10K Cash Coming In - If Declare Ok?

[hermespan]

My understanding is that Thailand, like many other nations, uses the obsolete US$10,000 limit on undeclared cash (hasn't change for what, decades?) My question is if one declares that one is carrying X thousand, is there any limit? What is the practical limit in enforcement and what is the law technically? I can prove my source of funds.

[Mario2008]

You have the lws of the country you will depart and you have the laws of Thailand.

There is no maximum ammount you can bring into the country, as long as you declare it if it is more than 20,000 US dollar worth. Of course taking a lot of cash with you these days might raise some questions.

http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/Traveller/TravelEng.jsp?menuNme=Travel

[hermespan]

moving from theory to practice...

Has anyone on this forum ever entered Thailand with substantial amounts of cash (over 20K) or even between 10 and 20K and had any difficulties?

[miksguevara]

moving from theory to practice...

Has anyone on this forum ever entered Thailand with substantial amounts of cash (over 20K) or even between 10 and 20K and had any difficulties?

this is just a bad idea - people will kill you for that amount of money, I would urge you to seek alternatives.........set up a thai bank account and transfer it. Most i bought in was 1500 gbp and i was twitchy as hell doing that

Edited March 26, 2011 by miksguevara

[Wallaby]

moving from theory to practice...

Has anyone on this forum ever entered Thailand with substantial amounts of cash (over 20K) or even between 10 and 20K and had any difficulties?

this is just a bad idea - people will kill you for that amount of money, I would urge you to seek alternatives.........set up a thai bank account and transfer it. Most i bought in was 1500 gbp and i was twitchy as hell doing that

Exactly, why on earth would you want to bring in so much cash. Just use an ATM to withdraw what you need each day.

[Jebhead]

moving from theory to practice...

Has anyone on this forum ever entered Thailand with substantial amounts of cash (over 20K) or even between 10 and 20K and had any difficulties?

this is just a bad idea - people will kill you for that amount of money, I would urge you to seek alternatives.........set up a thai bank account and transfer it. Most i bought in was 1500 gbp and i was twitchy as hell doing that

Exactly, why on earth would you want to bring in so much cash. Just use an ATM to withdraw what you need each day.

I'll answer your question - YES i have entered within the range of cash you are talking about ( more than once ) and NO i did not have any difficulties, walked straight through, never even declared it coz i could not be bothered getting held up and asked many irrelevant questions that you would be bound to get.

JH

[colinthailand20005]

There is no limit on foreign currency bought into Thailand, and there is no restriction on foreign currency leaving, Thailand only restricts Thai baht leaving, I think it is 500,000 at land border crossings, and 50,000 at airport.

Why are you bringing so much, if it is for a deposit on a condo, then you need to wire the money into a Thai bank account referencing buying a condo.

[Chivas]

Be more concerned about leaving country of origin with big sums of cash.

Anything over 1000 sterling out of Heathrow/London and you risk it seized.Make sure as the OP states you can prove where it came from (there and then) as you'll miss your flight otherwise.

I lost in 2009, 1012 sterling just 12 quid over as I couldn't prove conclusively where it came from-I never ever had it returned.

[raylo]

Be more concerned about leaving country of origin with big sums of cash.

Anything over 1000 sterling out of Heathrow/London and you risk it seized.Make sure as the OP states you can prove where it came from (there and then) as you'll miss your flight otherwise.

I lost in 2009, 1012 sterling just 12 quid over as I couldn't prove conclusively where it came from-I never ever had it returned.

As long as you declare it in the country of origin there is no restriction. I have personally witnessed far greater amounts being identified leaving a country and after the paperwork was filled out there was no issue.

As to your 1000 quid:-<deleted> it is 10,000 euros and can only be held for 48 hours without a court order

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/arriving/declaring-cash.htm

Yes we have brough greater sums and why is our business. One reason is when transfering everyone gets their cut from sending bank / institution to target bank etc plus you get stung with a lower than stated exchange rate.

On a quote yesterday I noted I would lose 2.5 baht per dollar. Add it up its substantial depending of course on the principle.

