Money entering BKK airport

[brianthainess]

 Hi, My daughter will be entering Thailand from UK for the first time, I don't like the idea of her carrying 20k THB nearly 500 GBP on her, are they checking ? If she tells them she is staying with me, (they can phone me), she will only be here for 2 weeks. Thanks in advance

[Trippy]

If your daughter is a child, no one will ask. If she's an adult, is 500 gbp really a lot of money to carry? I hear people in the UK are getting hit with 1,000 pound electric bills.

[brianthainess]

37 minutes ago, Trippy said:

is 500 gbp really a lot of money to carry?

Not a child and yes it is a lot of money to carry in cash. Shame you couldn't just answer the question.

[DrJack54]

Unless she has spent recent extended periods in Thailand she will not be asked to show money.

 

Aside: pretty sure it was changed to 10k for individual and 20k for family. 

Edited October 22, 2022 by DrJack54

[bbi1]

Wear a money belt underneath the clothes if it's that worrying.

[Photoguy21]

I have always carried money with me into the country but never have I been asked to show it to Immigration.

[GroveHillWanderer]

3 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Hi, My daughter will be entering Thailand from UK for the first time, I don't like the idea of her carrying 20k THB nearly 500 GBP on her, are they checking ? If she tells them she is staying with me, (they can phone me), she will only be here for 2 weeks. Thanks in advance.

Nobody can say with 100% certainty that a person will or will not be asked to show money but I'd say it's pretty unlikely in any event, but even more so for a first time visitor (i.e. someone without a history of the kinds of repeated visits liable to raise suspicion).

 

My daughter has come to Thailand many, many times (though almost never more than once a year) and has never been asked to show money. YMMV

[Banana7]

500GBP is insignificant.

 

I know people who have carried USD$25,000, plus other currencies, totaling USD$40,000. If the total value of monetary instruments are greater than USD$20,000 declare them at customs, customs Red line at the airport.

 

They do random checks to make sure an arrival has sufficient means to support themselves during their visit.

Edited October 22, 2022 by Banana7

[Dan O]

It's really not a lot of money to carry for most people but I can understand the concern. Rarely do they ever ask unless they see a history of suspicious visits or suspect she is not capable to support herself.  I wouldn't worry about it. There are ATM machines and exchange booths before and after immigration although the rates aren't the best 

Edited October 22, 2022 by Dan O
Spell correction

[saranlhaw]

That's really from which immigration office you see. And they really do a random check. So, on one can really give you a straight answer. Sometimes, they may check it. Sometimes, they don't. 

[GroveHillWanderer]

21 hours ago, saranlhaw said:

That's really from which immigration office you see. And they really do a random check. So, on one can really give you a straight answer. Sometimes, they may check it. Sometimes, they don't. 

I've never seen anything to suggest they do random checks. I used to come in 3 to 4 times a year for over 30 years before I finally settled here and I know several people with a similar history of frequent visits. If the checks were random, I would expect either myself or one of the others to have been asked to show the required amount of money at some point but none of us ever were.

 

The only times I've heard (or read) about people being asked for money it was in situations where their history of travel made it look as if they were illegally working here and the requirement to show money was a deliberate pretext to have an excuse to deny entry. So not random checks at all, but targeted checks for a specific purpose.

[josephbloggs]

On 10/22/2022 at 7:57 PM, Dan O said:

There are ATM machines and exchange booths before and after immigration although the rates aren't the best 

There are no ATM machines before immigration.

[still kicking]

On 10/22/2022 at 4:09 PM, Photoguy21 said:

I have always carried money with me into the country but never have I been asked to show it to Immigration.

Same me I never ask to show any money 

[Photoguy21]

Just now, still kicking said:

Same me I never ask to show any money 

Maybe they ask when you come in looking more like a back packer I have no idea and I am not having a go at back packers.

[Dan O]

4 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

There are no ATM machines before immigration.

I passed 2 and a money exchange booth 3 weeks ago in arrival 

[josephbloggs]

12 minutes ago, Dan O said:

I passed 2 and a money exchange booth 3 weeks ago in arrival 

There are money exchange booths but as far as I am aware only foreign currency ATMs that need a foreign currency account with a Thai bank exist airside.  Happy to be corrected though.

[Dan O]

11 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

There are money exchange booths but as far as I am aware only foreign currency ATMs that need a foreign currency account with a Thai bank exist airside.  Happy to be corrected though.

All I can tell you is I walked passed atm's being used as well as money exchange booths. The atm dispense in baht. Shops are also open before immigration as they have re-worked the hallway on the way to immigration and have now  separate areas for voa versus reqular category visa immigration. 

[ChrisP24]

With regard to the requirement that "Travelers entering Thailand under the Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme must possess adequate cash of or equivalent to 20,000 Baht per person or 40,000 Baht per family", I haven't been checked and don't know anyone who has.  If you're worried about her taking that amount in cash, I'd feel 99.999% safe coming in with less cash but an ATM card and (if you truly want overkill) a printed bank statement or cell phone that can log in on arrival to show how much is in that account. 

 

I'm guessing that the law is more to prevent migrant workers entering by land from pretending to be tourists, rather than to screen for potential under-funded visitors arriving by air. 

[Carmine6]

The IATA website now says the following, which is the only place I've seen credit cards mentioned.  I have never been asked in about 40 arrivals and never seen anyone asked to show funds:

 

Quote

The following should be taken into account even if holding a Visa:

Visitors older than 12 years must have sufficient funds to cover their stay (at least THB 20,000.- per person or THB 40,000.- per family). Proof of funds includes Letters of Credit, vouchers, Miscellaneous Charges Orders (MCO) or credit cards accepted in Thailand.

