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

[impulse]

6 hours ago, 11223344 said:

20 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?

Most people who are less than 50 years old. Our younger have multiple debit/credit cards and can get emergency help from our banks.

 

You have more faith in technology -and its availability- than I do.  What happens if one or more ATM cards get skimmed, a wallet gets stolen, or your entire identity gets hacked when you're on a bus to Fish Shack Island, on a Friday just after the banks close?  Gonna be a pretty crappy weekend...probably through about Wednesday.

 

I keep $1,000-4,900 USD in the lining of my carry on- depending on the destination, just like I buy insurance for that black swan event that probably isn't going to happen but will be pretty devastating if it does.  Costs me nothing to keep cash, and has saved the day more than once.  And inside the lining makes it a little harder for any pilferers to find it, unless they steal the whole carry-on.  In which case, the laptop and data on the hard drives dwarfs what I've lost in cash anyway.

 

All of which is beside the point.  We can argue all we want about whether the 20,000 baht requirement is reasonable given today's tech.  That doesn't change the fact that it is a rule, and now there are examples where it's being enforced.

 

Edited July 18, 2017 by impulse

[Spaniel]

I have given up on page 22.     Call me if anything "new" is posted!

[impulse]

1 minute ago, Spaniel said:

I have given up on page 22.     Call me if anything "new" is posted!

 

Boring as it may be, 22 pages is good news.  That means a lot of people have gotten the word, and it's made an impact so they won't forget.  They may resist, but that's on them.

 

[IsaanAndy]

What goes around, comes around.

For years people entering on tourist visa's have overstayed, worked illegally etc.

Unfortunate now for all those who are genuine tourists and are suffering from the transgressors of the the past.

[jmacken306]

20 hours ago, action said:

Having 20k cash in your pocket is clear, irrefutable evidence that you are not working illegally.  Nice job Immigration!  

Yeah, I came here to #1 laborer - make my wife work

                                     #2 Farming - Watch my friend pig n chickens      

                                     #5 Driving - drive in this traffic HUH!

                                     #33 roll cigarettes.my own cigarettes, I don't smoke!

[jspill]

18 hours ago, Kerryd said:

Thailand has every right to do that and the people that complain tend to forget that they have no  right to break the rules, regardless of their origin (or attitude). I'm sure there are some who think that they have the god-given "right" to stay in Thailand as long as they want

Haven't read the thread yet I'm sure this got said already but - there are no set rules on length of stay with tourist visas. Can you quote any set limits on tourist visa issue, or use? No. They can stay for as long as consulates keep issuing them visas (which for many has been decades) as long as they aren't completely broke (<20k baht cash in possession per trip) or employed in some physical capacity that takes jobs from locals without a permit.

[Ricardo]

If Thailand were to apply this rule, to the ten million Chinese package-tourists due-to-arrive this year, then it would solve the problem of zero-baht tours instantly !

 

But just think of the queues at Immigration in Swampy & Don Muang !

 

The problem with this 'new' requirement is IMO the way it has been introduced, without any warning to allow travellers to arrange to comply with it,  it's almost like the government wants to cause tourists problems, and to generate negative-publicity world-wide for the country.

 

[rkidlad]

3 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

yes, showing proof of funds when first getting the visa should be enough.  however, I will point that several countries that issue online e-visas, reserve the right to refuse entry at the point of arrival!  Just watch that Aussie show border protection.  Many people that got visas online, bought plane tickets, flew the 17 hours or whatever to Australia, and then for various reasons are turned away!  Some valid reasons I will grant you that, but others not so valid.  I believe UBJoe has quoted the regulation that says 20k baht is required and may be asked to be shown.  Plain and simple.  Now that means a fair amount of travel cash that some people don't like to have on them.  ~600 USD.   Some people like to only withdraw local currency and some people want to charge everything, so they don't want to carry much cash.  But still, somebody arriving on a Tourist Visa  usually implies at least a 30 day stay or more, I don't think having 600 USD cash in the pocket is unreasonable.

It's not at all unreasonable that people have enough money when they go travelling. I hope that embassies and consulates check people's accounts to make sure they can afford their travels. But this should all be done and checked at the embassy or consulate. Maybe better train the staff who work there to spot someone who's going to Thailand too often to work and lives hand to mouth. It really isn't that hard to check.

