Hi,

I transferred £10 000 to Thailand in August with a rate of 61.5 average.

Didn't use a FET as it was less than $20 000.

I transferred it to my wifes account. Tried to send it back before but Siam Commercial Bank said it was not possible (due to BOT rules etc). They said she would need a valid flight ticket to the UK or proof I sent it, original letters detailing the transfer. That's fine but I'm wondering, now that we're married and in possession of a Thai marriage certificate could she send it back to me now?

Due to the fall in the exchange rate I'll have almost £12 000 if she did return it.

I could hold on to it here, hope the GBP strengthens a bit to the pound and send it back, I just feel like I may be missing an opportunity to make some extra money. (Here's assuming the GBP will strengthen but with the small charges in exchange rates in Thailand even an increase of a couple of baht would be nice..)

Reason for the original transfer was that we were going to buy a house there but decided against it.

We've applied for a Settlement Visa but have not yet got it, if she does have the flight ticket, would she be allowed to bring that amount of money, or transfer it here?

Any help or advice appreciated.

- Shug

Hi,

I transferred £10 000 to Thailand in August with a rate of 61.5 average.

Didn't use a FET as it was less than $20 000.

I transferred it to my wifes account. Tried to send it back before but Siam Commercial Bank said it was not possible (due to BOT rules etc). They said she would need a valid flight ticket to the UK or proof I sent it, original letters detailing the transfer. That's fine but I'm wondering, now that we're married and in possession of a Thai marriage certificate could she send it back to me now?

Due to the fall in the exchange rate I'll have almost £12 000 if she did return it.

I could hold on to it here, hope the GBP strengthens a bit to the pound and send it back, I just feel like I may be missing an opportunity to make some extra money. (Here's assuming the GBP will strengthen but with the small charges in exchange rates in Thailand even an increase of a couple of baht would be nice..)

Reason for the original transfer was that we were going to buy a house there but decided against it.

We've applied for a Settlement Visa but have not yet got it, if she does have the flight ticket, would she be allowed to bring that amount of money, or transfer it here?

Any help or advice appreciated.

- Shug

I have never heard the flight ticket option.

The banks require to know the source of the money, and if earned in Thailand, whether tax has been paid on it. You can get SCB to print out the incoming transfer details, which should be enough. When I did this, they also insisted that the money went back to the same name as it came from. Which led to a small difficulty, as my bank in the UK had transferred the money via a correspondence bank in the States, which I never quite understood, so my name did not appear on the source. Took a while to convince them to transfer the money.

The amount was about the same as you are transferring.

Whether the GBP will rise of the THB will fall is another matter, though....

Ok, thanks a lot for that mate...

The GBP/THB thing, well, yes it is another matter but I've techincally made a bit of money (£-wise) if I transfer it back. I'm happy to hold on to it when it's here, I'd like to think it has bottomed out but to be honest, I'm not a finance guru and wont even bother attempting to make predictions, I'd just look stupid!

I'll have a look and post here if I have any joy.

- Shug