Some tourist visa holders being asked to show 20,000 baht in CASH when entering Thailand

[stegee]

7 hours ago, CRUNCHER said:

As I understand it there is no ATM air-side of immigration.  If you pass immigration to get to an ATM you have in fact entered the Kingdom and the only way to remove you is deportation - at least it is not as simple as being refused entry.

 

Another problem in respect of producing a bank book is that it is only accurate as at the date is was last updated. Even showing a credit card only shows you have a credit card; it does not show whether you are over limit etc.

 

Demanding to see cash is the simple way out for immigration. Having said that I am sure there is room for some leeway in handling this situation.

but showing an online bank statement for the account the cards are attached too should be enough..

 

[Cadbury]

2 hours ago, stevenl said:

Your question was answered in post #62.

No it hasn't because that answer was wrong. Just like Mr. Know-it-All AsianAtHeart. 

[Cadbury]

3 hours ago, baboon said:

I am pretty sure that arrivals on visa exempts are supposed to show 10,000 Baht if asked, but am quite willing to stand corrected.

You can stand corrected. I have been coming and going now for 10 years on visa exempts and have NEVER been asked to show proof of money. Immigration have only ever once asked me the tell them the purpose of my visit. On that occasion I inform them I am in BKK to see the doctor. They see my history on my passport and know I am OK.

No problem they say and stamp me and wave me through. I have a good history. Not like some outsiders trying to slime their way in and hang about.

Suggest you take no notice of AsianAtHeart or others like stevenl. They like to let people think they know everything. AsianAtHeart has an excuse; he is a Newbie and got a lot of growing up to do. Stevenl is simply trying to show how clever his is because he can read. Doesn't seem to matter if he reads the wrong answer.

[overherebc]

6 or 7 100 dollar bills you can stick in your front pocket.

I have been travelling for many years and always carry enough cash to get through any situation that can be caused with credit cards, lost or whatever.

Lets be honest only in a few cases will a tourist who has a flight ticket home, dated 3 or 4 weeks after entry date and holiday company paperwork on hand will be asked to show cash.

6 holiday visas in a row will raise eyebrows anywhere in the world.

If you have enough money to stay in Thailand for the long term or have a provable income from outside into Thailand then what is wrong with being asked to prove it on entry and show 6 shiny dollar bills.

You may be upset by having to do it but don't think that Imm' officers are not as smart as you think you are.

[jspill]

7 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Who hops on an international flight with less than 20,000 baht in hard currency hidden away in case their ATM card gets eaten, their wallet gets stolen, or any one of a hundred other scenarios where USD, GBP, or Euro's are the only solution?

 

Someone with no friends? 

[baboon]

6 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

You can stand corrected. I have been coming and going now for 10 years on visa exempts and have NEVER been asked to show proof of money. Immigration have only ever once asked me the tell them the purpose of my visit. On that occasion I inform them I am in BKK to see the doctor. They see my history on my passport and know I am OK.

No problem they say and stamp me and wave me through. I have a good history. Not like some outsiders trying to slime their way in and hang about.

Suggest you take no notice of AsianAtHeart or others like stevenl. They like to let people think they know everything. AsianAtHeart has an excuse; he is a Newbie and got a lot of growing up to do. Stevenl is simply trying to show how clever his is because he can read. Doesn't seem to matter if he reads the wrong answer.

Well this website would appear to disagree, but then maybe somebody got their wires crossed:

http://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/changes-visa-exempt.php

[overherebc]

4 minutes ago, baboon said:

Well this website would appear to disagree, but then maybe somebody got their wires crossed:

http://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/changes-visa-exempt.php

Websites are not always updated as quickly as they should be.

[scubascuba3]

It's 2017 not 1979.  It's not well known, and most would assume that the thousands of dollars in their bank accounts would suffice, considering probably 99 percent are using ATMs and credit cards here.  I wonder how many of the millions upon millions of tourists are carrying $600 in cash.  Maybe they should all wear gold necklaces too

Some of you guys don't get it. Its not about what's logical or how it should be done, its about what you have to do. You are just pissing in the wind if you don't follow rules.

[AsianAtHeart]

4 minutes ago, baboon said:

Well this website would appear to disagree, but then maybe somebody got their wires crossed:

http://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/changes-visa-exempt.php

Shh! Cadbury doesn't want to hear that!  He's sure a "newbie" could not know something he doesn't.

[baboon]

Just now, overherebc said:

Websites are not always updated as quickly as they should be.

Sure, but this is from May 26 of this year. Obviously I cannot verify the validity of the information it contains.

[malcoml]

7 hours ago, CRUNCHER said:

As I understand it there is no ATM air-side of immigration.  If you pass immigration to get to an ATM you have in fact entered the Kingdom and the only way to remove you is deportation - at least it is not as simple as being refused entry.

 

Another problem in respect of producing a bank book is that it is only accurate as at the date is was last updated. Even showing a credit card only shows you have a credit card; it does not show whether you are over limit etc.