 

Unfortunately, some embassies/consulates will often issue visas to undesirables for the sole purpose of taking their money. These travellers then think they have the necessary visa to enter the country. It's not that having 20k in an unreasonable request, it's more that they expect people to naturally have this on their person when coming through. When they don't 'cos they didn't know, they're told to go to the ATM machine. This really isn't practical with the big lines of people waiting to get through. Also, add in the many tourists who are genuine being asked to do silly things, because the Thai embassy or consulate aren't doing their jobs properly. 

 

Thailand can have all the silly rules they want - that's their prerogative. Just make sure the rules are there to be seen and understood. Stop changing the goalposts or being ambiguous and making it up as they go along. I always check the immigration website and Thaivisa, etc, for up to date information. But every time I go to renew my visa, there always seems to be something big or small that has changed. How am I supposed to know? I want to follow the rules. Just tell me exactly what they are. 

 

 

[impulse]

1 minute ago, Ricardo said:

The problem with this 'new' requirement is IMO the way it has been introduced, without any warning to allow travellers to arrange to comply with it,  it's almost like the government wants to cause tourists problems, and to generate negative-publicity world-wide for the country.

 

That could be, or it may just be one or a few IO's who saw someone they didn't like the looks of.  And were looking for an excuse to make their life difficult.  I'm ashamed to admit that I can be a little surly after 20+ hours in the air and 2 hours in immigration line (though I do dress respectfully).

 

Hard to tell at this point.  Need some more incidents to really confirm a trend.  But I suspect the wise will take it as a cautionary tale and won't be taking any chances...

 

[CutiePi]

12 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

That could be, or it may just be one or a few IO's who saw someone they didn't like the looks of.  And were looking for an excuse to make their life difficult.  I'm ashamed to admit that I can be a little surly after 20+ hours in the air and 2 hours in immigration line (though I do dress respectfully).

 

Hard to tell at this point.  Need some more incidents to really confirm a trend.  But I suspect the wise will take it as a cautionary tale and won't be taking any chances...

 

Agree...it's 3 reports so far (over several days)...how many come through Swampy per day 50k?

[jspill]

18 hours ago, NanLaew said:

those who have been unable to show cash and shown the door have their passports clearly stamped with the reason they were turned away... and the stamp doesn't say, "Didn't have enough cash" either.

It does actually say ไม่มีเงิน 'didn't have money' on a friend's denied entry stamp, when this happened to him.

 

[stevenl]

28 minutes ago, Ricardo said:

If Thailand were to apply this rule, to the ten million Chinese package-tourists due-to-arrive this year, then it would solve the problem of zero-baht tours instantly !

 

But just think of the queues at Immigration in Swampy & Don Muang !

 

The problem with this 'new' requirement is IMO the way it has been introduced, without any warning to allow travellers to arrange to comply with it,  it's almost like the government wants to cause tourists problems, and to generate negative-publicity world-wide for the country.

 

No, not cause tourists problems, but cause illegal workers problems.

 

Tourists are unaffected.

[YetAnother]

carrying a lot of money when traveling internationally is not a very good idea; the presumption here that people that dont carry a lot of money Might be working is faulty and xenophobic;  before i moved here years and years ago, i used ATMs exclusively in all my many visits; the current policy assumes there are little-to-no other alternatives to financing one's stay; faulty

[alh]

This 20k is just a BS reason to deny people entry. Friend of mine has just been in the DM detention center and subsequently been deported on a valid tourist visa and he DID have the "required" 20k.....

 

They know most people don't carry 20k around and don't allow you to go to the ATM and showing overseas funds is not sufficient either, so that makes their case easy. But when you do have it, they still can throw you out, telling you to get a non-immigrant visa next time.

 

So meeting this 20k requirement will not save you when you're stringing too many TV's or visa exempts along............

[LannaGuy]

21 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

What a load of rubbish.

 

The great majority of farangs in Thailand follow the laws and have NO problems year upon year.

 

The minorty of people who don't follow the law take their chances on being caught.

 

It is nothing to do with xenophobia and all to do with following the rules.

 

If you stick to the rules there is no problem.

 

If you don't, and you get caught then the problem is yours and nobody elses.

True but so are the other points in this guy's post

[impulse]

44 minutes ago, alh said:

This 20k is just a BS reason to deny people entry. Friend of mine has just been in the DM detention center and subsequently been deported on a valid tourist visa and he DID have the "required" 20k.....

 

They know most people don't carry 20k around and don't allow you to go to the ATM and showing overseas funds is not sufficient either, so that makes their case easy. But when you do have it, they still can throw you out, telling you to get a non-immigrant visa next time.

