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

[YetAnother]

2 minutes ago, xtrnuno41 said:

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 !!

i would love to see a video of some folks actually following that law

[YetAnother]

7 minutes ago, ukrules said:

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 ?

i have been thinking the same thing; imagine all these greasy guys, likely in teams or gangs, hanging around the exit points of immigration; nice

[balo]

The taxi mafia around the airports can now charge a lot more , they will know all passengers are filled up with 20k cash . Or maybe they can just rob them , a lot easier.  

[theguyfromanotherforum]

15 hours ago, ravip said:

20K Baht is only about 594 USD which I don't think is an astronomical amount to have in your pocket. Yes, a credit card is useful, but how would you prove to the immigration officer at the counter that you have sufficient credit therein or for that matter the card is really working?

 

This applies not only to TH but internationally. 

 

Edit:  being asked to show 20,000 baht in CASH when entering Thailand - where is the problem here, REALLY?

 

 

So, you and other posters think that most people who don't want to carry cash with them are cheap charlies? Are you one of those posters?

 

Personally, every time I travel I do carry over that amount, but I don't think a bunch of drivers near the Laos and other border towns need to know that every single tourist is carrying 20,000 baht in cash thus making them an easy target,

 

It's 2017, not 1977.... and like it or not we are moving towards cashless society. 

 

Also, I watched those airport border TV shows from Canada UK and Australia and every single immigration officer was satisfied with an online bank account statement accessible from the phone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wake Up]

5 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

This law has always been on the books but has rarely been used.   This is all part of The Big Pumpkins drive to chase us all away as the Bogeymen of Thailand.   Xenophobic attitude of this man is all consuming as he is terrified of Foreigners.

Might it have something to do with people living here on tourist visas and nothing to do with Xenophobic attitudes? Always someone to blame when you don't like the government policy. Try getting a visa to live here instead. As a O-A visa holder I don't feel they are terrified of me or Xenophobic. 

[BuckBee]

5 hours ago, action said:

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

 

5 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Yes, the mental disconnect on those two things -- having cash in the pocket as being proof you're not working locally --  is startling.  But then, making correct mental connections is rarely a big attribute of those in authority here.

 

While it long way from proof you not illegally working it does hit a lot of the low income illegal working farang who find just the expense of a border trip bankrupting them lol .

Use to be hundreds of illegal working farang border running everyday from bangkok but less work less money and less flexible visa routes has seen most of them off.

Looking at what was Jack Golfs visa service and know under new owners as Bangkok Buddy shows the decline, they use take a tour coach to poipet full mainly of boiler boys etc 7 days a week, now it a 10 seat minivan 2 or 3 times a week lol .

Last time I was in Savannakhet, young scruffy European was having hard time supplying bank docs and flight tickets proof etc, mainly as too lazy do any due diligence before coming and second reason he close to penniless and working illegally in telephone sales operation in Bangkok ( he spoke to me for advise as was in a mess)

Seems to me cash requirement works to an extent, what you got remember is first priority to thailand when entering is money second priority is whether you illegally working, if you got money they'll give you the chance of losing it all then kick you out .

 

Main downside/concern I see is safety aspect of carry 20K plus cash, that big money to the dodgy scum on land borders etc and going increase risk of robbings and bag thefts drastically .

In age of computer banking and debit/credit cards is against the trend to have large amounts of cash . 

Personally I feel better visa application rules and universally same requirement of proof at application of visas would save a lot of mess at immigration counters but that requires planning and working efficiently with no back handers agents etc so not a lot likely work well either lol .

 

[Wake Up]

This is not your country. You are a visitor subject to the rules that favor Thai citizens. If you want to be the center of the universe go home. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 minutes ago, BuckBee said:

Main downside/concern I see is safety aspect of carry 20K plus cash, that big money to the dodgy scum on land borders etc and going increase risk of robbings and bag thefts drastically .

In age of computer banking and debit/credit cards is against the trend to have large amounts of cash . 