As to outdated amounts - it is to curb money laundering by incompetents and to guauge the amount of currency leaving.

[rakman]

Be more concerned about leaving country of origin with big sums of cash.

Anything over 1000 sterling out of Heathrow/London and you risk it seized.Make sure as the OP states you can prove where it came from (there and then) as you'll miss your flight otherwise.

I lost in 2009, 1012 sterling just 12 quid over as I couldn't prove conclusively where it came from-I never ever had it returned.

From the US, the DEA is really unforgiving at seizing big cash amounts. You automatically get taken for a drug dealer and you can sue to get the money back, which can take years. Do a wire transfer, cheap insurance.

[raylo]

Be more concerned about leaving country of origin with big sums of cash.

Anything over 1000 sterling out of Heathrow/London and you risk it seized.Make sure as the OP states you can prove where it came from (there and then) as you'll miss your flight otherwise.

I lost in 2009, 1012 sterling just 12 quid over as I couldn't prove conclusively where it came from-I never ever had it returned.

From the US, the DEA is really unforgiving at seizing big cash amounts. You automatically get taken for a drug dealer and you can sue to get the money back, which can take years. Do a wire transfer, cheap insurance.

Yeah true but as the origianl OP asks, Is it OK if declared and the answer is yes.

[flying]

moving from theory to practice...

Has anyone on this forum ever entered Thailand with substantial amounts of cash (over 20K) or even between 10 and 20K and had any difficulties?

Yes have entered with those amounts & No...no difficulties at all.

As others have said though....Leaving the US is another story.

It is there you need to decide if your declaring over 10k as required.

By your first post it sounds like you did.

[hermespan]

Wallaby wrote "why on earth would you want to bring in so much cash. Just use an ATM to withdraw what you need each day."

I will try to remain calm and answer this, but for me this is very much an emotional and also political issue. I won't be exhaustive, but a few major points...

1. Governments print fiat currency (banknotes based on nothing - not gold, not silver, not stores of rice, i.e. it is a financial fiction.) If you or I did that as private citizens we would be prosecuted for counterfeiting. But carrying precious metals is inconvenient, as is barter, so I reluctantly use paper. Never the less, I don't like to budge an inch by going the next step which is encouraging the digital accounting where not even paper changes hands. See #2 below.

2. Banks don't actually have our money in the bank. We are being lied to. Over the years banks have been given more leeway to lend out more money than they have. If you or I did this as private citizens we would be prosecuted as imbezzlers. See #3.

3. I don't like being treated as a criminal. What is next - being stopped on the street and asked if I have a receipt for my suit of clothes? I resent financial intrusions by the state just as am adverse to coercion by gangsters.

4. I dislike banks - they take our money and then tell us how little of it we can access, all the while providing miniscule return in interest. Can you imagine saying to a friend, 'Hey Joe, I am going on a trip/my house isn't so safe from crooks/I don't want my mother-in-law being able to get at my savings/whatever, please hold this million dollars (or ten dollars - the principle is the same). Then the next day, you ask for half that money back and he says 'Er, could I give you back just 10% of it and try again tomorrow?' You'd say 'give it all back within 24 hours or I am calling the cops.'

5. I have had experiences while travelling when ATMs fail, my bank screws up and for other reasons I just can't get at my sort of money counted in credits in a financial institution across the globe. Maybe I am sick and can't get to an ATM. Maybe gangsters have kidnapped my son and I need to be able to pay them off ASAP. There can be numerous security reasons nothing to do with my anarchist-libertarian political beliefs that question the legitimacy and honesty of government and banks (kings have financed wars by debasing currency, and who runs the world if not the bankers who lend to both sides in wars?).

6. In my experiences with various banks I have had them freeze ATM access while travelling in Japan because they thought the withdrawals

'excessive'. They have obviously never holidayed in Tokyo and have no idea of the cost. Or maybe they just don't want me getting at my money. See #4.

7. In the parts of the world I travel, cash is king. Examples: Burma and parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Even Cambodia until a few years ago, and before that people kept gold rather than dollars.

