Taking Money Out Of Thailand

[jamesjdaly]

About 5 years ago, I transferred quite a lot of money from the UK and put it in a high interest (5%) account in a bank here. The time deposit will mature quite soon.

I am fearful of the economy due to the ongoing political instability here as well as should anything happen to a highly respected person due to health problems.

I plan to transfer my money to Singapore and open either an Offshore a/c or a Time Deposit a/c in AUD$ (4.2% tax free). I have paperwork stating that the money originated from overseas (UK). Should there be a problem in transferring the money out of the country? Do I need to give a valid reason?

Has anyone done this?

First hand experience in transferring funds out of Thailand and to Singapore (or elsewhere) would be most appreciated.

Thanks

[jamesjdaly]

Anyone??!!

[jamesjdaly]

Going................

[jamesjdaly]

Going.............

[flying]

I am no expert & perhaps your the first to actually have money to take with you when you leave LOS

Just kidding but...

Why not check with your Thai bank if you can just do a bank to bank?

Do you have a Singapore bank?

If so why not do wires a few times if the amount is so large you dont want the attention?

If you had a HSBC Premier account in Thailand if I remember right they allow linking & have a Sing branch

I have taken fair amounts out in a cashiers check from Bangkok Bank awhile back, That was not a problem

but did take awhile to become available back in the US.....5-7 days I believe.

Good Luck hopefully someone will respond who has done the LOS> Sing route

[dr_Pat_Pong]

About 5 years ago, I transferred quite a lot of money from the UK and put it in a high interest (5%) account in a bank here. The time deposit will mature quite soon.

I am fearful of the economy due to the ongoing political instability here as well as should anything happen to a highly respected person due to health problems.

I plan to transfer my money to Singapore and open either an Offshore a/c or a Time Deposit a/c in AUD$ (4.2% tax free). I have paperwork stating that the money originated from overseas (UK). Should there be a problem in transferring the money out of the country? Do I need to give a valid reason?

Has anyone done this?

First hand experience in transferring funds out of Thailand and to Singapore (or elsewhere) would be most appreciated.

Thanks

Was the money transferred from bank to bank ?

[12DrinkMore]

As always, your best bet is simply to go the bank and ask.

I had to show where the money came from using the inward transfer document supplied buy the receiving bank. If you don't have this then they want to know where the money came from and whether tax has been paid.

Then they wanted to insist I transferred the money back to the same account it originated from. This became a small problem, because the money went through a "correspondent bank", and the incoming transfer slip only showed this bank. The "reverse transfer" had to go via another "correspondent bank" (don't ask me why, the banks are a law unto themselves).

As usual, the whole system is another Thai stupidity, similar to prohibiting me buying beer between 14:00 and 17:00, because with an inward transfer slip showing say 1,000,000 Baht, I can't see any reason why I couldn't use it several times to transfer say 5,000,000 Baht out. Money is just an anonymous number in a bank account, each Baht is not individually identified....

But the only way you'll really know is to go and sit with the bank manager. In the end, in Thailand, it almost always boils down to one person making the decision to "help you" or not.

[jamesjdaly]

ok folks. Thanks for the info.

Dr PP, yes, it was transferred from bank to bank.

[Lannatyne]

ok folks. Thanks for the info.

Dr PP, yes, it was transferred from bank to bank.

Haven't done it yet, but i did ask the bank some time ago in preparation for this.

As far as I can understand, there are NO exchange controls in Thailand. By and large, the freedom to transfer anywhere is allowed.

It hits foreigners, though, when we want to send back more than we've brought in. The following fictitions figures may show an example:

1) If you remit in 2m baht, you'll probably be able to send 1m back, as long as the other 1m is a fair assessment of your living expenses over the period.

2) If you want to send the whole 2m back, they'll not allow it, because, rightly, they'll wonder what you've being living on for the past year, or whatever.

3) If you have an account to clearly demonstrate your day-to-day income and expenditure, but then this other account which shows 5 years of savings untouched from start to maturity, then that 'should' be okay.

[hhgz]

"...your best bet is simply to go the bank and ask."

"Thanks for the info."

Oh no, someone had to tell you to ask the bank.

[chiang mai]

Be prepared to show proof of tax paid on the income segment of your investment, if you do not have that you may not not be allowed to transfer out the full amount. In that event your best bet is to transfer all the funds to a local non resident account with a local Thai bank, any will do. The process of withdrawal and transfer thereafter is quite simple.

[tlcwaterfall]

"...your best bet is simply to go the bank and ask."

"Thanks for the info."

Oh no, someone had to tell you to ask the bank.

My oh my. Well I would respectfully agree that asking the bank is a sensible idea but I think the op was merely asking for first hand experience that forum members have had with this issue.

We all know that staff at banks may give you different information due to lack of training and experience

So asking for information based on actual experiences had by people in this situation would to me at least seem appropriate sensible and logical.

Siam Commercial Bank has told me I can transfer 1 million baht back to my home country should I wish to.

Hope this helps.

[wilsongbrown]

About 5 years ago, I transferred quite a lot of money from the UK and put it in a high interest (5%) account in a bank here. The time deposit will mature quite soon.

I am fearful of the economy due to the ongoing political instability here as well as should anything happen to a highly respected person due to health problems.

I plan to transfer my money to Singapore and open either an Offshore a/c or a Time Deposit a/c in AUD$ (4.2% tax free). I have paperwork stating that the money originated from overseas (UK). Should there be a problem in transferring the money out of the country? Do I need to give a valid reason?

