Declaring Cash In Excess of USD 15,000 - Primer

[blackcab]

I recently had to hand carry USD 45,000 in cash out through Suvarnabhumi. I thought I would write a primer as others do ask about hand carrying cash in excess of USD 15,000 from time to time.

 

Note: The reporting limit in Thailand has been reduced from USD 20,000 or more to "450,000 Baht or USD 15,000 or its equivalent" (Section 2, Paragraph 8.2 Click Here).

 

 

The first thing you need to do is download the attached customs declaration form. Print out two copies and fill them in. One copy will be kept by customs, and the other copy will be returned to you as your proof of declaration. Customs have these forms available, but being prepared saves time.

 

On the departures floor you need to walk all the way to area U. Close to the area U sign you will see the VAT refund desk. Ignore that. Next to it, on the right hand side are a couple of desks underneath a sign saying, "Customs Inspection for VAT Refund". Head directly there. The desk is staffed 24 hours a day.

 

 

 

Hand over your forms, and you will be asked to step into a private room. It's actually the office at the back of the VAT refund counter.

 

The staff member will ask for your passport and then record your details in a large bound ledger and ask you to sign. They will keep one of your forms and return the second signed and stamped form to you.

 

 

The lady did ask to see the cash, but she don't count it or touch it. Instead she kind of looked at it for a few seconds and calculated if it looked about right. USD 45,000 in 100's is 4.5 bundles sort of thing.

 

There were no verbal questions at all about the source of the money, no verbal questions about supporting documentation, and no verbal questions about the intended use of the money. Nothing.

 

That's it. Once you get through the queue to the first desk it takes about 5 minutes and you are done.

 

Being nosy I did glance at the other entries on the same page in the ledger. Other amounts declared were AUD 70,000 and INR 5,000,000. 

 

Your receipt has your numerical reference number written on it. I was in the 4xx/2561 range, so they are getting an average of 3 or 4 people a day declaring cash.

 

Overall it's a quick and simple process.

 

Update for 2020: I traveled from Suvarnabhumi to the UK with 30,000 GBP. Everything was the same as above.

 

 

On arrival at Manchester airport there were no customs officers on duty. Instead there was a telephone you could use to call someone, and a post box for the cash declaration form. Photos below.

 

 

 

 

Click this link to download the Customs form:

Thai Customs Cash Reporting Form.pdf

 

[simoh1490]

Cool! Perhaps you can tell us what happened at the destination and whether there were issues?

[blackcab]

4 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Cool! Perhaps you can tell us what happened at the destination and whether there were issues?

 

My destination was the US. My port of entry was Chicago. I am not a US citizen or a green card holder so I filled in the entry card on the plane and declared the cash on that.

 

I had an ESTA, so I got to bypass the long queues and instead use an electronic screening machine, which also asked me to declare.

 

After that I went through the immigration desk who stamped me in to the country, then I was directed to the secondary search area.

 

I had prefilled a US cash declaration form and I handed it over with my passport.

 

The officer there was pleasant enough. He asked questions about the source of the funds, the purpose of the funds and why the express need for cash. I gave him the true answers, which he accepted on face value. He did not ask to see any supporting documents.

 

The officer then briefly searched my luggage then asked to see the cash. He didn't touch it or count it.

 

He then completed his part of the declaration form and I was free to go.

 

It wasn't a difficult process at all.

[simoh1490]

Thanks!

 

Did you get any sleep during the flight or were your eyes always on the cash? The last time I did similar, but for a lesser amount, the loss of sleep and anxiety invalidated the worth of carrying large amounts of cash.

[blackcab]

2 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Thanks!

 

Did you get any sleep during the flight or were your eyes always on the cash? The last time I did similar, but for a lesser amount, the loss of sleep and anxiety invalidated the worth of carrying large amounts of cash.

 

It doesn't bother me at all. It's not uncommon for me to carry cash and that amount isn't especially bulky.

[siamcrut]

Thanks for this interesting report.
I do wonder if everything would be so smooth with 100.000 $ or more?

[Argus Tuft]

blackcab - excellent report, thanks so much for this

 

Often see questions on travel forums about taking cash across borders and it always seems to be met with alarm balls and scaremongering

 

In my line of work I have also had to carry large cash amounts in and out of various countries - all for legitimate reasons - and the procedure is straight forward and seamless if the rules are followed

[Just Weird]

On ‎5‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 7:13 PM, blackcab said:

There were no questions at all. No questions about the source of the money, no questions about supporting documentation, no questions about the intended use of the money. Nothing.

