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

[scubascuba3]

I will continue to travel in and out of Thaland without much cash in my pocket , as I have been doing for 20 years.  But I'm on a a different visa and we are not a target for immigration . 
So don't worry , be happy . Bring your credit cards, debit cards , bank books etc. 
 
 

Can you do a vlog of your next trip through customs, we'll enjoy it

[notmyself]

3 hours ago, midas said:

I see nothing onerous about this whatsoever.

I mean just based on living a very modest lifestyle without any extravagance- I still can't see how any genuine tourist can make 20,000 baht last for more than a couple of weeks?

 

That you cannot see how does not mean that it does not happen and this is somewhat akin to the thinking (or lack thereof) strewn all over the place when it comes to finance. People tend to have already paid for many things online/ while booking etc. so the only cash they need is little more than pocket change for snacks any maybe the odd beer. The myopic inward-lookingness of rules such as this and the roughly 6k (GBP) that you need to have in the bank for 6 months in order to obtain an METV show in full glory that the authorities do not know how the world works outside of the kingdom.

[kkerry]

5 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

48 hours is a long time to go with no funds on holiday.  I'd get hungry after 3 or 4...

 

Ever tried using AMEX upcountry in Thailand?  

 

No-one hanging out in say Issan, would be relying solely on AMEX to keep them fed and watered for the duration.

 

 

 

[AloisAmrein]

Is it enough when I carry 10'000 USD in TC and having 2 credit cards? And a few 1000 Baht in cash? Or should I spend my money in Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia? Countries with much less hassles against quality tourists.

[rexall]

4 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.

 A few years ago, the crackdown on multiple "permission to stay" arrivals where you just got your passport stamped without a visa. But, no problems about multiple entries with valid tourist visa. That was the word.  Now those are  a problem.  Wait until the double the cash requirement for marriage or retirement or something else that makes your situation difficult.  I hope you will be this sanguine and "adult" when they come for YOU, billd766!

[psyvolt]

42 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Too sensible, and we are dealing with Thailand here where logic doesn't apply.

Or it's the stupid farangs that dont know how to follow a very VERY basic rule. Either have 20k or run the risk of no entry. Doesn't take a genious to follow that one

[smedly]

4 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.

I agree but for me the issue is the method, if I was here long term and doing something illegal - showing 20k baht is hardly going to find me out, in fact it is quite the opposite, there really is only one way and that would be to ask me to show my income stream coming from outside Thailand and that would require a little more investigation.

 

It is not hard to identify people that I would investigate further based on their profile, under 50 - multiple border runs - staying here for long periods of time.......red flag, I know lots of people fit this profile and they are here working illegally or doing other more serious stuff to support themselves............some are also over 50, some have been forced to abandon doing visa runs all together and are on long overstay  

[stevenl]

51 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

Nice try at a put down but no cigar. You didn't answer the question about what the lesser amount was for visa-exempt entries (nor did anyone else) simply because you do not know the answer. As usual with your posts you make ridiculous claims out of your blurter without having a clue what you are talking about. I will tell you how much it is based on my personal experience. It is ZERO baht so your ravings about it being a lesser amount than 20,000 baht is pure dribble.

A poor early effort for a Newbie. I only hope you can do better in the future.

Your question was answered in post #62.

[PremiumLane]

So basically what has happened, a few people with lots of tourist visas were pulled over and asked to show money. Some were denied entry. 1 person with an ED visa also had this.

 

TVF blows it out of proportion and the regular posters go into a frothing rage - like flies around sh@t

[curlylekan]

3 hours ago, impulse said:

 

I don't know anyone that loaded that doesn't carry emergency cash.  That AMEX card can take days and days to get replaced in the boondocks, effectively ruining a holiday.

 

Unless, of course, their pilot or their man servant carries the emergency funds.