 

Demanding to see cash is the simple way out for immigration. Having said that I am sure there is room for some leeway in handling this situation.

Yes at swampy there are ATM machines that spit out Euro/USD/GBP. Then there is a money changer next to the ATM

[impulse]

15 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

You can stand corrected. I have been coming and going now for 10 years on visa exempts and have NEVER been asked to show proof of money. Immigration have only ever once asked me the tell them the purpose of my visit. On that occasion I inform them I am in BKK to see the doctor. They see my history on my passport and know I am OK.

No problem they say and stamp me and wave me through. I have a good history. Not like some outsiders trying to slime their way in and hang about.

 

I think the salient point of this whole thread is that what you did for 10 years may not be as easy any more. 

 

[AsianAtHeart]

4 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

I think the salient point of this whole thread is that what you did for 10 years may not be as easy any more. 

 

This "newbie" has been entering Thailand for many years more than Cadbury's 10.  I have never been asked to show the cash either.  But this year, after hearing the reports, I started carrying it.  I think it's more of an excuse to prevent someone entering who they don't find appealing for one reason or another.  Thankfully, that has never been an issue for me.  But I don't plan to let them find such an easy excuse either.

Edited July 17, 2017 by AsianAtHeart

[Cadbury]

2 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

I think the salient point of this whole thread is that what you did for 10 years may not be as easy any more. 

 

Maybe you are right. I will let you know next month. But when smarties who pretend to know everything start spouting fiction as fact without any evidence it becomes another matter. 

[Cadbury]

4 minutes ago, AsianAtHeart said:

This "newbie" has been entering Thailand for many years more than Cadbury's 10.  I have never been asked to show the cash either.  But this year, after hearing the reports, I started carrying it.  I think it's more of an excuse to prevent someone entering who they don't find appealing for one reason or another.  Thankfully, that has never been an issue for me.  But I don't plan to let them find such an easy excuse either.

24 posts and you are not a newbie?? LOL.

[baboon]

18 minutes ago, AsianAtHeart said:

This "newbie" has been entering Thailand for many years more than Cadbury's 10.  I have never been asked to show the cash either.  But this year, after hearing the reports, I started carrying it.  I think it's more of an excuse to prevent someone entering who they don't find appealing for one reason or another.  Thankfully, that has never been an issue for me.  But I don't plan to let them find such an easy excuse either.

Other posters are of the same opinion and I tend to agree with them.

Got the 20 Grand? 'But how do I know you didn't get it from working illegally?' Prove the source of the income and then, 'But how do I know you don't INTEND to work illegally at some point?' Oviously you can't prove that you won't, anymore than you can prove to anyone you won't keel over and die next week / month / year, so there is the excuse for not letting you in...

Edited July 17, 2017 by baboon

[Felt 35]

When my wife go to Europe on a tourist visa she have to prove in advance at the Embassy that she have funds for the period she intend to stay, travel insurance covering all the Schengen States, and a reason to return to Thailand. Why don't Thailand introduce the same system.......

[Cadbury]

11 minutes ago, AsianAtHeart said:

This "newbie" has been entering Thailand for many years more than Cadbury's 10.  I have never been asked to show the cash either.  But this year, after hearing the reports, I started carrying it.  I think it's more of an excuse to prevent someone entering who they don't find appealing for one reason or another.  Thankfully, that has never been an issue for me.  But I don't plan to let them find such an easy excuse either.

If you are such an experienced comer and goer into Thailand, which I doubt you are, why then did you post such nonsense as fact that for visa-exempt entry the evidence of money is somewhere between 0 and 20,000 baht. You say like me that you have never been asked to show cash. Then why throw some mischievous untruthful comment into the ring like you did?

[AsianAtHeart]

1 minute ago, Cadbury said:

If you are such an experienced comer and goer into Thailand, which I doubt you are, why then did you post such nonsense as fact that for visa-exempt entry the evidence of money is somewhere between 0 and 20,000 baht. You say like me that you have never been asked to show cash. Then why throw some mischievous untruthful comment into the ring like you did?

Cadbury,

 

I have never been asked to show proof of onward travel either.  That doesn't mean it's not required.  Being asked for something and its being required are two different things.  I remember the first time I came, many years ago, the travel agent insisted that I come with a return ticket of the "dummy ticket" variety--just enough to get me into Thailand, but then get fully refunded for as it would not be used.  I stayed in Thailand for longer than the validity of a round-trip ticket, and I knew that I would before traveling--thus, a one-way ticket would have been appropriate.  But the agent said that proof of onward travel was required, so I had it.  I was never asked to show it, despite the agent's insistence that such would be required.  In later years, I have found that certain airlines, who know about the requirement, do require it--lest they end up having to return the passenger who was denied entry at their own cost.  Other airlines do not ask for such proof.

 

How long will it be, now, before airlines begin doing the same with proof of cash in hand?