"There were no questions at all. No questions about the source of the money..."

 

Really?  What about the section on the form that asked for details of the source of the cash?

[blackcab]

6 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

"There were no questions at all. No questions about the source of the money..."

 

Really?  What about the section on the form that asked for details of the source of the cash?

 

In the primer I was referring to verbal questions from the staff member who handled the report. To clarify, I was not asked any verbal questions about the written answer I gave.

 

For people exporting their own cash, there are not many answers that you can write on the form. 1. Cash previously imported to Thailand; 2. Inheritance; 3. Gift; 4. State Lottery Winning - I can't think of any other reasons. I think most people would be in the first category, with the least people being in the fourth category.

 

You could, of course, also be exporting the currency on behalf of a company you work for and which you have a work permit.

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

SO what was the purpose of carrying so much caSh?

[Maradona 10]

On 5/1/2018 at 7:42 PM, simoh1490 said:

Thanks!

 

Did you get any sleep during the flight or were your eyes always on the cash? The last time I did similar, but for a lesser amount, the loss of sleep and anxiety invalidated the worth of carrying large amounts of cash.

Aahhh....bless your cotton socks.

[Argus Tuft]

23 hours ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

SO what was the purpose of carrying so much caSh?

Not anyone's business to know is it?  Plenty of legitimate reasons to be carrying "so much cash"

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

11 hours ago, Argus Tuft said:

Not anyone's business to know is it?  Plenty of legitimate reasons to be carrying "so much cash"

like what? i can't think of one legitimate reason to carry 45,000 USD. unless he is a gambler.

[Argus Tuft]

2 minutes ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

like what? i can't think of one legitimate reason to carry 45,000 USD. unless he is a gambler.

Well you'll have to just keep guessing then.  I regularly had to carry in cash in sums up to USD$100,000 in cash in a previous job, and the reasons were legitimate, valid, and accepted by arrivals officials without any query.  My paperwork was complete and totally above board

[JimmyJ]

On 5/1/2018 at 6:25 AM, siamcrut said:

Thanks for this interesting report.
I do wonder if everything would be so smooth with 100.000 $ or more?

I'm surprised it was that easy.

 

About 15 - 20 years ago I was carrying less than 10k cash - don't recall exactly but more than 5k.

I'm a US citizen and was traveling within the US.

I had it in a money belt concealed and the zipper was metal and the wand detected it.

 

I did go into an area where they closed a curtain and one guy counted it in front of me, asked me why I was carrying it although it's legal (theoretically) to carry any amount of cash on domestic flights without declaring, called their bosses, and then I got the go ahead and was allowed to proceed.

 

One difference is mine was hidden and yours was declared. And I'll assume you are associated with a company as you mentioned a previous job where you carried cash.

However as mentioned mine did not have to be declared.

I was flying out of a small regional US airport so perhaps that played a part.

 

From everything I've read it's much much worse now, but you clearly gave them reasons that they bought.

 

EDIT - BTW very informative post, thank you.

Edited June 26, 2018 by JimmyJ

[HidyHo]

25 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

I'm surprised it was that easy.

 

... 

I'm a US citizen and was traveling within the US.

...

 

You're sharing your experience within USA as a comparison ???

[Thaifish]

Blackcab, I have downloaded the Declaration form from your link. Stupid question but will ask anyway. Is the form the same one to use when entering the Kingdom carrying money also? (I suspect it is!) If so where do you submit the form on arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Is it at the Passport IO desk? Thank you for your post and link.

[blackcab]

3 hours ago, Thaifish said:

Blackcab, I have downloaded the Declaration form from your link. Stupid question but will ask anyway. Is the form the same one to use when entering the Kingdom carrying money also? (I suspect it is!) If so where do you submit the form on arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Is it at the Passport IO desk? Thank you for your post and link.

 

Same form. On the right hand side of the form you will see two boxes. Check one for arrival or the other for departure.

 

Do not start pulling out cash at the immigration desk. These officers are not customs officers; their job is to allow you into the country.

 

After immigration, collect your checked luggage (if any) as normal, then head to the Red, Items to Declare channel. Hand over the two copies of your form and your passport there.

