Trying to send money back to England

[fabman5]

Hi,  I don't know what other people experience has been. But so far trying to send money to England from Thailand is one big headache! 

 

Just like everything else a foreigner living here goes through when it comes to visas , buying / selling a house etc. 

 

If anyone knows a simple way of sending the money back,  please tell me. 

 

I brought a house and land here in LOS about 14 years ago ( I know we can't legally own land)  

 

Anyways the house and land has been legally sold now and amicabley between my ex and myself and the buyer. 

 

The problem now though is that because everything was in her name. when I go to the bank this is a problem.

They say I don't have the right documents etc. To be able to send it. 

Then of course can't even explain properly what is required.

 

No doubt if I asked someone else working in a bank they would tell me something else.

 

This is a bank I have used for around 10 years.. 

 

I took in a sales agreement from the lawyer, which was signed by all parties involved. You would think that would be enough.

 

I don't have much in the way of proof when the money was brought into Thailand as its so long ago and was through various sources.

 

My bank is Siam bank ( I don't know if they are worse than others)  

 

I thought about opening a different bank account. I tried kassikorn. To see if the process would be easier But they said it takes a month to open an account.. 

 

The ammount I'm trying to send back is just over 2 million baht 

 

Greatful for any advice 

 

 

[Kwasaki]

Send money back UK via your Thai bank account when you get one.

[fabman5]

2 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Send money back UK via your Thai bank account when you get one.

I have a Thai bank account,  They are asking for paperwork I can't get hold of unfortunately 

[worgeordie]

Makes you wonder how all the black money gets moved around the World 

so easily.

regards worgeordie

[ThePioneer]

1 hour ago, fabman5 said:

I have a Thai bank account,  They are asking for paperwork I can't get hold of unfortunately 

To send large amount of money outside Thailand you either have to proof you officially brought it into Thailand or proof a purchase in the UK, but then you would also need to have a registered Thai company with those funds on the books.

 

This is a very  normal law, and would be the same in your country.

 

When I sent foreign currency from my European country to Thailand in 2015, I also had to deliver proof what I needed the money for and that I had earned it legally before the bank would send it.

 

Now here comes the real trick with European banks.

 

The Euros I sent to Thailand in 2015 were deposited in a foreign currency account and haven't moved since.

 

Now I want to send the money back to the same bank who transferred it to Thailand, so I have proof that the money left from that bank in 2015 and was in their account for more than a decade before that.

 

My Thai bank doesn't have a problem sending it back, yet my European bank has informed that they will not accept it.

 

I have contacted about every major bank in my home country and informed them of all the details. I'm still waiting for a bank to accept the transfer, and in fact most banks don't even respond to my emails.

Edited September 10, 2019 by ThePioneer

[YT3k72Em]

If your wife has a UK bank account, she may have more luck sending the money through her account. As she would not have to prove the money came into Thailand.

Also you could try the bank's online banking, sometimes computers are less demanding (making stuff up) than humans.

[Kwasaki]

On 9/10/2019 at 11:00 PM, fabman5 said:

I have a Thai bank account,  They are asking for paperwork I can't get hold of unfortunately 

What paperwork all I need is passport and the bank book and filled out a banks form with all info wanted for the transaction.

I sent money in baht from my Bkk bk a/c getting it paid into £'s at my sons UK bank a/c and it cost me about 1,200 baht.

Edited September 11, 2019 by Kwasaki

[DaRoadrunner]

Investigate sending via Dee Money?

[topt]

15 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

Investigate sending via Dee Money?

They used to offer the UK but along with the US and NZ cannot currently oblige -

 

List of countries they can service on here - 

https://www.deemoney.com/

[fabman5]

I used a lawyer in the end. Cost me a bit more,  but was worth it. 

[scotsman]

I have not used it yet but I have set it up not that hard to do, but this company looks good for sending https://www.moneycorp.com/en-gb/campaigns/partners/mycurrencytransfer/  

 

Regards

Scotsman 

 

[Delight]

 In your circumstances you have to have legal evidence of how you acquired the funds.

You have none.

if your property had been a condo registered in the foreign freehold allowance -then you would have evidence.

 You have not legally sold your house. You have sold the only things that you legally owned i.e. your share allocation and your voting rights.

You did not issue an invoice prior to receiving your money. Also you did not issue a receipt.

You are legally screwed.

Your mistake.