 

Not sure how you travel, and I'm not loaded but I've done enough traveling and have enough money. I never carry that much cash, it's not helpful. Credit cards/ATM cards etc. are insured. I carry multiple credit cards, hidden in different places, in case one gets stolen. I might keep $200-300 on me, but no more than that, cause it's the easiest way to lose a lot of money that isn't insured. Banks will overnight ATM cards, some for no additional charge, my bank always refunds me the 220 baht that ATM's charge so no matter which way I spin it, to me, that much cash on hand is nonsensical. Also, there have been plenty of stories of people stealing money from another person's carry on luggage, making me wary of a lot of cash on an aircraft. And cash is almost useless in most western countries, so why take it out before arriving at the final destination.

[bkkcanuck8]

43 minutes 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.

Since we are talking here about actual tourist visa holders and not visa exempt status.... The consulate/embassy will ask you for an outgoing ticket OR 20,000 baht.... but the requirement is that they will not accept you pulling out a wad of cash.... it has to be in a bank.   Then these same visa holders go to the border and they are asking for it in cash, not in the bank.   Since people actually working illegally would likely be paid under the table in cash, and typically you would be a little hesitant to actually deposit cash into a bank account as it would be a red flag for working illegally.... the requirement that you prove the funds held in a bank account would seem much more reasonable (which is what you are required to do when you get the visa).   For visa waivers the cash in hand is fine since they have already cracked down on multiple entries on visa waivers and push you to actually get a visa on entry if you want to continue coming into Thailand.  Again, if the amount is deemed too small -- they should just increase the requirement to be something like 30K a month + 20K for the onward ticket (or 30K a month and an onward ticket) -- again in a bank account.  If that bank account is Thai - I would expect that they would look at the transactions to make sure no local deposits make up the balance.  The problem is that what they say, and what their actions are - are at odds with each other....

[psyvolt]

4 minutes ago, PremiumLane said:

So basically what has happened, a few people with lots of tourist visas were pulled over and asked to show money. Some were denied entry. 1 person with an ED visa also had this.

 

TVF blows it out of proportion and the regular posters go into a frothing rage - like flies around sh@t

Of course they do, it's like its an addiction for them to bash anything Thai related (and if it's not, they will somehow make it all about the Thais). Just typical TVF whingers

 

(And now I just wait for the same whinger to call me a Thai apologist.. Soooo predictable)

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, tso310 said:

I wonder how many Chinese tourists could show 2000 baht when entering Thailand.

Doesn't matter does it? They're not digital pikeys or shonky TEFL'ers pulling a flanker on a tourist visa are they?

[golfho]

5 hours ago, champers said:

No money no honey.

 

Actually it should be "no honey no money"

[impulse]

16 minutes ago, curlylekan said:

Not sure how you travel, and I'm not loaded but I've done enough traveling and have enough money. I never carry that much cash, it's not helpful.

 

I carry emergency cash, just like I buy insurance.  There's a high probability I won't need it, but the consequences can be devastating if it's not there when I do.  Lose a wallet, ATM card gets eaten, ID theft gets your cards cancelled- and you'll lose half your holiday getting replacement cards.  Especially in the boondocks.  Bank system gets hacked, or a tsunami, or an extended blackout, and credit cards won't buy your next meal or get you out of the disaster zone.  

 

 

[rexall]

20 minutes ago, notmyself said:

 

That you cannot see how does not mean that it does not happen and this is somewhat akin to the thinking (or lack thereof) strewn all over the place when it comes to finance. People tend to have already paid for many things online/ while booking etc. so the only cash they need is little more than pocket change for snacks any maybe the odd beer. The myopic inward-lookingness of rules such as this and the roughly 6k (GBP) that you need to have in the bank for 6 months in order to obtain an METV show in full glory that the authorities do not know how the world works outside of the kingdom.

It is not "myopic," Notmyself.  It is the irresistible urge to move ahead with a project before actually thinking about it.  You would think that in a culture which places so much value on "face," that they would take pains to avoid looking foolish.  But, no, the urge is indeed irresistible!   