8. Other good reasons that other posters have elucidated.

I am not an arms dealer or a drug dealer, I'm just an old fashioned guy. I am not opposed to using ATMs, in conjunction with backup. Some people feel more secure with a loaded handgun in a locked cabinet. I feel safer with 10-20K in an envelope in a safe. I have always been working poor. Now, I have a little nest egg. I won't give any government or bank the opportunity for me to be so again by locking the treasury, MY treasury doors.

[Chivas]

Be more concerned about leaving country of origin with big sums of cash.

Anything over 1000 sterling out of Heathrow/London and you risk it seized.Make sure as the OP states you can prove where it came from (there and then) as you'll miss your flight otherwise.

I lost in 2009, 1012 sterling just 12 quid over as I couldn't prove conclusively where it came from-I never ever had it returned.

As long as you declare it in the country of origin there is no restriction. I have personally witnessed far greater amounts being identified leaving a country and after the paperwork was filled out there was no issue.

As to your 1000 quid:-<deleted> it is 10,000 euros and can only be held for 48 hours without a court order

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/arriving/declaring-cash.htm

Yes we have brough greater sums and why is our business. One reason is when transfering everyone gets their cut from sending bank / institution to target bank etc plus you get stung with a lower than stated exchange rate.

On a quote yesterday I noted I would lose 2.5 baht per dollar. Add it up its substantial depending of course on the principle.

As to outdated amounts - it is to curb money laundering by incompetents and to guauge the amount of currency leaving.

I suggest you walk into your local Police station and make yourself aware of current money laundering laws if you're a Brit. !!

Forget the airport issue for a second-if you walk around/carry in your car/leave the country etc than 1000 Sterling not 10,000 will gain the immediate interest of our majesty's finest.I didn't say you would automatically lose it but you must prove where it came from or you will lose it.

Even the current C5 programme on Stansted Airport covered the same issue (Feb 2011)

Edited March 27, 2011 by Chivas

[hermespan]

Will this be sufficient? I was thinking to have the paperwork in order along these lines:

1. Documented evidence (e.g. notarized statement or just letter from the bank?) as to the source of income

2. Originals of my counter or ATM withdrawal slips from bank

3. The paperwork as to 'exporting' currency ready and filled out

Others have suggested that I am being paranoid, that travelling with 50,000-100,000 for an around the world tour is 'nothing'. I am not a rich man. I cannot afford to have anything seized. But I also resent bowing down/surrendering to 'the man'. Call me a child of the seventies (though I missed all the brown resin, I was meditating).

[p_brownstone]

Will this be sufficient? I was thinking to have the paperwork in order along these lines:

1. Documented evidence (e.g. notarized statement or just letter from the bank?) as to the source of income

2. Originals of my counter or ATM withdrawal slips from bank

3. The paperwork as to 'exporting' currency ready and filled out

Others have suggested that I am being paranoid, that travelling with 50,000-100,000 for an around the world tour is 'nothing'. I am not a rich man. I cannot afford to have anything seized. But I also resent bowing down/surrendering to 'the man'. Call me a child of the seventies (though I missed all the brown resin, I was meditating).

Now you are talking about taking US $ 50,000.- to US $ 100,000,- in cash for an “around the world tour”?

To my mind this is asking for trouble on a grand scale – multiplied by the number of Countries through which you plan to lug your ever decreasing Wad of “Fiat Currency” (by the way, I bet you learnt that term recently eh?).

I guarantee that at some point in your travels you will be questioned by Customs authorities when you try to enter their Country and they find you are carrying an amount of Cash such as this, as already mentioned it’s not a particularly large sum of money these days so they will have basically 2 options to come to a decision on what you are doing:

1) You are a very new, very small time, Drug dealer/ Illegal Arms buyer / Currency Speculator – whatever.

2) You are a very new, totally unsophisticated Tourist who has absolutely no understanding of Credit Cards, ATM’s or what other possible Inter-Bank transfers of currency are so easily available.

