Is it possible to transfer money out of Thailand without a work permit

[karl2007]

Hi,

 

I have just resigned from my job and given in my work permit.

 

I went to SCB and wanted to do a swift transfer as I need to transfer my money to my parents in the UK.

 

However, they said they need to have a work permit to be able to do that.

 

Just wondering if there is any other options that are cheap and do not require a work permit?

 

Thanks,

[Pib]

Try another bank.

 

Or possibly DeeMoney depending on the country/bank you need to transfer to.

 

[sapson]

Why do they request a work permit to transfer your own funds out of your own account to an account anywhere as you choose.? Why does a work permit even come into the transaction?

 

Some bright spark must know why?

 

I may be in the same position if i take option 2 of leaving the asylum of Thailand, that would involve transferring funds or a cash withdrawal,,,,,,,,,, i would expect to be asked for a passport and bank book etc but no more!

 

 

[Pib]

Just banks' implementation/interpretation  of Bank of Thailand rules.  Thailand tightly controls the outflow of funds, but not the inflow.  Land of Smiles for incoming funds; Land of Frowns for outgoing funds.

 

Generally, BOT rules allow a farang to repatriate their salary which means they have/need a work permit, repatriate funds they earlier transferred into Thailand but they usually need documentation to prove they transferred the funds into Thailand like to live on or buy a residence, and various other reasons.  And of course each bank seems to have it's own view on how to implement the rules....kinda like how various immigration offices implement immigration rules/laws differently.

[EricTh]

SCB has always been difficult.

 

Did you try Bangkok Bank or other banks?

[sapson]

2 minutes ago, Pib said:

Just banks' implementation/interpretation  of Bank of Thailand rules.  Thailand tightly controls the outflow of funds, but not the inflow.  Land of Smiles for incoming funds; Land of Frowns for outgoing funds.

 

Generally, BOT rules allow a farang to repatriate their salary which means they have/need a work permit, repatriate funds they earlier transferred into Thailand but they usually need documentation to prove they transferred the funds into Thailand like to live on or buy a residence, and various other reasons.  And of course each bank seems to have it's own view on how to implement the rules....kinda like how various immigration offices implement immigration rules/laws differently.

Thanks for the clarification, so i could be forced to empty my account by cash withdrawal at will, use super rich to convert to my home currency and take it with me, rather than a civilised transfer.

 

if you dont have a work permit because you are not working how can a bank stop you doing exactly as you please with your own money ........its incredulous!

[NCC1701A]

33 minutes ago, sapson said:

Thanks for the clarification, so i could be forced to empty my account by cash withdrawal at will, use super rich to convert to my home currency and take it with me, rather than a civilised transfer.

 

if you dont have a work permit because you are not working how can a bank stop you doing exactly as you please with your own money ........its incredulous! 

the BOT is concerned with money leaving the country without taxes being paid. 

without the WP there is no way to complete the required paperwork to allow the money to leave.

If you brought money in then you have a paper trail of the overseas transfer. 

 

 

[DaRoadrunner]

And Immigration have the nerve to require us all to bring in yet more money for the Visa. Conveniently forgetting to inform us of the difficulties of getting it out again! Always keep a copy of the bank's record of any funds brought in.

[Pattaya46]

47 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

And Immigration have the nerve to require us all to bring in yet more money for the Visa.

Conveniently forgetting to inform us of the difficulties of getting it out again! //

For Immigration it will be no more than 800'000 THB. Not a big amount and the easiest way to bring in back to your country probably is to take it in cash (in your home currency) when you exit Thailand.

[YT3k72Em]

A word to the wise for others working with work permit and haven't been transferring internationally.

 

If you went to the bank before you resigned, and set up international transfers on your internet banking you would be able to do it now without visiting a bank.

 

They will then send you a confirmation message every couple of years for you to state you are still working (or not) which is just ticking a box normally.

[Misty]

The bank has to follow BoT and AMLO regulations in this area - they are just trying to establish that the funds were earned legally and taxes were paid.  Try showing them copies of your annual Thai income tax filing and/or a photo copy of your work permit.  Your former employer should be able to give you these items if you don't have them in your records.  Alternatively, you could also ask your former employer to write a letter explaining how long you worked there, your salary and Thai income tax paid.  Show that to the bank and it could be all they need.  If not, try another bank such as Bangkok Bank or Kasikorn Bank.

