Bringing cash US$ 12000,00 to Thailand.Any problem s ? What procedures should I do ?

[NanLaew]

Regarding any request of provenance of funds coming from overseas, the very fact that they the OP is exchanging US$ to THB means that the originating cash truly did come from overseas no? I mean they aren't those shonky Thai dollars are they? Or do they differentiate between 'virgin' US$ bills that have just come directly from overseas and the US$ bills that are already in the country, circulating through forex desks at banks and moneychangers?

 

The OP will have a piece of paper, albeit in Portuguese, that says he took US$ cash out of Brazil. If he declares this money on arrival in Bangkok, is there any annotation made or formal receipt of notification of importing funds issued by Thai Customs? If they did, wouldn't that prove his US$ came from overseas?

 

Back in 2006, I was changing £10,000 pounds at a bank in Pattaya and casually asked what it took to open an account. The girl at the forex desk asked if I had a work permit which was a no and then asked what visa I had which I hadn't as I entered visa exempt that time. She said I couldn't open an account without one or the other. She asked her supervisor at the next desk to confirm and she agreed that I couldn't. Then the supervisor casually asked her how much money I was changing and when she heard I had about 700,000 baht coming, the supervisor said I could open an account right there, no problem, all they needed was my passport and an address.

[HooHaa]

7 hours ago, mahjongguy said:

You should be able to send the money to yourself via Western Union just before you depart Brazil. The WU receipt would be your confirmation of the money's origin.

 

Or, you could come here, open an account, and arrange a "pull" wire transfer. This might require having a discussion with your local bank before departure.   

 

 

WU is stupidly expensive and he ends up with a stack of baht. 

[craigt3365]

6 hours ago, jay1980 said:

I normally bring in £10,000 UK pounds cash when I come back from a trip to the UK. Never had any issues. Reason I bring it is cash and  not a bank transfier is so I can change it up at 'superrich' and get a better rate than the bank rates.

 

 

How much do you actually save by doing this?  For me, not having to worry about that much cash is worth an extra bit of money! LOL  Insurance!

[MaxiMaxi]

8 hours ago, Isac Szwarc Brasil said:

Thanks Ubonjoe again,

That means I CAN NOT bring the money,open an account ,keep the money in the bank for 3 months and apply for the visa ???

It must be transferred from a bank ? Is very difficult to transfer money from Brazil to Thailand due to Brazilian regulations,I am not sure I will be able to do it.

Any other option ?

Thanks.

 

[Ubonquest]

Can withdrawal receipts from ATM to use for deposit money in account be used as proof of money coming from overseas?

[jay1980]

49 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

How much do you actually save by doing this?  For me, not having to worry about that much cash is worth an extra bit of money! LOL  Insurance!

Super rich V my thai bank I usually save about 15,000 baht on the exchange plus my UK bank charge about £40 to do an interntional transfier so I save that too. I keep it concealed on my person on the flight, £10,000 in £50 notes isn't that bulky.

[Get Real]

8 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

That should be enough to prove you are retired. That might also help with opening a bank account. From the list of requirements for Bangkok Bank "or from a national institution of your home country (such as pension fund); "

It might even be easier than that. From my experiance I just go in with my passport and an letter of regular income of over 40K per month. If retired it would probable be less than you need..

[JackThompson]

5 hours ago, ParadiseLost said:

Has no-one here heard of travelers cheques?

 

I still have the last GBP 1,000 I bought in 2005 before I left UK, they never expire and are useless to anyone but you. Why would anyone risk carrying that much cash?

 

The fee to change them ad-hoc has risen in the past few years but if you have a bank account sometimes they will waiver the fee (or charge a max 500 baht) to deposit a larger amount.

 

I have used the same 1,000 to apply for tourist visas to Australia, China, and to show proof of 20,000 baht at Sadao border on several occasions.

 

That is, after all what they were invented for.