Has anyone done this?

First hand experience in transferring funds out of Thailand and to Singapore (or elsewhere) would be most appreciated.

Thanks

A friend working in China simply packed his suitcase with it and boarded the plane out of the country. I mean, how many money sniffer dogs to you see here in Asia? Really, some of you think too much.

[chiang mai]

As long as idiots keep carrying cash out of various countries and getting caught by sniffer dogs they can't see, the situation will only get worse. Please tell your friend to stop and this will make the situation easier on the rest of us who are legitimate carriers of cash!

[jamesjdaly]

OK thanks to everyone (except one prat). I just wanted first hand experience. I have a tongue in my head and am capable of asking my bank in either English or Thai. Probably more than numbnuts can do!!

[personchester]

Be prepared to show proof of tax paid on the income segment of your investment, if you do not have that you may not not be allowed to transfer out the full amount. In that event your best bet is to transfer all the funds to a local non resident account with a local Thai bank, any will do. The process of withdrawal and transfer thereafter is quite simple.

The proof of tax paid is in your bank account book, the first line prints the gross amount of interest credited, and the second line prints the amount of tax deducted, (15 %) therefore the question whether to be prepared to disclose it or not does not arise, the evidence is in your account book on the one hand, and in the banks files on the other, and for as long as the banks are required to keep their records on file after account closure.

[CHFarang]

Hi,

Just went through the same, took me 4 months and i almost gave up... finally, after everybody told me that it's not possible to get money out of thailand without a sh**load of paperwork, i applied for international transfers on my scb ebanking account without much effort (passport, working permit and salary slip) and can now do international transfers up to 20'000 USD per day...

hope that helps.

[yabaaaa]

About 5 years ago, I transferred quite a lot of money from the UK and put it in a high interest (5%) account in a bank here. The time deposit will mature quite soon.

I am fearful of the economy due to the ongoing political instability here as well as should anything happen to a highly respected person due to health problems.

I plan to transfer my money to Singapore and open either an Offshore a/c or a Time Deposit a/c in AUD$ (4.2% tax free). I have paperwork stating that the money originated from overseas (UK). Should there be a problem in transferring the money out of the country? Do I need to give a valid reason?

Has anyone done this?

First hand experience in transferring funds out of Thailand and to Singapore (or elsewhere) would be most appreciated.

Thanks

MY accountant can help you with this............Mr Thaksin C.O Cambodia

[chiang mai]

Be prepared to show proof of tax paid on the income segment of your investment, if you do not have that you may not not be allowed to transfer out the full amount. In that event your best bet is to transfer all the funds to a local non resident account with a local Thai bank, any will do. The process of withdrawal and transfer thereafter is quite simple.

The proof of tax paid is in your bank account book, the first line prints the gross amount of interest credited, and the second line prints the amount of tax deducted, (15 %) therefore the question whether to be prepared to disclose it or not does not arise, the evidence is in your account book on the one hand, and in the banks files on the other, and for as long as the banks are required to keep their records on file after account closure.

All good stuff I'm sure but not really relevant - the OP said he made a bank to bank transfer into a fixed interest instrument hence this is not a savings account and therefore there is likely no passbook!

The point I make about taxes and transfers is to do with BOT regulations about proof that money came into the country and for which purpose, if that purpose was investment then BOT will need proof of taxes paid etc. Moving on, the earlier suggestion about HSBC is a good one - if the OP sets up an account with HSBC Bangkok (non-resident account) he can transfer to HSBC Singapore easily.

[Lannatyne]

Following my earlier post, I've realised I forgot to include an important option for transferring funds out of the country.

I repeat that there are no exchange controls for Thais. Money can be sent anywhere.

Therefore, my wife and I have a joint bank account here, and we also have a joint bank account in UK. As a Thai, she can send money anywhere. So, she (and consequently "we") can send money from her (our) joint account here, to her (our) joint account overseas without problem.

[CHFarang]

Following my earlier post, I've realised I forgot to include an important option for transferring funds out of the country.

I repeat that there are no exchange controls for Thais. Money can be sent anywhere.

Therefore, my wife and I have a joint bank account here, and we also have a joint bank account in UK. As a Thai, she can send money anywhere. So, she (and consequently "we") can send money from her (our) joint account here, to her (our) joint account overseas without problem.

@ Lannatyne; can you confirm that this worked? I read the regulations from the bank which stated that thai nationals can only send money out of Thailand to either support relatives, support children studying abroad or for holidays... And all of it need paperwork to prove this...

CHFarang

[Lannatyne]

Following my earlier post, I've realised I forgot to include an important option for transferring funds out of the country.

I repeat that there are no exchange controls for Thais. Money can be sent anywhere.

Therefore, my wife and I have a joint bank account here, and we also have a joint bank account in UK. As a Thai, she can send money anywhere. So, she (and consequently "we") can send money from her (our) joint account here, to her (our) joint account overseas without problem.

@ Lannatyne; can you confirm that this worked? I read the regulations from the bank which stated that thai nationals can only send money out of Thailand to either support relatives, support children studying abroad or for holidays... And all of it need paperwork to prove this...

CHFarang

Yes. Think about it......how do Thais buy all these Thai Restaurants around the world? If a Thai wants to buy property in, say, Australia, where do they get the money from?