[natway09]

Had no problem with Bangkok Bank after showed them tax returns & tax file number (22 years)

[tpkhk]

I would recommend DeeMoney, if they support the country you want to send to.  I have to the US, Singapore and India without issues.  The rates are better than main banks, the fee is THB 150 and no deductions in the target account.

 

As for Govt rules, if they are across the board... can't understand why/how DeeMoney can process it, while, in my case, Bangkok Bank (HQ) needed a lot of paperwork that would have taken months to assemble.  

 

Adding to the list of unexplainables....DeeMoney has higher monthly limits when cash (~800K THB/day) is handed across the counter.  When you use their app / electronic transfer from another bank in Thailand, there are monthly maximums (~690K/month).  Logically, you'd think the restriction would be on cash, and not on traceable systems.  

 

If you have access to their Nana location, register and do a small token transfer.  You probably wont step back into a main bank for remittances.

Edited March 29, 2019 by tpkhk

[Jennyau]

I don't have a work permit and am with SCB. I had no problem transferring money. Maybe try another branch. 

[harrymmmm]

I can confirm Kasikorn will want a work permit EXCEPT when transferring to your own account overseas, or to your family (same family name). 

The other exception is if you have an invoice from overseas, but that won't do you much good ????

 

[sanmyintmaung]

1 hour ago, tpkhk said:

Adding to the list of unexplainables....DeeMoney has higher monthly limits when cash (~800K THB/day) is handed across the counter.  When you use their app / electronic transfer from another bank in Thailand, there are monthly maximums (~690K/month).  Logically, you'd think the restriction would be on cash, and not on traceable systems. 

I believe this is to limit the damage if hackers have access to your phone and try to transfer your money to their oversea bank accounts online using your DeeMoney account. DeeMoney allow QR code transfer from online banking app for top-up.

Edited March 29, 2019 by sanmyintmaung

[robsamui]

Of course, being the 'finest nation in the world' and having all of the government departments using Windows 95 and having  none of the government departments interlinked or networked together in any way . . . nobody in any of the banks can possibly know if you are working or not without being shown a physical, actual, blue Work Permit.

Fortunately I did this with BKK bank and was able to nominate one bank account abroad to repatriate my funds BEFORE I stopped working.

At which point I can now move money online back and forth between bank accounts in Thailand, Vietnam and the UK. Nobody spelled it out to me - I was just lucky I set it up before I stopped working. What a nasty little fine country this has turned out to be.

Edited March 29, 2019 by robsamui

[fletchsmile]

Thailand's regulations generally require you to put a purpose for international transfers in and out of the country. This is because there are regulations around the source/ purpose of money being transferred in/ out.

 

In OP's case they have a valid reason to transfer money out of the country = repatriation of earnings. They therefore have to provide supporting documentation to that effect. A WP is probably the easiest for that scenario and why the bank clerk asks for it.

 

However, believe it or not they do recognise that not everyone has every supporting document at all times. So it's acceptable to provide other documentary evidence. Other such documents could include: tax returns, salary slips, statements from your ex-employer, Twee 50 summary of income for the year etc 

 

So ask the bank what other documents you could provide instead to meet their policy requirements. You may have to ask someone else in the same branch or in a different branch of the same bank if you happen to be unlucky with the clerk you're dealing with, but it's definitely possible.

 

You could also ask them what other purposes or sources of income are acceptable to support your request.

eg if you have documentation showing you brought money into country, you can use that to support a case for sending it back too

So if you can't support one purpose/source with documentation have a think of what others you could

 

BTW Thais don't have WPs in the first place. OK the rules around what and how much they can transfer out differ, but that in itself is proof a WP isn't needed in all cases ????

-------------------------------------------

BTW 2 It's a good idea to take a photocopy or scan your WP when you finish a job. But I guess you've realised that now LOL

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by fletchsmile

[fletchsmile]

21 hours ago, Pib said:

Just banks' implementation/interpretation  of Bank of Thailand rules.  Thailand tightly controls the outflow of funds, but not the inflow.  Land of Smiles for incoming funds; Land of Frowns for outgoing funds.

 

There are controls around the inflow of money

 

For example there are controls around inflows that you must state the purpose of the transfer in. You'll have noticed that without that a purpose on a transfer in somewhere along the line the transfer will get held up.

 

Depending on the nature of the transfer in, it may need to be deposited in particular accounts tagged in particular ways for particular purposes.

 

In the last couple of decades there have also been instances were BoT have significantly tightened controls on incoming money to curb the risk of speculation and too much money coming in compared to going out. 

