well just report him.

I'm so 'hi-so' I would have just slapped him a few times.

"Do you know who I am, smack, smack"

Edited July 24, 2019 by BritManToo

[thaibeachlovers]

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

If the rules say 'ID card' why is the gate man asking for a 'passport'.

He's probably just a peasant that does what he's told. If he was told to ask farangs for a passport that's what he did.

He may not even understand English well enough to accept an alternative. 

Strictly speaking he shouldn't let anyone in not cleared by the person they were visiting.

[Vacuum]

7 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

If the rules say 'ID card' why is the gate man asking for a 'passport'.

Missunderstanding of the word passport? My guess is that he wanted to see some sort of ID.

[keith101]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

He's probably just a peasant that does what he's told. If he was told to ask farangs for a passport that's what he did.

He may not even understand English well enough to accept an alternative. 

Strictly speaking he shouldn't let anyone in not cleared by the person they were visiting.

The gate was told we were coming and approx what time .

[ezzra]

I'm waiting for the day that shopping a t Big C and lotus or Villa will not be possible without showing your passport and not much later, finger printed,, long live the lunacy of paranoia...

[MartinL]

"The last time the wife and I went ... to see her daughter ... the security guy ... asked for my passport ... ".

 

Presumably your wife was in the car with you. Did he ask to see her ID too or is only the foreigner deemed a threat to the security of the gated community?

[NCC1701A]

I would have put on a proper English accent and said "My good man, how are you today? I am afraid I am rather perplexed by your inquiry. Perhaps if I could have a word with your supervisor we can get this unfortunate misunderstanding cleared up. You see, I rarely travel with my passport. It ruins the way my trousers look. Thank you so much for your total cooperation in this matter. Off you go."

Edited July 24, 2019 by NCC1701A

[keith101]

Just now, MartinL said:

"The last time the wife and I went ... to see her daughter ... the security guy ... asked for my passport ... ".

 

Presumably your wife was in the car with you. Did he ask to see her ID too or is only the foreigner deemed a threat to the security of the gated community?

No did not ask for her id only asked me .

[jackdd]

23 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

If the rules say 'ID card' why is the gate man asking for a 'passport'.

The rules probably say neither, because they are written in Thai.

"Passport" is just something that every foreigner has and a word which every Thai security guard (who might earn 30 THB per hour if he is lucky) knows.

Do you expect the average security guard knows the words "identification document" and can pronounce them properly?

 

I could understand such a complaint more if it were about airline staff at an airport. When i check in for a domestic flight, or when i'm going to the security check at the domestic terminal they always request a "passport" from me, but if i present my Thai driving license that's sufficient. So why don't these people, who can speak english to a certain degree, not say "identification document" instead of "passport"?

When you send a package at a post office or Kerry, or if you happen to go somewhere where people aged 60+ get a discount and you claim to be older than 60, they will also ask to see your "passport".

Edited July 24, 2019 by jackdd

[CGW]

18 minutes ago, ezzra said:

I'm waiting for the day that shopping a t Big C and lotus or Villa will not be possible without showing your passport and not much later, finger printed,, long live the lunacy of paranoia...

Then "they" will state that we can be "chipped" for our own good off course, as it will be so much easier many will agree - job done! ???? 

[transam]

27 minutes ago, keith101 said:

The gate was told we were coming and approx what time .

That sounds incredibly posh.....

 

Back in London I had access to the Tower of London, I was never asked for ID at the gate to drive in....????

[orchis]

so what.

[mania]

Just tell him Thai DL has your passport # on it

in top section under your Thai year birthdate

[Matzzon]

1 hour ago, keith101 said:

If I had a chance to  would have but he was very stubborn in asking for passport before I got a chance to get my dl out.

Whats the problem. He wanted you to show identification, and assumes you use your passport as that. What´s the problem to show that, and why did you feel the need to refuse?

[MartinL]

Of course, this could be just the initial stages of something we can expect in the future.

 

On your way out of your family's gated community, you might be met with a greeting from the security guard and "You've been here 3 days. I know because I copied your passport 3 days ago. I've reported your presence to the Immigration Police. Hope you remembered to do your TM30. Have a nice day!".

Edited July 24, 2019 by MartinL

[RichardColeman]

When times got hard, my wife did some gate security to help out with the bills. She regularly asked for id of people she did not know, since it was her job to ensure the safety of the community. Wife wife is fluent in English - much to the surprise of most coming to the gate - most on gates are not fluent or have to choose other words. I would not worry about it - and besides, I thought Thai farang law said keep copy of passport on you at all times - he may well have known that

[2long]

When I visit gated communities and some condos I hate being asked for ID, but I understand the concept. I have never been asked for a passport. Someone copying your passport will not result in anything serious. Hotels do it, vehicle rental shops do it, I even do it at the hospital when insurance pay!

Like others say, he may not know much difference or that you had a DL. Like they also say, he's just doing his job and enforcing rules he didn't make and may not agree with. I bet he would rather face and angry you, than an angry group of his bosses and residents if something happened and the security team couldn't provide visitor information.

I live in a small gated community and am very happy that we don't get hawkers or riffraff in. Our guards are not particularly strict.

I think some common sense is due here. If your wife's family are lucky enough to live in such a place, you shouldn't worry about having to show your ID. You could even brag to friends about how posh they are, having guards asking for passports sounds awesome! ????

[wgdanson]

1 hour ago, keith101 said:

He took my dl and photo copied it and that's what i was worried about being done with my passport

How many copies of your passport do Immigration or Driving Centre or Hospital have?