Either way you will be most royally screw-d!

In addition, anyone who has travelled in less developed parts of the world will tell you that if you show a large amount of CASH foreign currency when entering any such Country, the temptation for the underpaid Customs Officers to find some reason to confiscate at least some of it will be overwhelming.

And as another Poster has already said, in some Countries it could easily cost you your life.

Don’t do it – get a Credit / Charge Card and learn to use an ATM.

Patrick

[raylo]

Be more concerned about leaving country of origin with big sums of cash.

Anything over 1000 sterling out of Heathrow/London and you risk it seized.Make sure as the OP states you can prove where it came from (there and then) as you'll miss your flight otherwise.

I lost in 2009, 1012 sterling just 12 quid over as I couldn't prove conclusively where it came from-I never ever had it returned.

As long as you declare it in the country of origin there is no restriction. I have personally witnessed far greater amounts being identified leaving a country and after the paperwork was filled out there was no issue.

As to your 1000 quid:-<deleted> it is 10,000 euros and can only be held for 48 hours without a court order

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/arriving/declaring-cash.htm

Yes we have brough greater sums and why is our business. One reason is when transfering everyone gets their cut from sending bank / institution to target bank etc plus you get stung with a lower than stated exchange rate.

On a quote yesterday I noted I would lose 2.5 baht per dollar. Add it up its substantial depending of course on the principle.

As to outdated amounts - it is to curb money laundering by incompetents and to guauge the amount of currency leaving.

I suggest you walk into your local Police station and make yourself aware of current money laundering laws if you're a Brit. !!

Forget the airport issue for a second-if you walk around/carry in your car/leave the country etc than 1000 Sterling not 10,000 will gain the immediate interest of our majesty's finest.I didn't say you would automatically lose it but you must prove where it came from or you will lose it.

Even the current C5 programme on Stansted Airport covered the same issue (Feb 2011)

I suggest you read the British customs info sheet as per the URL otherwise we are getting into the realm of urban legend type statements. HM customs are the department and people interested and who are responsible for that element of enforcement.

In this issue the local police have nothing to do with it and if you are telling us no one in the UK walks around with 1000 or more pounds or euro on their person you live in a make believe world and by extension of your statement anyone currently walking around with greater than that amount should walk into a police station. Fantasy Island not the British Isles.

And if the OP really is going on a world tour with $50-100k on his person then I would suggest he should live there too. The difference between the 2 figures is enough to generate a suggestion the OP is flawed.

Edited March 27, 2011 by raylo

[Chivas]

Be more concerned about leaving country of origin with big sums of cash.

Anything over 1000 sterling out of Heathrow/London and you risk it seized.Make sure as the OP states you can prove where it came from (there and then) as you'll miss your flight otherwise.

I lost in 2009, 1012 sterling just 12 quid over as I couldn't prove conclusively where it came from-I never ever had it returned.

As long as you declare it in the country of origin there is no restriction. I have personally witnessed far greater amounts being identified leaving a country and after the paperwork was filled out there was no issue.

As to your 1000 quid:-<deleted> it is 10,000 euros and can only be held for 48 hours without a court order

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/arriving/declaring-cash.htm

Yes we have brough greater sums and why is our business. One reason is when transfering everyone gets their cut from sending bank / institution to target bank etc plus you get stung with a lower than stated exchange rate.

On a quote yesterday I noted I would lose 2.5 baht per dollar. Add it up its substantial depending of course on the principle.

As to outdated amounts - it is to curb money laundering by incompetents and to guauge the amount of currency leaving.

I suggest you walk into your local Police station and make yourself aware of current money laundering laws if you're a Brit. !!

Forget the airport issue for a second-if you walk around/carry in your car/leave the country etc than 1000 Sterling not 10,000 will gain the immediate interest of our majesty's finest.I didn't say you would automatically lose it but you must prove where it came from or you will lose it.

Even the current C5 programme on Stansted Airport covered the same issue (Feb 2011)

I suggest you read the British customs info sheet as per the URL otherwise we are getting into the realm of urban legend type statements. HM customs are the department and people interested and who are responsible for that element of enforcement.