 

An overview of some of the current rules:

 

https://www.bot.or.th/English/FinancialMarkets/ForeignExchangeRegulations/FXRegulation/Pages/default.aspx

 

https://www.bot.or.th/English/FinancialMarkets/ForeignExchangeRegulations/Measure_to_Prevent_ThaiBaht_Speculation/Pages/default.aspx

[IAMHERE]

Aren't you allowed to transfer 500,000 outside Thailand at any time? People send several transfers if they have a couple million.

[marcusarelus]

5 minutes ago, fletchsmile said:

There are controls around the inflow of money

 

For example there are controls around inflows that you must state the purpose of the transfer in. You'll have noticed that without that a purpose on a transfer in somewhere along the line the transfer will get held up.

 

Depending on the nature of the transfer in, it may need to be deposited in particular accounts tagged in particular ways for particular purposes.

 

In the last couple of decades there have also been instances were BoT have significantly tightened controls on incoming money to curb the risk of speculation and too much money coming in compared to going out. 

 

An overview of some of the current rules:

 

https://www.bot.or.th/English/FinancialMarkets/ForeignExchangeRegulations/FXRegulation/Pages/default.aspx

 

https://www.bot.or.th/English/FinancialMarkets/ForeignExchangeRegulations/Measure_to_Prevent_ThaiBaht_Speculation/Pages/default.aspx

I sold property in the USA and transferred the money to Singapore and then to Thailand (Bangkok Bank).  Millions of Baht no problem.  I transferred money out of Thailand using Deemoney no problem.  Before I'd tell anyone what to do I'd go talk to my local banker and DeeMoney as I've never had any problems. 

[Pattaya46]

3 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

// I transferred money out of Thailand using Deemoney no problem.  Before I'd tell anyone what to do I'd go talk to my local banker and DeeMoney as I've never had any problems. 

But as said before, DeeMoney works for only a few countries.

By example it doesn't work for any Euro country 

 

8 hours ago, tpkhk said:

// As for Govt rules, if they are across the board... can't understand why/how DeeMoney can process it, while, in my case, Bangkok Bank (HQ) needed a lot of paperwork that would have taken months to assemble.  //

Agree. I can't understand either how DeeMoney can legally do these out transfers

without all the proofs that banks ask (to those who don't have/had a Work Permit) ... ??

[DaRoadrunner]

On 3/28/2019 at 10:01 PM, sapson said:

if you dont have a work permit because you are not working how can a bank stop you doing exactly as you please with your own money ........its incredulous!

As with all things Thai, anything is possible. I had no problem making an outbound transfer without work permit cuz the bank manager is my friend. Amazing Thailand.

 

P.S. How safe is DeeMoney?

[marcusarelus]

7 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

As with all things Thai, anything is possible. I had no problem making an outbound transfer without work permit cuz the bank manager is my friend. Amazing Thailand.

 

P.S. How safe is DeeMoney?

DeeMoney is just like a bank.  I've transferred money out of Thailand without a work permit for 20 years every year and the bank manager was not a friend.  Look for a Bank of Bangkok that does that sort of thing daily like in a big city or next to an industrial estate.  CM the big one in the shopping center, Rayong is the home of Ford and many other international companies.  I think you all are making it more difficult than it is.  If really a problem change to USD and fly out. 

[sanmyintmaung]

12 hours ago, Pattaya46 said:

Agree. I can't understand either how DeeMoney can legally do these out transfers

without all the proofs that banks ask (to those who don't have/had a Work Permit) ... ??

DeeMoney operates as money transfer agent like Western Union or Moneygram. When you send money trough Western Union or MoneyGram, you only need to show passport. No need to have WP. The same concept for Dee Money.

[Chongalulu]

Is UK a destination that Dee money can send transfers to?

[Pib]

19 hours ago, Pattaya46 said:

But as said before, DeeMoney works for only a few countries.

By example it doesn't work for any Euro country 

 

Agree. I can't understand either how DeeMoney can legally do these out transfers

without all the proofs that banks ask (to those who don't have/had a Work Permit) ... ??

DeeMoney has a "money transfer" license from the Bank of Thailand....different that the "banking" license Thai banks have from the Bank of Thailand.  Fewer/less restrictive requirements I expect....plus, DeeMoney is limited to transferring smaller amounts where a Thai bank can transfer VERY LARGE amounts if desired.