 

IATA - Thailand Passport, Visa and Health Advice (iatatravelcentre.com)

[richard_smith237]

On 10/22/2022 at 10:10 AM, brianthainess said:

On 10/22/2022 at 9:30 AM, Trippy said:

is 500 gbp really a lot of money to carry?

Not a child and yes it is a lot of money to carry in cash. Shame you couldn't just answer the question.

You ask a question on an open forum and get asked question which is not unreasonable at - is £500 really a lot of money ???

 

That would be the very minimum in cash I carry with me when travelling - I want ‘backup’ to cover me in case of Emergency if for whatever reason credit-cards are not working. 

 

IF my child were of age and responsible enough to travel alone, they should be responsible enough to carry a sufficient amount of money to cover emergency incidentals and IF they are above 18 they would of course have a credit card.

 

Thus, brianthainess, the responses may not be exactly what you want, but you may find that when others look at this point from a different perspective they have thought of something you haven’t.

Isn’t this why we go to forums and ask from the ‘collective experience’ in the first place ???

I would question why you expect your daughter to travel without any ‘emergency backup’.

 

To deal with your question specifically: 

Immigration requirements are for single travellers to be carrying in cash 20,000 baht (or currency equivalent i.e. US$600). 

The reality is this is ‘nearly’ never checked or asked for unless Immigration are looking to refuse entry and need a legal technicality on which to base the refusal - I’d guess your daughter is extremely unlikely to encounter such a situation. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

14 minutes ago, Carmine6 said:

The IATA website now says the following, which is the only place I've seen credit cards mentioned.  I have never been asked in about 40 arrivals and never seen anyone asked to show funds:

 

 

IATA - Thailand Passport, Visa and Health Advice (iatatravelcentre.com)

That is interesting...  Is this a recent update, or has the IATA website always said this ?

 

Additionally, I wouldn’t rely on an IATA website (at times during covid it was inaccurate and didn’t keep up with changing regulations).

 

There have been reports of foreigners being rejected based on lack of funds even though they had a credit-card and money in a Thai Back Account - Immigration only wanted to see cash. 

 

Thus: Even IF the rule states that a credit card is acceptable, until this is printed clearly on a Thailand Immigration website I would still ensure I am covered (no harm as the cash is for emergency anyway).

 

And....  we all know Police in Thailand apply the rules and regulations as they see them anyway, thus an Immigration Officer may not know that a credit card can be accepted as proof of funds (they haven’t in the past).

 

Why bother risking it ?? - it's easy enough to carry the cash. 

 

 

 

 

[Carmine6]

44 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

That is interesting...  Is this a recent update, or has the IATA website always said this ?

 

Additionally, I wouldn’t rely on an IATA website (at times during covid it was inaccurate and didn’t keep up with changing regulations).

 

There have been reports of foreigners being rejected based on lack of funds even though they had a credit-card and money in a Thai Back Account - Immigration only wanted to see cash. 

 

Thus: Even IF the rule states that a credit card is acceptable, until this is printed clearly on a Thailand Immigration website I would still ensure I am covered (no harm as the cash is for emergency anyway).

 

And....  we all know Police in Thailand apply the rules and regulations as they see them anyway, thus an Immigration Officer may not know that a credit card can be accepted as proof of funds (they haven’t in the past).

 

Why bother risking it ?? - it's easy enough to carry the cash. 

 

It has said this for about 2 years.  Maybe more. I only started looking at the IATA info to be sure the requirements they had were consistently worded with other sources during the pandemic.

 

Since it is the only place I've seen it, I wouldn't rely on it.  However, if someone planned to not carry much cash, printing it out might help someone talk an officer into accepting it.  Plead that they thought those were the requirements.

 

I carry extra cash, even if I don't plan on exchanging it, just in case.

[richard_smith237]

4 hours ago, Carmine6 said:

Since it is the only place I've seen it, I wouldn't rely on it.  However, if someone planned to not carry much cash, printing it out might help someone talk an officer into accepting it.  Plead that they thought those were the requirements.

 

I carry extra cash, even if I don't plan on exchanging it, just in case.

Printing such out really wouldn’t do any harm, however, if there is concern it would make sense to circumnavigate the issue and avoid the potential tripping point completely and just carry the cash.

 

 

That said - its perfectly acceptable to question the decisions made by immigration officers if you think they are making unfair or incorrect decisions.

I’ve done it in the past. I was re-entering Thailand with an open Extension of Stay (based on work) the extension had one day remaining and the Immigration officer wanted to stamp me in for that 1 day!!.. (my contract had expired while I was outside of Thailand).

I was also carrying a Thai Elite Visa (5 years). I refused to accept that I could only be stamped in for one day (I would have had to fly out the next day and then return on the Elite SE Visa). The immigration officer was adamant it had to be that, I was adamant that he was wrong. I demanded to see his supervisor who sided with him. Still adamant that the decision was wrong I wanted to push the issue higher. Another supervisor was called and I was finally able to speak with someone who had some sense...  She agreed that I could enter on the Visa I wanted, or even enter visa exempt if I wanted...  I was stamped for 90 days (as per my Thai Elite Visa)... 

 

The point there is... IF a junior Immigration officer wants to prevent entry to someone because they don’t have ’cash’ it may be possible to nudge things up the chain to someone who understands or accepts that its ok to use cards !!! 

 

 

[transam]

In this day and age, carrying cash (20,000bht) is really a no-no, now folk are even buying a bottle of coke via an QR code.

In all my years I have never been asked to show cash in my pocket, anywhere.....