In this issue the local police have nothing to do with it and if you are telling us no one in the UK walks around with 1000 or more pounds or euro on their person you live in a make believe world and by extension of your statement anyone currently walking around with greater than that amount should walk into a police station. Fantasy Island not the British Isles.

And if the OP really is going on a world tour with $50-100k on his person then I would suggest he should live there too. The difference between the 2 figures is enough to generate a suggestion the OP is flawed.

Put yourself to the test !!

Yes if you walk around with 1G+ in your pockets than you're on offer !!

For example guys going to car auctions with cash in their pocket are on offer if they dont have conclusive proof where it came from.

Don't take my word for it-ring your local plod or customs and excise.They will take it there and then unless your proof of reason is satisfactory-I agree with you it IS ludicrous.

It is a problem because 99% of people only realise the issue when they unwittingly get caught up.

My ex wife is off to Thailand next week and knows to have a maximum of 1k on her in cash

Edited March 27, 2011 by Chivas

[Naam]

Now you are talking about taking US $ 50,000.- to US $ 100,000,- in cash for an “around the world tour”?

To my mind this is asking for trouble on a grand scale – multiplied by the number of Countries through which you plan to lug your ever decreasing Wad of “Fiat Currency” (by the way, I bet you learnt that term recently eh?).

p_brownstone is right! i'd say travelling to different destinations with cash $ 50-100k is sheer madness nowadays but then... to each his own! :jap:

[Bakseedaa]

moving from theory to practice...

Has anyone on this forum ever entered Thailand with substantial amounts of cash (over 20K) or even between 10 and 20K and had any difficulties?

I brought in 48,400 pounds sterling about 6 yrs ago and no problems at all... most of it is still under my Bed... they were Scottish pounds and no-one will change them..

[JimsKnight]

moving from theory to practice...

Has anyone on this forum ever entered Thailand with substantial amounts of cash (over 20K) or even between 10 and 20K and had any difficulties?

Brought in well over 10k sterling, never a problem on that one

[JimsKnight]

moving from theory to practice...

Has anyone on this forum ever entered Thailand with substantial amounts of cash (over 20K) or even between 10 and 20K and had any difficulties?

this is just a bad idea - people will kill you for that amount of money, I would urge you to seek alternatives.........set up a thai bank account and transfer it. Most i bought in was 1500 gbp and i was twitchy as hell doing that

Exactly, why on earth would you want to bring in so much cash. Just use an ATM to withdraw what you need each day.

Some real pussycat's on TV these days, not everyone uses the UK banking system for dipping into, they are out to rip you off six-ways to sunday.

Nationwide have lost their teetch and no longer give beneficial exchange rate's / waived ATM fee's.

ATM's don't always work, they can swallow your card and even be tampered with!

The idiot's singing the 'crazy man carrying cash' tune will be the same one's crying like babies when they find their card doesn't work or they lose it, or it expire's etc etc.

Thai Banks are a bit better, so keep your bulk in a good provincial bank or a secure area / safe.

Walking around with large sums isn't a big deal, some of you really are scared of your own shadow...

Cash is king. I brought in my money, it's in the

[remiss]

Some real pussycat's on TV these days, not everyone uses the UK banking system for dipping into, they are out to rip you off six-ways to sunday.

Nationwide have lost their teetch and no longer give beneficial exchange rate's / waived ATM fee's.

ATM's don't always work, they can swallow your card and even be tampered with!

The idiot's singing the 'crazy man carrying cash' tune will be the same one's crying like babies when they find their card doesn't work or they lose it, or it expire's etc etc.

Thai Banks are a bit better, so keep your bulk in a good provincial bank or a secure area / safe.

Walking around with large sums isn't a big deal, some of you really are scared of your own shadow...

Cash is king. I brought in my money, it's in the

You should be able to get a card with visa that doesn't charge ATM fees (except the 150b fee in th) -- The 1.75% currency fee (or what visa call it) is around what most currency exchanges charge (spread), and for my currency it's a lot better than what currency exchanges can give me.

