Transferring funds out of Thailand

[avander]

Seasons Greetings to all forum members!

 

My wife and I have moved back to Australia.  We have a commercial property in Thailand (in my Thai wife's name) which we want to sell and then transfer the proceeds back to one of our personal bank accounts in Australia.

 

I am looking for advice of any rules and whether we can do a single large transfer or how this is best approached if there are limits on how much and how often we can do a transfer?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Monomial]

I would also be interested in hearing what changes, if any, are being applied by the banks since the new directive on Nov. 8.  According to this article:

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1132679-thailand-relaxes-fx-rules-to-rein-in-baht-strength/?do=findComment&comment=14741258

 

Quote

Individuals can take money out of the country more freely – the central bank will no longer apply its “positive list” summarising what’s allowed, but only its “negative list” of what’s prohibited, such as taking money abroad to speculate on exchange rates.

 

In theory, this should mean that there is no longer any reason for a bank to deny you the ability to simply wire the money to Australia. It depends on how they are interpreting this new directive from the BOT.  I would love to hear your results if you just go to the bank and ask.

 

 

[elcaro]

I use bitcoins for this. I have a bank account in both countries in my own name. Create and verify an account on localbitcoins.net. then buy bitcoin with your thai account and sell to your foreign account. Took me less than an hour last time. Both the fees and exchange rate are minimal

[Jaxxper]

I would just call your bank and get clear directives on what they will allow. Seems different banks have different policies.

Just a suggestion. 

[AAArdvark]

And how long will it take the banks to actually implement these new rules?

[sfokevin]

I am following this thread as I will need to repatriate 800,000 baht next year...

[Pattaya46]

2 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

I am following this thread as I will need to repatriate 800,000 baht next year...

Just change Thai baht to your currency notes in SuperRich and bring the money with you in the plane. The cheaper way for change and fees.

[The Theory]

”Just change Thai baht to your currency notes in SuperRich and bring the money with you in the plane. The cheaper way for change and fees.” 
 

As far as I know $15000 cash without report is allowed. 800,000 will be more than $26000. 

1 hour ago, sfokevin said:

I will need to repatriate 800,000 baht

 

Edited December 21, 2019 by The Theory

[Max69xl]

1 hour ago, Pattaya46 said:

Just change Thai baht to your currency notes in SuperRich and bring the money with you in the plane. The cheaper way for change and fees.

You think any normal person will withdraw 800k or more if you sell a condo and change it at SuperRich and put it in a bag? 

[DaRoadrunner]

This being Thailand, I suspect every bank will have different take on this.

 

Other problem is, they can change the laws after you brought the money in. No telling if you will ever get it out again or not.

 

I have done it in the past, but they asked for evidence of where the funds originated from.

 

Following the outcome.

[saengd]

5 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

You think any normal person will withdraw 800k or more if you sell a condo and change it at SuperRich and put it in a bag? 

Yes, it happens all the time. I've withdrawn 2 million in cash and walked across the mall to deposit it into my account at another bank on a couple of occasions, the teller even puts it into a nice brown envelope for you. Superich and the likes are used to that sort of thing.

[wgdanson]

To the 5 million folk with less than Bht 50 in the ban...ignore this thread!   LOL

[Chazar]

Wife  owns 7  condos..............if  she was  run over by a  bus or slipped off the balcony , caught her head in a  homemade  noose  etc.......could I take that  money out......it is  all left to me in her  will...........just curious......family  dont get a look  in at  all

[saengd]

The rules on funds transfer overseas have been relaxed by the BOT as recently as a few months ago and now it's supposed to be easier than ever. Prior to that relaxation I was able to transfer up to 500k Baht online and almost any other amount in branch. But I have copies of all my incoming funds receipts plus I've been with my bank in Thailand for a long time and they know me very well.

 

You will almost certainly get different answers on this from different banks and different branches but as long as you have proof of the funds being sent to Thailand from overseas in the first place, it should be a straight forward matter. The banks merely operationalise BOT policy on this and if push comes to shove you can always take the matter up with BOT, if you have problems, they are actually quite helpful.

[avander]

Thanks all for the info. I would still like to know specifics.

Like many others I have transferred quite a lot over the years and have the proof so good to know. We will contact our Thai bank and see what they say.

[Gumballl]

2 hours ago, sfokevin said:

I am following this thread as I will need to repatriate 800,000 baht next year...

Why not just spend the money now?

[Gumballl]

1 hour ago, Chazar said:

Wife  owns 7  condos..............if  she was  run over by a  bus or slipped off the balcony , caught her head in a  homemade  noose  etc.......could I take that  money out......it is  all left to me in her  will...........just curious......family  dont get a look  in at  all

You would have to sell the condo(s) first. So what are you waiting for? Do the dirty deed, and leave LOS a rich man!