 

I would bet a lot of younger folks never heard of travelers-checks.  I use them for showing funds at the border (don't like to carry around 20K Baht in cash), but 800K Baht in those would add up to a lot of fees to buy them - even if cashing them in was free,

 

[blackcab]

11 hours ago, Isac Szwarc Brasil said:

Can I bring 23000,00 US$ dollars..?

 

You can bring as much cash money as you want. If you have more than USD 20,000 in total you have to declare it to customs on arrival.

[Isac Szwarc Brasil]

8 hours ago, ParadiseLost said:

Has no-one here heard of travelers cheques?

 

I still have the last GBP 1,000 I bought in 2005 before I left UK, they never expire and are useless to anyone but you. Why would anyone risk carrying that much cash?

 

The fee to change them ad-hoc has risen in the past few years but if you have a bank account sometimes they will waiver the fee (or charge a max 500 baht) to deposit a larger amount.

 

I have used the same 1,000 to apply for tourist visas to Australia, China, and to show proof of 20,000 baht at Sadao border on several occasions.

 

That is, after all what they were invented for.

Here in Brazil,you pay 6.38 % tax for buying traveller checks and 1.1 % tax for buying cash .Do not ask me why,I do not know.

[Isac Szwarc Brasil]

6 hours ago, david555 said:

i do not see a problem to bring in the money in cash , any sum , even under the 20 000 USD value and report it at Thai customs , you receive a document for it , then you can deposit  at any Thai bank as brought in from abroad with that document ,this is equal as transferred from abroad ,even more as you declared it at leaving Brazil .

You could also on top give the reason for transfer " to buy condo property in Thailand" , so you can later if buying one ,and selling later transfer out Thailand with NO problems when obtaining a F.E.T.  Prove of bringing in money from abroad is  the Customs doc.

 

Thank you very much

[A1Str8]

You can bring any amount you want. At least that's my approach and never had a problem. 

Or alternatively, you can fly in by a private jet. That's what I did last time. You can book a seat on a jet that's heading to Thailand and that way avoid the usual waiting in line, declare sh!t to customs etc. 

[craigt3365]

11 hours ago, jay1980 said:

Super rich V my thai bank I usually save about 15,000 baht on the exchange plus my UK bank charge about £40 to do an interntional transfier so I save that too. I keep it concealed on my person on the flight, £10,000 in £50 notes isn't that bulky.

I've done these comparisons before and the difference isn't that much.  I use Bangkok Bank transfers from the US.  Right now, Bangkok Bank has an exchange rate of 35.17 for the USD, Super Rich 35.53.  I transfer to BB free in the US, and their fee to get the money here is relatively small.  There is a difference, but in my previous experiences, not that much.  And I don't have to travel with a wad of cash! LOL  Makes me nervous.

[GOLDBUGGY]

21 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

As said you can bring 20,000 US dollars in without declaring it.

Info here: http://en.customs.go.th/content.php?ini_content=arriving_in_thailand&lang=en&left_menu=menu_arriving_in_thailand

If you are planning on applying for a non immigrant visa at immigration that would allow you to apply for an extension based upon retirement you would not be able to apply for it uness you transferred the funds into a bank account. You must have a letter from a bank confirming the funds were transferred into the country.

This is news to me able being able to prove funds comes from outside when apply for an extension to stay as I never heard that before. 

 

I am just wondering about this as I plan to change my extension based on marriage to one based on retirement as the process is quicker and easier. Will I now have to prove that the 800,000 Baht in my bank account came from outside and get a F.E.T. Certificate from the bank as I never had to for an extension based on marriage? It actually did but I doubt I can prove that as I topped up my account using my Visa Card. 

[ubonjoe]

 

4 minutes ago, GOLDBUGGY said:

This is news to me able being able to prove funds comes from outside when apply for an extension to stay as I never heard that before. 

I wrote that if he was applying for a non immigrant visa at immigration he would need proof  it came from abroad. Not needed for the extension.

I repeated it and clarified  it in later posts.