Disappearing does not only happen to cards -- also happens to cash, the only difference, you'll be able to get the money back if the account hasn't been emptied yet -- and you should never keep too much money in an account with card for exactly this reason. Transfer from another account when you need it.

Cash is king.. Maybe.. Until somebody steals your wallet.

[hermespan]

P_Brownstone wrote: "Now you are talking about taking US $ 50,000.- to US $ 100,000,- in cash for an “around the world tour”?"

Perhaps the point is being missed. I am not arguing for the (non) common sense of carrying large amounts of cash, but in my opinion it is my natural right to do so. Does cash belong to the state by virtue of having a member of the ruling class on it's paper or metal? Or does it belong to the owner who has earned it/ been given it? It is highly unlikely I would carry anything more than 10-20K at one time. I actually prefer bank wires and ATMs for most of my transaction. I am not an idiot. I used 50-100K as an illustration, not as a personal fact. But like American battler for civil rights, Larry Flynt pointed out, "It might not be the smartest thing in the world to drink too much, but it's not illegal." Likewise I like to push the extremes of legality in finances because I don't like tyhe pressure coming in the other direction. If we all surrender the next step could be the gradual elimination of cash.

Like I said, I am not a wealthy man. This is about the right to do whatever you want with your own money, not the AMOUNT of it.

[flying]

Like I said, I am not a wealthy man. This is about the right to do whatever you want with your own money, not the AMOUNT of it.

Last I checked (2009 )there was over 44 million un-banked in the USA

So you are not alone

Also as I said earlier in the thread....I have never been asked how much cash I was carrying into Thailand.

But of course I have been asked how much I was leaving the US with

[ianguygil]

A few years ago I was boarding a plane from Washington Dulles to Milano Malpensa on a business trip. Wakling up the skybridge a voice from the back yelled " Mr xxxx. US Marshalls" and they stopped the guy next to me and asked him how much currency he was carrying. They walked him back off the walkway back into the airport.

These rules on the movement of physical currency are hugely important to stop money laundering. Money laundering supports terrorists, drug dealers and people smugglers. This is serious stuff and nobody should try to circumvent it. If you want to bring a large amount of cash out you may do so. But you need to declare it. To say where the money comes from and why you are taking it in cash.

Then, once you have carried it out of one country you need to carry it into another country and you need to answer the same questions.

Edited March 28, 2011 by ianguygil

[hermespan]

"Also as I said earlier in the thread....I have never been asked how much cash I was carrying into Thailand.

But of course I have been asked how much I was leaving the US with"

Asked or simply been given form to sign - the standard (?) Customs one or something for over 10K? And what happened?

My fears are based on an observation of some Hispanic guy and his mother being searched and questioned on a DOMESTIC US flight. The problem was not drugs or arrest warrant - just cash.

Frankly, part of my reason is I am considering making this a cause celebre on the political front and alerting the world to the assumption of guilt and the hassles/delays for carrying one's own property. Or not.

I haven't quite adjusted to the new millenium where Big Brother seems to be becoming a reality - don't know which is worse some whacko religious nuts or the reactions by governments. The battle continues. Whenever I come home I get interrogated for hours. The conversation always goes the same way. The officer starts with reasonable questions then moves onto unreasonable ones at which point I say 'None of your business. I am a citizen. Either let me pass or arrest me. I will answer no more of your questions." This I can do when carrying my own passport, but when I am a foreigner the officer can easily say 'OK, you're not coming into our country.' And possibly take my money on some pretext. So, for me it is a matter of weighing idealism and pragmatism. For me, my romantic notions of personal freedom usually triumph - in my own country at least, and at a cost of scrutiny and delays.

BTW, Loompanics of Port Townsend, Washington published an alarming article in one of their catalogues titled 'Borderland'. The bizarre rules of not being in your own country yet technically not being an another country are discussed. Basically one has no civil rights in this land of limbo.

Does Thailand treat baht necklaces as cash or jewellery?