Which Border More Safe For 20k baht Carry?

[sananeamk0715]

I just got my first time tourist visa from Savannakhet. I enter from nong khai(vientiane ) border all the time and immigration never ask me to show 20k

 

monday afternoon I’m thinking about enter from mukdahan(Savannakhet) border for the first time. Do u think they will ask me to show 20k? Or go back vientiane border and enter from there better?

 

by the way i have print the show immigration 

7 days hotel reservation

flight out ticket

700 usd bank statement 

But not 20k cash cause my family send me next week

[richard_smith237]

What is your plan B if there is an issue and you are not permitted entry without 20,000 Baht funds to show?

 

Whichever recommendation people here give you, you always run the risk of falling foul of the regulations if you don't meet them. Thus, always plan to meet the regulations or have reliable 'plan B'.

 

 

[elviajero]

21 minutes ago, sananeamk0715 said:

monday afternoon I’m thinking about enter from mukdahan(Savannakhet) border for the first time. Do u think they will ask me to show 20k? Or go back vientiane border and enter from there better?

It is highly unlikely they will ask at Mukdahan or Nong Khai. It can be asked for at any border, but its rare and they only tend to ask when they are looking for a reason to deny entry.

 

24 minutes ago, sananeamk0715 said:

But not 20k cash cause my family send me next week

If they do ask they want to see cash, it's unlikely a bank statement would be accepted. If you are entering with a Tourist Visa it's 20K; if using Visa Exempt Entry it's 10K.

 

Having a hotel booking and a flight out are good to have as that is what the IO is looking for from a 'tourist'.

[BritTim]

Mukdahan has historically not asked people to show the cash on entry.

[sanemax]

49 minutes ago, sananeamk0715 said:

I just got my first time tourist visa from Savannakhet

Can I ask you what documents you were asked to show when applying for a TV from Savan?

[sananeamk0715]

8 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Can I ask you what documents you were asked to show when applying for a TV from Savan?

-bank statement 20,000

-application form

-passport copy

-2 photo

-hotel reservation

-flight ticket go thailand

-flight ticket laeve thailand

 

-just in case girlfriend id card copy write hes my bf know him long time bla bla leave phone number signature for guaranator

[sananeamk0715]

38 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

What is your plan B if there is an issue and you are not permitted entry without 20,000 Baht funds to show?

 

Whichever recommendation people here give you, you always run the risk of falling foul of the regulations if you don't meet them. Thus, always plan to meet the regulations or have reliable 'plan B'.

 

 

I can show them print of my bank statement have more than 20,000 or open mobile app and can show

 

my plan b

[sanemax]

Just now, sananeamk0715 said:

-bank statement 20,000

-application form

-passport copy

-2 photo

-hotel reservation

-flight ticket go thailand

-flight ticket laeve thailand

-just in case girlfriend id card copy write hes my bf know him long time bla bla leave phone number signature for guaranator

Is that what you were asked to provide when applying for a tourist visa from Savanakhet ?

   

[BritTim]

45 minutes ago, sananeamk0715 said:

I can show them print of my bank statement have more than 20,000 or open mobile app and can show

 

my plan b

At Mukdahan, the chance you will be asked is almost nil, so the fact that your plan B is unsound is irrelevant. However, be aware that if they ask for you to show the cash on entry, no other proof will be accepted. The request to show cash is an excuse to deny you entry, not a genuine attempt to confirm that you can afford your stay in Thailand.

[jenny2017]

 Op, would you mind to let us know why you always went to Vientiane first then traveled all the way down to Sawannakhet? It doesn't make much sense to go through such a torture. The drive is long and can be very dangerous. 

 

            Is there a special reason for you that might be of interest for us who enter Laos from Mukdahan? 

[dotpoom]

I read posts along these lines all the time....What exactly is the problem with having 20,000 Bt. in one's pocket?

  If you are coming to Thailand for a holiday or whatever, surely you have at least that much money?

[sirocco]

Yes, Dotpoom, I agree with you

it is to be believed that tourists find it abnormal to come on holiday with money.
Perhaps they hope to launch a request for money on social networks.

[thecyclist]

Extremely unlikely that you will be asked, unless , maybe, you look like some down and out bum,(farang khee nok).

I have entered Thailand at just about every land borders ,totaling maybe a hundred entries, and have never been asked to show anything other than my passport.

[thecyclist]

14 hours ago, BritTim said:

At Mukdahan, the chance you will be asked is almost nil, so the fact that your plan B is unsound is irrelevant. However, be aware that if they ask for you to show the cash on entry, no other proof will be accepted. The request to show cash is an excuse to deny you entry, not a genuine attempt to confirm that you can afford your stay in Thailand.

That is spot on:20000 Baht is a ridiculously small amount:the required amount has not changed in decades:it was twenty grand in the eighties, when that sum would still go a long way.

They will only ask for it when for some other reason,  maybe just because they are in a bad mood or don't like your face, want to give you a hard time or find a reason to deny you entry.

[franck1972]

Been at least 12 times through Mukdahan, never been asked, never seen anybody being asked.

[JackThompson]

2 hours ago, dotpoom said:

I read posts along these lines all the time....What exactly is the problem with having 20,000 Bt. in one's pocket?

  If you are coming to Thailand for a holiday or whatever, surely you have at least that much money?

I remember the days of carrying cash - and I used "travelers checks" for this to be safe.  But then, they invented this really cool system called "electronic banking" via "ATM" machines, which became widespread in the 1990s.  Its allows you to take a little stick of plastic with a magnetic-strip on the back, place it into a machine, enter a code, and Access Your Money from Almost Anywhere in the World. 