[akentryan]

What is the amount in question $12,000 or $1,200,000? Another factor might be age. How old are you? Another safer option is travelers checks. I brought in $120,000 once in TCs, showed the Thai Customs guy the checks and he just waved me through. Apparently cash is what they are interested in. 

[TofuHead]

Are they still selling traveller's cheques?

At leasest, I can no longer buy them  anywhere in Japan.

 

Besides, the link below clearly shows the social status of traveller's cheques in today's society.

http://thefinanser.com/2016/11/american-express-book-mormon.html/

[Isac Szwarc Brasil]

22 hours ago, JackThompson said:

.....

 

As others have pointed out, if you deposit it all as cash in Thailand, you may run into issues showing that the money in question originated outside Thailand, in order to qualify for the 1-year permission of stay based on retirement. 

 

 

Your social security income can be used as "proof of income" towards your retirement visa.  You can combine both your "social security" income PLUS "money in the bank" to qualify - provided they add up to 800K Baht total.  This could reduce the amount of money you need to get into a Thai bank account, allowing you to stay under Brazil's annual transfer limit.

 

You will need a letter from your embassy certifying the income portion, which should be easy to get with your letter from social-security, if your Embassy requires proof (some do and some do not).

Hi Jack,thanks for helping me.One question...When you say...need a letter FROM YOUR EMBASSY certifying the income portion...you mean an Embassy where ? In Brazil ,in Thailand ?There are no brazilian embassies in Brazil ????Sorry,could not understand.Thanks again. 

[The man from udon]

On 13/12/2016 at 10:22 AM, mahjongguy said:

You should be able to send the money to yourself via Western Union just before you depart Brazil. The WU receipt would be your confirmation of the money's origin.

 

Or, you could come here, open an account, and arrange a "pull" wire transfer. This might require having a discussion with your local bank before departure.   

 

Don't do western union,they will give you a shocking rate and you will lose at least 10-12% of your transfer.if it's in a bank try uk forex.very safe and the best rates around.i used them this year @ £10,000 a day max transfer.

[ubonjoe]

11 minutes ago, Isac Szwarc Brasil said:

Hi Jack,thanks for helping me.One question...When you say...need a letter FROM YOUR EMBASSY certifying the income portion...you mean an Embassy where ? In Brazil ,in Thailand ?There are no brazilian embassies in Brazil ????Sorry,could not understand.Thanks again. 

You would get it form the Brazilian embassy in Bangkok.  Website: http://bangkok.itamaraty.gov.br/pt-br/

[Isac Szwarc Brasil]

10 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You would get it form the Brazilian embassy in Bangkok.  Website: http://bangkok.itamaraty.gov.br/pt-br/

Thank you.

[taxout]

Don't forget reporting requirements of any countries you transit. In particular, if you're flying via the U.S. you'll have to pass immigration/customs and declare cash if you have at least US$10,000 or equivalent with you.

Edited December 15, 2016 by taxout

[craigt3365]

Just now, taxout said:

Don't forget reporting requirements of any countries you transit. In particular, if you're flying via the U.S. you'll have to pass immigration/customs and declare cash if you have more than US$10,000 or equivalent with you.

And if caught without declaring it, you are in some big trouble.

[mahjongguy]

"Don't do western union,they will give you a shocking rate"

 

Yes, WU is stupidly expensive, but it is one way in which you can transfer money to a person rather than a bank. 

 

"try uk forex"

 

How would the OP, not having a Thai bank account yet, receive the money?

[ubonjoe]

10 minutes ago, mahjongguy said:

"Don't do western union,they will give you a shocking rate"

 

Yes, WU is stupidly expensive, but it is one way in which you can transfer money to a person rather than a bank. 

 

"try uk forex"

 

How would the OP, not having a Thai bank account yet, receive the money?

It might take more than one western union transfer since if I recall correctly they have a limit on the amount that can be transferred.

Normally he could open an account after he gets here and then transfer the money but it appears Brazil has limitations on doing that.

One option might be to get an international bank draft instead of bringing cash.