 

So meeting this 20k requirement will not save you when you're stringing too many TV's or visa exempts along............

 

Just out of curiosity, what was your friend's background story?  Was he a tourist, or a de-facto resident living on a string of tourist visa's?  And was he working in the Kingdom?

 

[the guest]

If enter Thailand as a Tourist, and then enter quite quickly again, it would raise suspicion, as it would with any country. 

[impulse]

13 minutes ago, the guest said:

If enter Thailand as a Tourist, and then enter quite quickly again, it would raise suspicion, as it would with any country. 

 

Thailand, and BKK in particular makes an excellent jumping off point to travel all over Southeast Asia.  It's not unusual for someone to land in BKK, spend a few days, then off to Cambodia, then back to BKK for a few days, then off to Myanmar, then back to BKK, then off to a Thai Island, then...  Well heeled, genuine tourists can spend years traveling SEA.

 

Edited July 18, 2017 by impulse

[Thai Ron]

14 hours ago, baboon said:

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?

And yet, every year, thousands of farangs overstay their visas.

[CutiePi]

12 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Thailand, and BKK in particular makes an excellent jumping off point to travel all over Southeast Asia.  It's not unusual for someone to land in BKK, spend a few days, then off to Cambodia, then back to BKK for a few days, then off to Myanmar, then back to BKK, then off to a Thai Island, then...  Well heeled, genuine tourists can spend years traveling SEA.

 

Exactly...me and my friends do this all the time without issue. I think we all know the type of people who get tripped up when trying to enter the country.

[billd766]

13 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Do you understand the 9 month thing?

Fyi 5k isn't needed for 6 months

 

I was responding to your post which is misleading .

 

It doesn't really matter in this case because the thread is NOT about 3, 6 or 9 month METV, NOR is it about married or retirement extensions, but about people who are not really tourists using 30 day entries and 30 day tourists visas for a lot of entries to Thailand per year. They are the ones complaining about having to show 20,000 thb on entry to Thailand.

[reenatinnakor]

Lol. 20k won't last the 2 months duration of a tourist visa. Another excellent idea by the muppets in Los.

[Felt 35]

14 hours ago, PeCeDe said:

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.

Maybe, but then again there are plenty of countries which welcome much higher amount of tourists. If they modernise the  application procedure and the data system was updated both here and in Embassies/ Consulates abroad I think it will be easier and more transparent for both Thailand and the applicants.

[metisdead]

Some off topic posts have been removed. 

[maewang99]

58 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Thailand, and BKK in particular makes an excellent jumping off point to travel all over Southeast Asia.  It's not unusual for someone to land in BKK, spend a few days, then off to Cambodia, then back to BKK for a few days, then off to Myanmar, then back to BKK, then off to a Thai Island, then...  Well heeled, genuine tourists can spend years traveling SEA.

 

this isn't just about walk-ins across the border.

yeah agree.



  

 

Edited July 18, 2017 by maewang99

[lyskamm]

Would an equivalent to THB 20M in another currency for example in EURO be accepted in your point of view?

[maewang99]

they are trying to weed out those down and out.

nothing to do with employment rules.

and at borders and airports they can use any discrimination they please. it's like that everywhere. especially now in the USA.  we're the example maker on this now.

this thing is aimed at border crossers... no matter what else unfolds.... so they are saying to everyone here (who are not tourists if they are using the border and don't look like a jet setter out for some exercise or just crossing over on foot for some shopping.... something like that)...... have 20k with you or else.... leave one way.

yes?










 

Edited July 18, 2017 by maewang99

[free123]

20000 bhat = one night in bangkok with some high class beautys and the champagne

[SteveB2]

On 7/17/2017 at 0:42 PM, Bill Miller said:

The point is that having to have it in cash is a bit much.
If one can show the funds in a bank book, ATM statement, etc., it should be good enough for any thinking person.

 

Errrr No 

 

Any thinking person would realise that expecting customs officers to be able to read bank books/ATM statements in the dozens of international languages is an impossible request.

 

20,000 Thai Baht on your person is the requirement. It's been on the books for years.

 

It's their country. Their rules. Don't like it?   Feeling butt hurt? Then go some where else and get over it. 

[maewang99]

if you can afford champagne and a girl ... in Bangkok..... and even only one.... you are welcome. apparently.

if not....... bye bye.  that's the deal.  so what's all the fuss?

 

Edited July 18, 2017 by maewang99