1. I , personally, rarely carry B20,000 in cash around with me. What is that, around US$600?  The fact that I do carry the cash or don't carry it it tells you nothing about my actual financial situation.

2.  Any nogoodnick with evil intent can easily arrange to beg, borrow or steal B20,000 so as to enter Thailand to perpetrate his or her evil plan.  Especially those evil ED visa students!  Scum!  Every single one of 'em!

3.  As I said in another post, best not to be too smug about one's own situation. Over the years there has been a drip, drip, drip of increasingly of tightening regulations or renewed enforcement of existing dormant regulations.  

[Redline]

36 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

But having the attitude to not carrying 20,000 baht equiv and being declined entry is that intelligent?

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

[rexall]

34 minutes ago, kkerry said:

Ever tried using AMEX upcountry in Thailand?  

 

No-one hanging out in say Issan, would be relying solely on AMEX to keep them fed and watered for the duration.

 

 

 

Bulloney!  Granted, Amex is not as universally accepted these days as Visa/MasterCard.  However, you can get cash advance on your Amex in most  ATMs upcountry, and at over the counter at the bank if the ATM is in a bad mood that day.

[canuckamuck]

Thailand... always biting the hand.

[patrick1968]

welcome to Thailand can we see your 20,000 first ?

[rexall]

8 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

Thailand... always biting the hand.

 . . . or some other appendage (which we had better not mention on a family forum!)

[halloween]

Came through Pedang Besar crossing on a tourist visa 2 weeks ago without dramas, but they did look through my passport.What was interesting was that you no longer stand in the queue to the booth. Both ways I was directed to an a/con office and invited to sit while the process was done, on the IN trip handled by a female officer with a lot of brass on the epaulets.

[pattayadgw]

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!!

[juice777]

It's such a joke you apply for your visa and you have to show a bank statement showing you have 20000 but can't show cash. Then you have to show 20000 cash at the border and not a bank statement. You couldn't make it up. I am on a visa run at the moment I've taken out 20000 just in case and printed out extra documents to prove I am not working here. Thanks to Thai visa for the heads up again.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

[5c1n1]

At both Malaysian borders of Sadao and Padang-Besar (Songkhla) there are big blue signs since 1st January 2017 informing about the THB 20.000 cash to show if you are alone, THB 40.000 for a family, for non-immigrant and non-working visas.
For what i know you will have to show THB 20.000 more if you're entering with your own car or motorbike.

I entered last April with ED visa, they gave me possibility to go to a Thai ATM and withdraw required cash. But i was traveling with public transports. I suppose that traveling with a minivan could help avoid carrying all that cash at cheap "tip-tip" price...

[Surasak]

5 hours ago, 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.

 

Tgere lies tge crux of the matter, 'any thinking person'.

[halloween]

1 minute ago, juice777 said:

It's such a joke you apply for your visa and you have to show a bank statement showing you have 20000 but can't show cash. Then you have to show 20000 cash at the border and not a bank statement. You couldn't make it up. I am on a visa run at the moment I've taken out 20000 just in case and printed out extra documents to prove I am not working here. Thanks to This visa for the heads up again.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

Penang only wanted to see a return air ticket, and the guy in the van outside provided me with wifi and printed it for MR12.

[YetAnother]

the 'law' , if you can call it that, is so uneven in thailand; old laws never before enforced, now being so; i pity the folks tripped up on this one

[ukrules]

If I was a mugger / robber I would be hanging around the airport right now as I would know that all foreigners are carrying at least 20,000 Baht in cash.

 

There will be no other place in the world where 1000's of potential victims are all carrying this amount of money - guaranteed !

 

I wonder how many days it will be until the first mugging incident of a newly arrived tourist who hasn't made it to their hotel yet ?

[xtrnuno41]

3 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

the 'law' , if you can call it that, is so uneven in thailand; old laws never before enforced, now being so; i pity the folks tripped up on this one

Here in Holland we still have a law active, you should, when driving a car, have someone walk in front of you with a red flag !!