[Gumballl]

1 hour ago, saengd said:

The rules on funds transfer overseas have been relaxed by the BOT as recently as a few months ago and now it's supposed to be easier than ever. Prior to that relaxation I was able to transfer up to 500k Baht online and almost any other amount in branch. But I have copies of all my incoming funds receipts plus I've been with my bank in Thailand for a long time and they know me very well.

 

You will almost certainly get different answers on this from different banks and different branches but as long as you have proof of the funds being sent to Thailand from overseas in the first place, it should be a straight forward matter. The banks merely operationalise BOT policy on this and if push comes to shove you can always take the matter up with BOT, if you have problems, they are actually quite helpful.

As informative as your post is, it may not apply to the OPs situation. His wife (presumably Thai) wants to sell her business, and move the monies overseas. I assume that the business was originally purchased using money that did not originate from overseas.

[sfokevin]

My Bangkok Bank web interface has a “3rd Party International Account Transfer” setup option... I went thru all the steps to set up my US bank Account as a recipient only at the end to find it saying I must provide copies of my work permit to complete the setup - They only seem to allow the online foreigners to use the transfer system for “salary reparation”?...

Edited December 21, 2019 by sfokevin

[sfokevin]

12 minutes ago, Gumballl said:

Why not just spend the money now?

The funds are sitting safely to comply with the terms of my visa... But if a Non-O health insurance requirement kicks in I will inact plan B... 

[DoneTravelling]

I tranfer 1m out every few months

[DoneTravelling]

Easy to send out with Kasikorn or Bangkok Bank.

Following the sale of property i send 1m every few months. You fill a simple form, tell them the money is for family support. My fee last week was 1400 baht.

You can also send via Western union no problem 

 

[DaRoadrunner]

13 minutes ago, DoneTravelling said:

You can also send via Western union no problem 

Western Union fees used to be exorbitant. Check what they are now before sending.

[DaRoadrunner]

1 hour ago, Chazar said:

Wife  owns 7  condos..............if  she was  run over by a  bus or slipped off the balcony , caught her head in a  homemade  noose  etc.......could I take that  money out......it is  all left to me in her  will...........just curious......family  dont get a look  in at  all

So long as you know you will be spending the money at the Bangkok Hilton..... They love you loooong time.

[Max69xl]

2 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

This being Thailand, I suspect every bank will have different take on this.

 

Other problem is, they can change the laws after you brought the money in. No telling if you will ever get it out again or not.

 

I have done it in the past, but they asked for evidence of where the funds originated from.

 

Following the outcome.

If you have a Bangkok Bank account,you can go to your branch and transfer money out of the country. There are some forms,of course. If you bank with Kasikorn Bank,you can when using the mobile app K+ transfer money to 24 western countries. One of the bosses at K-Bank said that more countries will be added to the list in the near future. 

[Max69xl]

1 hour ago, avander said:

Thanks all for the info. I would still like to know specifics.

Like many others I have transferred quite a lot over the years and have the proof so good to know. We will contact our Thai bank and see what they say.

I think there might be a problem transferring money from a thai bank while you're back home. It might depend on which bank you have in Thailand. Most of the banks requires forms to be filled in at the bank. 

[Max69xl]

36 minutes ago, DoneTravelling said:

I tranfer 1m out every few months

It might be a problem because these guys are already out of the country. 

[Gumballl]

52 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

The funds are sitting safely to comply with the terms of my visa... But if a Non-O health insurance requirement kicks in I will inact plan B... 

Okay, a moment ago you said you were leaving in a year. Now you are saying that your stay is conditional on whether something happens or not.

 

In any case, money is typically worth more today than it is tomorrow. If you are denied your next extension (for whatever reason), then start spending the money.

Edited December 21, 2019 by Gumballl

[freeman01]

If you have trouble getting money out of Thailand with the Banks you can use crypto, XRP would have the lowest fees and fastest transfer I believe and often enough liquidity.

www.bitkub.com is a regulated crypto exchange in Thailand with enough volume to transfer large amount of bath with a local bank transfer and you can open an account remotely.

You have to find a reliable crypto exchange with good volume in your country to exchange the crypto for local currency, the crypto transfer can be very quick like a minute or 2 and thus the risk of price fluctuation changing is very low.

[bkk6060]

2 hours ago, The Theory said:

”Just change Thai baht to your currency notes in SuperRich and bring the money with you in the plane. The cheaper way for change and fees.” 
 

As far as I know $15000 cash without report is allowed. 800,000 will be more than $26000. 

 

It is actually $20,000.

So, you report it and have supporting evidence where it came from and fill out a form.  No big deal I have done it.