What you should have done is negotiate with your buyer to transfer the funds into your UK bank account.

The problem that  you are facing would simply not exist!

If I was in your position I would  exactly know what to do.

Visit a lawyer. He will in all probability fix it -for a fee.

If you live in Pattaya area then I can suggest a suitable law  company . Send me a message via Thai visa if you need help

Edited September 29, 2019 by Delight

[kwonitoy]

You can send up to 50,000 USD per day from Thailand to a foreign bank without any paperwork. 

That's 1,528,000 THB approx.

I went to SCB in Udon mall and sent 1.3 million THB to my foreign bank last week.

No drama whatsoever, sent the money at noon and it was in my offshore bank 4 hours later

Take your passport, bank book.

Know your SWIFT code and IBAN for you receiving bank account.

For SCB keep the Bangkok phone number in your phone 02 777 7777 they have a very good English speaking hotline/problem solver.

If I get any pushback from staff in a bank I just phone Bangkok and let them sort it out, often just saying I'll phone Bangkok works wonders.

[wotsdermatter]

Have used Western Union to move money from Thailand to Canada.  The only problem is WU charges and give a slightly less rate of exchange so you lose a bit.

'nuf sed.

 

[SteveK]

My Thai bank also refused to transfer ANY amount of money from my Thai bank to my UK bank without an "invoice" and they wouldn't clarify what they wanted. It was a complete nightmare.

[Thainess]

Take 10,000 pounds a time in cash every time you fly back to the UK. It will take a while, but even if Customs found you with it, they wouldn't bat an eyelid due to the small amount. If you wanted to take it all in cash in one go, that's obviously more risky (keep it close to you at all times in the airport and during the flight) and declare it to Customs (essential) and you'll be fine as long as you have documents proving the source of the funds is from your house sale.

[Thainess]

Alternatively, just stay in BKK and spend it. Eat at the Landmark Hotel every day. 2 million baht will be gone in no time.

[fabman5]

22 hours ago, kwonitoy said:

You can send up to 50,000 USD per day from Thailand to a foreign bank without any paperwork. 

That's 1,528,000 THB approx.

I went to SCB in Udon mall and sent 1.3 million THB to my foreign bank last week.

No drama whatsoever, sent the money at noon and it was in my offshore bank 4 hours later

Take your passport, bank book.

Know your SWIFT code and IBAN for you receiving bank account.

For SCB keep the Bangkok phone number in your phone 02 777 7777 they have a very good English speaking hotline/problem solver.

If I get any pushback from staff in a bank I just phone Bangkok and let them sort it out, often just saying I'll phone Bangkok works wonders.

completely different experience to me. If only it were that easy for everyone..and I have the same bank as you. They wouldn't even entertain 1 million. They want to know where the money came from and proof that it was sent into Thailand.  Even if that was 20 years ago. I went down the Lawyer route. Cost me about an extra 7500 baht, was worth it though. 

[JamJar]

https://www.superrich1965.com/aboutus.php

http://www.superrichuk.com

[Arkady]

Things will likely get harder with the new AMLO regulations that the cabinet has just approved requiring more documentation for any outward remittance over B50,000.  There are regulations that allow investors to import funds and invest in shares or condos and then remit the principle and after tax profit back out again.  I think the problem is that the inward remittance has to be booked for that specific purpose and supporting documentation is required about the purchase and sale of the assets when you want to remit out again.  If you bought the property or shares in someone else's name, the chain seems to be broken as far as the Bank of Thailand is concerned. 

 

I think a fix for this could be to remit the funds from overseas direct to the Thai person whose name will be used to buy the asset and tell them to book it with the bank as a loan to purpose property.  You need to back this up with a loan document but this can be in English and can be a fairly basic one copied from a sample on the Internet.  After selling the property the Thai nominee should be able to remit out the principle together with whatever interest was specified in the loan agreement and this can be a bullet payment, i.e. all interest is payable on repayment of principle.  I have successfully remitted out money that was booked as a loan to my Thai company which I had used to buy land without any trouble.   I have also booked remittances to myself, now being a Thai citizens, as loans to purchase property.  I have not sold any of that property yet or tried to remit out any of the personal loans yet but I don't think there would be a problem.  Of course, if your Thai nominee is your spouse and you get divorced or he or she passes away in the interim, that could be a problem but nothing is perfect, particularly when you are in the world of nominees.