[gk10002000]

On 5/1/2018 at 1:21 PM, Argus Tuft said:

blackcab - excellent report, thanks so much for this

 

Often see questions on travel forums about taking cash across borders and it always seems to be met with alarm balls and scaremongering

 

In my line of work I have also had to carry large cash amounts in and out of various countries - all for legitimate reasons - and the procedure is straight forward and seamless if the rules are followed

The biggest nuance I have seen is actually leaving the USA for USA citizens.  At LAX for example, the TSA and other officials are in general ignorant of what to do, and it takes some digging to find out what forms to get, who to submit them to or show them to, when to do that, etc.  They are trained to be jerks and grill anybody that has 10K of cash or more on them. 

[gk10002000]

On 6/25/2018 at 11:06 AM, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

like what? i can't think of one legitimate reason to carry 45,000 USD. unless he is a gambler.

Just because you can't think of legitimate reasons, doesn't mean there aren't any.  Perhaps he just sold his business, condo, automobile, some jewelry or gold or other assets he had collected over the years.  Perhaps he just doesn't like to use banks, and deal with transferring money electronically. Perhaps he is transporting payroll.  Not a rare thing in many countries

Edited August 4, 2018 by gk10002000
update

[jollyhangmon]

Thanks blackcab, just used the declaration form inbound, worked fine.

 

At Swampies arrivals go to exit B - to the right after collecting your checked-in luggage - red channel there is staffed better for that kind of procedure, take a seat in a back office & hand over 2 copies of the declaration.

Painless in my case, CO just took a peek at the dough, didn't actually count it, stamped, signed and returned one of the forms - perfect proof for funds from abroad if needed ... 

[Thaifish]

Good reply jolly. I will be doing as you did in about 6 weeks. Thanks for post.

[jollyhangmon]

15 hours ago, Thaifish said:

Good reply jolly. I will be doing as you did in about 6 weeks. Thanks for post.

 

You're welcome.
Maybe exit A is just as good but I arrived at relatively quiet times so there was only one bloke hanging around there, he told me to use B ...

 

Commercial banks rate sending over from EU is a bad joke (low fees via ebanking or as eye-catchers maybe in some cases but all of them seem to apply a very bad rate in the end, usually not much better than standard cash-exchange here in-country, not to mention the likes of Superrich ...) - and if one uses an intermediary (say Transferwise or Currencytransfer etc.) with much better exchange-rates one might be short of proof the stash came from abroad if really needed because these companies use domestic accounts to finally allocate the funds ... 

[Snow Leopard]

On 8/5/2018 at 12:24 AM, gk10002000 said:

The biggest nuance I have seen is actually leaving the USA for USA citizens.  At LAX for example, the TSA and other officials are in general ignorant of what to do, and it takes some digging to find out what forms to get, who to submit them to or show them to, when to do that, etc.  They are trained to be jerks and grill anybody that has 10K of cash or more on them. 

In my experience, the TSA are ignorant full stop. 

[DJ54]

On 8/5/2018 at 3:24 AM, gk10002000 said:

The biggest nuance I have seen is actually leaving the USA for USA citizens.  At LAX for example, the TSA and other officials are in general ignorant of what to do, and it takes some digging to find out what forms to get, who to submit them to or show them to, when to do that, etc.  They are trained to be jerks and grill anybody that has 10K of cash or more on them. 

 

On 9/4/2018 at 1:08 PM, Snow Leopard said:

In my experience, the TSA are ignorant full stop. 

 

On 9/4/2018 at 1:08 PM, Snow Leopard said:

In my experience, the TSA are ignorant full stop. 

TSA at LAX are a mess. Fairly lazy ok really lazy. The line to get to

the Airline counter is crazy due laziness. Many times waiting in the

line 2 working and look behind the partition 8 or so doing nothing. 

 

I never went through the X-ray machine that you put your arms up

and goes around you. I get pulled to the side for further inspection 

the guy got carried away and grabbed my balls. Then they said what’s 

in your back pocket. A small receipt from buying a coke. 

 

Love the the security line in Taichung going to boarding area. Don’t have to take anything out. Water ok ... a breeze. Maybe they figure if 

you do something the line of fighter jets to side of runway will take care of your problem. 

