Twenty Thousand Baht.

[paulikens]

When arriving in Thailand the required 20k can be in another currency as long as its the equivalent of 20k baht i presume? 

[KannikaP]

1 minute ago, paulikens said:

When arriving in Thailand the required 20k can be in another currency as long as its the equivalent of 20k baht i presume? 

IN CASH!

[paulikens]

Just now, KannikaP said:

IN CASH!

Yes i know that but can it be in another currency?

[Woof999]

7 minutes ago, paulikens said:

When arriving in Thailand the required 20k can be in another currency as long as its the equivalent of 20k baht i presume? 

Correct and as written above it must be in cash. Lack of supporting funds is one of the most common reasons for refusal, even if the initial reason for wanting to refuse was something else (history of repeated visa exempt entries for example). I've only ever been stopped by immigration once (on many many entries), and the lack of 20k in cash was the reason for refusal (regardless of Thai ATM card and app showing a lot more than 20k available instantly). The reason I was questioned was purely on passport stamps. It was pretty obvious that 20k wasn't a real issue (was about a 3rd of my monthly rent at the time, car in airport car park etc etc).

 

EDIT: Make sure it's not in Botswanan pula or something else unusual. There were reports recently of people struggling to change Swedish (or was it Norwegian) currency, so US dollars, British pounds, local baht, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Euro etc would probably be the only ones I'd feel safe with.

[StayinThailand2much]

9 minutes ago, paulikens said:

Yes i know that but can it be in another currency?

Reportedly, yes, it can be in a major currency. However, having travelled in and out of Thailand over the past 26 years, I have neither been asked about how much cash I carry on me, nor seen that anyone has. If, upon arrival, one IO thinks that you have been here 'too often, or too long', they won't care about the 20,000 baht anyway...

[KannikaP]

8 minutes ago, paulikens said:

Yes i know that but can it be in another currency?

YES

[KannikaP]

3 minutes ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Reportedly, yes, it can be in a major currency. However, having travelled in and out of Thailand over the past 26 years, I have neither been asked about how much cash I carry on me, nor seen that anyone has. If, upon arrival, one IO thinks that you have been here 'too often, or too long', they won't care about the 20,000 baht anyway...

But an IO can use that as a last resort reason to not let you in if he doesn't like the look of you, or he didn't get his leg over last night!

[StayinThailand2much]

3 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

But an IO can use that as a last resort reason to not let you in if he doesn't like the look of you, or he didn't get his leg over last night!

Maybe. I was stopped by IOs three times just before the pandemic, but the question of having 20,000 baht on me never came up. If they really want to refuse you, they won't even look at the money, even if you carried 20,000 dollars in a briefcase with you.

[impulse]

When I fly in from China, the airlines occasionally ask to see the currency and I show them 4000 RMB, which is about the equivalent of 20,000 THB.

 

I've never been asked by immigration to show cash, but YMMV.  FYI, I'm a US citizen

[StayinThailand2much]

11 minutes ago, impulse said:

When I fly in from China, the airlines occasionally ask to see the currency and I show them 4000 RMB, which is about the equivalent of 20,000 THB.

A few years ago I flew with Thai Airways from Hong Kong (boarding in China) to Bangkok. I was asked for a return ticket, for which I had no need. I told them that I had half a million baht in different currencies on me, which satisfied them. 

[scottiejohn]

9 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

in 15 year and yearly trips i have never been asked to show cash...maybe cos im hansum! ????

Or you are as ugly as the rest of us and had a visa that did not require you to show your "assets"!

????

[KannikaP]

34 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

But an IO can use that as a last resort reason to not let you in if he doesn't like the look of you, or he didn't get his leg over last night!

Come on Mr Confused, tell me why you feel that way please.

[scottiejohn]

5 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

come here with a visa..always one way too

I thought the topic was visa on entry, not your bedroom practices!

[MangoKorat]

1 hour ago, StayinThailand2much said:

If, upon arrival, one IO thinks that you have been here 'too often, or too long', they won't care about the 20,000 baht anyway...

With respect, its of no use to the OP to state that you've never been checked.  I have and yes, I had it - always do. Anyone coming to Thailand for longer than a couple of days is going to need 20K plus so why not carry it in cash. You'll also almost certainly get a better exchange rate.

 

People say that entry is entirely at the discretion of the I.O. That's not entirely correct. In making a decision to refuse entry, the I.O. must use a valid reason. In most cases it seems that entry is denied because the passenger has visited too many times within a tight timeframe.  That is not actually a valid reason - not at an airport because there is no limit.  You can appeal a denial and if the I.O. stated 'entered too many times' as his reason at the court hearing, they would most likely lose the case.

 

Having 20,000 baht is an official requirement and is therefore often used by an I.O. to deny entry when in reality they simply think you've visited too often.  They know there's a very good chance that you don't have the cash on you so it often works for them.  If it were factual, they could easily escort you landside to visit an ATM.

 

When they gave me a hard time I managed to argue my way out of it and was let in with a warning - I got the feeling that if I hadn't had the cash, I'd have been on the next flight home.

 

 

[scottiejohn]

24 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

sorry dont have my glasses..just say the word ENTRY......carry on gents

I hope you don't say that whilst in the Gents (WC)!

[henry13]

Well I'm one of the 'few' on here who (admit) to being denied & no I didn't have the cash or onward ticket on me so definitely didn't help my case ????

So I totally understand why OP is trying to maximise his chance of getting in after his previous denial because in most likelihood we'll never get the real reason behind actual denials & the more frequent 'interviews'.

[Bangkok Barry]

I wonder what they'll do when the cashless society has fully arrived. How many years before Thailand catches up then to the fact that people no longer carry cash. My wife went to China a couple of years ago and even then almost no-one used cash for anything. And in Thailand you can sometimes even pay for your noodles in the market with a QR code.

[madisongy]

Entered Thailand a few times a year for the past 20 years, never been asked, so I never paid attention to the requirement.   Having said that, I would likely always have $600 on me while I'm traveling, but will make sure I have the requisite amount in the future.

Wonder if they'd let you access the ATM if you're light.

[freeman01]

if you have many stamps in/out make sure to have the amount in Thai Bath (she insisted on it for me), a flight ticket out and an hotel reservation plus a print out of a bank account statement with like a few thousands USD equivalent in it (important). This will make it almost impossible for them to reject you if you get pulled by one of those over zealous female IO officer ... without all this one would have kicked me out (before covid). This is important because If you have everything and she still try to refuse you entry, you can request to talk to a superior officer which will likely let you in.

and never lose your temper during issues like this no matter what very important, stay cool and keep pushing politely.

 

Also I realized later the hag messed up the dates on my passport several more days than the expected 30 days. when I went to the immigration office a few weeks later to get an extension of stay, the IO quickly corrected the date on my passport in front of me saying I was lucky to have come many days before the wrong date on my passport or I would have been in overstay, yes unreal ... 

I would bet she did that "mistake" on purpose out of spite trying to get me into trouble and be caught overstaying that way, so be careful they can be very cunning ...

[HauptmannUK]

The only time I ever got asked was on arriving Business Class on an Emirates flight and going through the express immigration. I'd been in and out of Thailand a lot, just staying for a few days each time and I think the officer was suspicious. He asked to see how much money I had on me - it was GBP9000 in 20's. He stamped me through.