[j8k]

7 minutes ago, Felt 35 said:

When my wife go to Europe on a tourist visa she have to prove in advance at the Embassy that she have funds for the period she intend to stay, travel insurance covering all the Schengen States, and a reason to return to Thailand. Why don't Thailand introduce the same system.......

But this is usual for Western countries to do this.

 

I have Vietnamese friends who moan about how tough it is to get into Australia. The reason is because half of them are never seen again once they get into the country.

 

No doubt working under the table in a restaurant or massage shop. The same thing would happen with Thais.

[PeCeDe]

8 minutes ago, Felt 35 said:

When my wife go to Europe on a tourist visa she have to prove in advance at the Embassy that she have funds for the period she intend to stay, travel insurance covering all the Schengen States, and a reason to return to Thailand. Why don't Thailand introduce the same system.......

Agreed, but with 30 odd million visitors a year, just how logistically would Thailand accomplish it.  It would be really hard if not impossible to handle all the travel requests by the available overseas consulates and embassies.

[SunsetT]

8 hours ago, rkidlad said:

Shouldn't be showing proof of funds when applying for the actual visa be enough? Instead of cluttering up immigration queues with baffled tourists wondering why they should have 20k in cash on them.

 

Every time me and my missus fly back to England, they never ask her to show them cash. That's because that's ridiculous, she's already shown her money when applying for the visa, and this is 2017 where people use debit and credit cards and don't usually carry round large amounts of loseable cash. 

This irrational country gets more and more irrational.......and unreasonable!

[baboon]

26 minutes ago, Felt 35 said:

When my wife go to Europe on a tourist visa she have to prove in advance at the Embassy that she have funds for the period she intend to stay, travel insurance covering all the Schengen States, and a reason to return to Thailand. Why don't Thailand introduce the same system.......

Because there really won't be all that many foreigners from other continents just itching to wash down tables, mop out khazis or break their backs in a field for the money a Thai would pay a Burmese off the books?

Edited July 17, 2017 by baboon

[saakura]

There are over 30 million tourists who come to Thailand each year. My guess is that over 90% do NOT carry the equivalent of 20k baht in cash. 99% of these are not at all hassled by the IO. They are well trained to sniff out the ones which they deem as undesirables. And then use any rule to keep them out.

[Chou Anou]

8 hours ago, Bazw57 said:

Have tried cashing a travellers check recently?
A friend of mine used them in Bali recently and had to visit 3 banks before he found one that would cash them and then he had to wait 20 minutes while they did all the checking and phone calls...
They are virtually redundant these days and not worth the hassle.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

I agree, travelers checks are practically useless and silly nowadays, especially in Thailand.  I stopped using them back in 2001, when a couple Thai currency exchange and bank employees insisted that the signature I produced in front of them was not the same one I had pre-signed on the check.  I now carry one debit card which refunds all of my ATM fees for the majority of my spending, and 2 extra debit cards containing emergency funds in case the main one gets eaten (the accounts are linked, so I could easily transfer money from a lost card to one of the other cards, online).  Plus some cash, of course.  In the US, I never carry cash, ever.

[Chou Anou]

8 hours ago, impulse said:

 

What's onerous isn't the fact that they're doing it.  It's the fact that they have changed what they're doing without adequate notice.  

 

Okay, so let's say I put those stickers on the windows of my house that say "Protected by ______ Alarm System," but I never turn the alarm on.  You break into my house regularly, and always get away with some of my possessions.  One day, I finally actually turn on the alarm, and you get caught red-handed and land in jail.  Was my behavior "onerous"?

[baboon]

3 minutes ago, Chou Anou said:

Okay, so let's say I put those stickers on the windows of my house that say "Protected by ______ Alarm System," but I never turn the alarm on.  You break into my house regularly, and always get away with some of my possessions.  One day, I finally actually turn on the alarm, and you get caught red-handed and land in jail.  Was my behavior "onerous"?

No, just bloody silly...

[billd766]

3 hours ago, pattayadgw said:

Just more bullshit from those who say they want more tourists and yet keep making things more difficult and harder for tourists to visit.... i just don't get it!!

 

But it isn't harder for genuine tourists, only for the ones who claim that they are but do monthly border runs.

 

Genuine tourists come in for 2, 3 4 weeks etc maybe once or twice a year. The ones that are being checked on are the permanent "tourists" who cannot seem to get a longer term visa for some reason and do the border runs.

[scubascuba3]

 
But it isn't harder for genuine tourists, only for the ones who claim that they are but do monthly border runs.
 
Genuine tourists come in for 2, 3 4 weeks etc maybe once or twice a year. The ones that are being checked on are the permanent "tourists" who cannot seem to get a longer term visa for some reason and do the border runs.

You don't seem to understand tourist visas such as Multi Entry Tourist visas where you can stay for up to 9 months, so it seems Thailand doesn't agree with your definition

[billd766]

1 hour ago, Cadbury said:

24 posts and you are not a newbie?? LOL.

 

496 posts and you are not a newbie either?

 

496 posts in 66 days. Not bad going.