 

Hong Kong boarding had an unopened water. They said you have to throw it away..... but wait I just bought it 2 minutes ago there at the store. Throw it away. I told him why don’t you reach I’m my pocket and

steal some money.......He wasn’t appreciative 

 

 

[Thaifish]

Is there a habit of scanning your bags also if you declare money going through the red line. I want to bring some other items that are legal but wondering if I may have issues if they wish to scan wondering <deleted>... Drug courier!!!... So In bag Epsom Salts for muscle relief...2 kilo.... Tea tree oil maybe 1/2 litre for atomiser in same bag plus other legit stuff except maybe some food products..... Packed stuff not meat....Just simple things you buy through supermarket.....Maybe thinking doing run through no declare and holding paperwork for bringing excess money into country. What happens if no declare pulls you up? 

Edited September 24, 2018 by Thaifish

[jollyhangmon]

1 hour ago, Thaifish said:

Is there a habit of scanning your bags also if you declare money going through the red line. I want to bring some other items that are legal but wondering if I may have issues if they wish to scan wondering <deleted>... Drug courier!!!... So In bag Epsom Salts for muscle relief...2 kilo.... Tea tree oil maybe 1/2 litre for atomiser in same bag plus other legit stuff except maybe some food products..... Packed stuff not meat....Just simple things you buy through supermarket.....Maybe thinking doing run through no declare and holding paperwork for bringing excess money into country. What happens if no declare pulls you up? 

 

Had similar concerns, bags full of the good ole' food-stuff from home as usual when I declared EUR 25k ... nobody cared.

A Tuesday, around 9 AM, slow business & I was the only one through the red-channel ...

I only declared because I need the stamped form as proof for bringing in the dough, I'm not sure if it's an extremely good idea to stroll through the green but WITH the prepared paperwork on you ...?? Well, if they picked you out I mean ... otherwise not much difference between the fat (probably not permitted?) sausage or your cash - except the fines, probably  (plus there's cash on the table already ... could get expensive if you catch my drift)

 

Epsom Salt, hehe, thats a good one ... if necessary let them try a line, should sort out any questions.

Last time I travelled back home they busted me for 5 mangoes man, from the own garden over here, damage were EUR 8.- for 'destruction of the confiscated items'   had a good lough with the bloke as he said he doesn't give a hoot for some other items not exactly snowy-white where 'trademark protection' is concerned ...

 

Edited September 24, 2018 by jollyhangmon

[Chivas]

On 5/1/2018 at 6:21 PM, Argus Tuft said:

 

 

Often see questions on travel forums about taking cash across borders and it always seems to be met with alarm balls and scaremongering

 

 

 

lol you see what happens at heathrow if you get a money dog tug cross border whilst holding 45 large when questions can be asked from just 1,000 sterling

[Thaifish]

Just to follow up on my earlier posts... If you play in the mud then sooner or later some of it is going to stick to you. I like to be squeaky clean. I did everything by the book exiting Australia and declaring excess of $10K.. Had declaration paperwork downloaded which Blackcaband provided in first post.. I dully filled out in duplicate ready for entry into the Kingdom. Cleared Immigration….. Got my bag from carousel... Walked to the declare items pathway.... All shut nobody in sight... only exit available was Non declaring line... Walked into and there was only one lady on a stool doing I presume facebook on her mobile.  The x-ray scanner TV was turned off and nobody monitoring it anyway. So there was 1 lady doing facebook looking after the whole show not at all interested... Now I wonder if I want to cash out and leave Thailand how am I going to show where I got the money from.  

[jollyhangmon]

19 hours ago, Thaifish said:

Just to follow up on my earlier posts... If you play in the mud then sooner or later some of it is going to stick to you. I like to be squeaky clean. I did everything by the book exiting Australia and declaring excess of $10K.. Had declaration paperwork downloaded which Blackcaband provided in first post.. I dully filled out in duplicate ready for entry into the Kingdom. Cleared Immigration….. Got my bag from carousel... Walked to the declare items pathway.... All shut nobody in sight... only exit available was Non declaring line... Walked into and there was only one lady on a stool doing I presume facebook on her mobile.  The x-ray scanner TV was turned off and nobody monitoring it anyway. So there was 1 lady doing facebook looking after the whole show not at all interested... Now I wonder if I want to cash out and leave Thailand how am I going to show where I got the money from.  

 

Sounds pretty much like same situation when I flew in with some coin but I was directed from exit A (left side, very end of building) to exit B which was staffed fine, couple of cubicles, think I saw 6 or 7 officers there.

 

Not to declare/being able to declare wouldn't have been an option as I knew I'd need it (and did so) for conversion of a Tourist- to an NON-O-visa incountry on grounds of retirement ...