 

40 minutes ago, thecyclist said:

20000 Baht is a ridiculously small amount:the required amount has not changed in decades:it was twenty grand in the eighties, when that sum would still go a long way.

It is the equivalent of ~2.5 to 6 months of a local person's salary (depending which local-country) from a full-time job In Your Pocket - just begging to be robbed.  And since Thai Immigration are the only authorities in the world who pretend that "cash in one's pocket" has any relation to a person's wealth in modern times - playing "money time machine" at some border-checkpoints - the robbers know exactly where to find their victims.

 

Is anyone going to need to spend 20K Baht between crossing the immigration-checkpoint and the ATM machine a few feet beyond it?  Probably not - but if accused of not having the money to finance your visit, reports indicate that you won't be allowed to access that newfangled magic-money machine, to show you do. 

 

This is why I topped-up my supply of "old fashioned" travelers checks to ~20K Baht worth - for no reason other than to please any irate IO I might encounter, who thought I was spending too much time and money in Thailand.  I've never needed this, but it does provide peace-of-mind - and those funny-looking checks never expire.  If North Korea launches a nuke-EMP attack, or a meteor hits, and worldwide electronic communications are disrupted, maybe I might actually "spend" them, someday.

[BritTim]

3 hours ago, dotpoom said:

I read posts along these lines all the time....What exactly is the problem with having 20,000 Bt. in one's pocket?

  If you are coming to Thailand for a holiday or whatever, surely you have at least that much money?

I think most people knowing they are expected to carry cash would have no difficulty doing so. The problem is that people from certain countries (especially the wealthy) have gout out of the habit of carrying cash. They almost never use cash except for tipping. This could (very unlikely, but possible) result in just the kind of visitors Thailand wants being denied entry on a stupid technicality.

[thecyclist]

It is the equivalent of ~2.5 to 6 months of a local person's salary (depending which local-country) from a full-time job In Your Pocket - just begging to be robbed.  

Well, obviously it is not a ridiculously small amount for the minimum wage earner in Thailand, but as an indicator for a tourist having sufficient funds to support themselves for 2 months and not illegally working it is a joke.

[sanemax]

4 minutes ago, thecyclist said:

It is the equivalent of ~2.5 to 6 months of a local person's salary (depending which local-country) from a full-time job In Your Pocket - just begging to be robbed.  

Well, obviously it is not a ridiculously small amount for the minimum wage earner in Thailand, but as an indicator for a tourist having sufficient funds to support themselves for 2 months and not illegally working it is a joke.

I do believe that the rule is in place to stop people from neighboring Countries coming to Thailand to work , a Vietnamese construction worker may not be able to get 20K Baht in his pocket

[JackThompson]

16 hours ago, thecyclist said:

Well, obviously it is not a ridiculously small amount for the minimum wage earner in Thailand, but as an indicator for a tourist having sufficient funds to support themselves for 2 months and not illegally working it is a joke.

Correct - which is why I believe it serves no constructive purpose, while creating unnecessary risk.  Showing a bank-statement or online via a phone with 100K Baht would make more sense, but we have several reports of people attempting to provide such as evidence, and IOs having no interest in this "actually relevant" financial data.

 

16 hours ago, sanemax said:

I do believe that the rule is in place to stop people from neighboring Countries coming to Thailand to work , a Vietnamese construction worker may not be able to get 20K Baht in his pocket

Yes, it could work for this, but there are visas available for those from neighboring countries for this purpose.  These ensure that good-paying jobs in construction are not available to Thais, and that transnational corporations can hire "legal" and cheap imported foreign-labor in their place.

[marquis22]

I was asked to show bank book (I had a Kasikorn acc book) in Savannakhet in January and was refused a visa because the last entry in the book was 2015, although I had well over 20000 bht in it. Must admit it was my fault as I just did not think to get it updated before I went there.

I was not asked if I had cash and anyway I only had about 12000 bht.

I was told to go back to Thailand and get the book updated.

So just got a 30 day exempt.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, marquis22 said:

I was asked to show bank book (I had a Kasikorn acc book) in Savannakhet in January and was refused a visa because the last entry in the book was 2015, although I had well over 20000 bht in it. Must admit it was my fault as I just did not think to get it updated before I went there.

I was not asked if I had cash and anyway I only had about 12000 bht.

I was told to go back to Thailand and get the book updated.

So just got a 30 day exempt.

Backing up the bank book (proving you are the account owner) with a recent ATM slip I believe is acceptable. The check is not as strict as the one immigration use for one-year extensions.

[ubonjoe]

47 minutes ago, BritTim said:

Backing up the bank book (proving you are the account owner) with a recent ATM slip I believe is acceptable.

Or a print out from online banking or a screenshot if on mobile.

[lyskamm]

So far I have found very friendly immigration at Nakhon Phanom border. Have never been asked for 20K cash.

[mrfaroukh]

Travel by air cheap and safe and you get the visa you need at airport

[JackThompson]

5 hours ago, mrfaroukh said:

Travel by air cheap and safe and you get the visa you need at airport

Visas On Arrival for Thailand are only available for people from a select number of countries, and are only good for 15 days.  The OP is returning with a Tourist Visa from a consulate abroad, good for 60-days. 

 

He indicates he has a history of Tourist Visas, so entering by air could involve problems with some IOs who disagree with current immigration-law, and make up invented-rules on the spot.  Thankfully, this lawlessness does not occur at land-border entry points, except the Poipet border.

 

But if you mean flying out, that can work - but I think only one expensive option flying to Savannakhet from Thailand.

[sananeamk0715]

On 3/19/2018 at 9:26 AM, ubonjoe said:

Or a print out from online banking or a screenshot if on mobile.

As u said I print screenshot of bank statement 700 usd they said ok. also mukdahan didnt ask me to show 20.000 baht