 

I agree... It's like putting a sign on the back of farang tourist border crossers. Come and rob me somewhere on my journey... at least 20,000 baht per head. Easy pickings.

[PhuketSarah]

6 hours ago, JAG said:

" People trying to enter with history of tourist visa entries appear to be the ones under the most amount of scrutiny. ED visa holders also are also the subject of similar scrutiny."

Hardly surprising is it?

That is what Type O and B Non Immigrant visas are for.

I got held up at Pedang Besar  last week and asked to show 20,000 THB - on a "O" retirement -I didn't have it, but did have a bank book showing 90,000 so  then he wanted me to enter Thailand WITHOUT A STAMP and go to the  bank to update my book. I said no way and let's call Bankgok- he backed off- Also gave me grief over  passing the border twice on the same day. 

[Joebuzz]

6 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Asking tourists to show they have the means to support themselves is fair enough. I have read of reports though when a person without the cash has been refused the opportunity to go to the ATM to withdraw the required monies. That is utterly wrong.

True, we should do that in America, $20K in DOLLARS!

[balo]

12 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

It's 2017, not 1977.... and like it or not we are moving towards cashless society. 

 

Also, I watched those airport border TV shows from Canada UK and Australia and every single immigration officer was satisfied with an online bank account statement accessible from the phone.

 

And that's what I will continue doing , I have more than 1 million baht in my accounts , they can have access to my online bank statements anytime. 

They can try to deny me entry next time and I will make sure it will be head line news . 

 

 

 

 

[ukrules]

26 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

i have been thinking the same thing; imagine all these greasy guys, likely in teams or gangs, hanging around the exit points of immigration; nice

That's what's going to happen, it's just a matter of when.

[observer90210]

I always carry cash that I change at the money changing booths at Suvarna....much better value then the ripoff exchange rates and foreign exchange transaction fee charged by Mastercard, my credit card company back here in Europe....

[jonclark]

15 minutes ago, Wake Up said:

This is not your country. You are a visitor subject to the rules that favor Thai citizens. If you want to be the center of the universe go home. 

Spoke like a true fool.

 

Looks like wakeup is speaking while sleepin. 

 

I think the point eveeyone one us missing is this. If the alledged 25 million tourists had to each carry 20k and get that 20k Thai baht outside of Thailand before entry. That is going to require foreign banks to seriously stock up on Thai baht. 

[notmyself]

26 minutes ago, rexall said:

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.  

 

Good post.

 

 

[jackinthai]

Does it have to be Thai baht,or will a wad of cash in a foreign currency suffice???

[Lingba]

another Thai clusterfcuk situation

 

[dbrenn]

20k isn't all that much for holiday spending money, even for a low budget backpacker.

[ukrules]

15 minutes ago, jackinthai said:

Does it have to be Thai baht,or will a wad of cash in a foreign currency suffice???

It can be any currency.

 

Buying Thai Baht abroad tends to be quite a bit more expensive, in the UK it was 10% more expensive the last time I got some but that was more than 10 years ago.

 

[jhonnie]

5 hours ago, mangpono said:

Just curious, as I can't remember - are there ATMs at Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi after you get off the plan and before immigration, so one can hit up the ATM before getting in the immigration queue if you feel the need or for peace of mind?

i would have thought so at Suvarnabhumi as embarking and departing passengers mix in the duty free areas as do they in Changi airport in Singapore where there are definitely ATMs, however in Don Muang arrivals are segregated from departures and i don't think  i have ever seen any ATM machines airside there 

[balo]

Just bring a bunch of  Zimbabwean dollars next time , they are worth nothing,  $50 billion is 33 US cent. 

Tell immigration you're a millionaire and they will not even try to count the bills. 

 

[ndreamer]

4 minutes ago, dbrenn said:

20k isn't all that much for holiday spending money, even for a low budget backpacker.

Maybe but you could stretch that to a month stay or more if you had to. Plenty of cheap 200-350 hotels and cheap food.

It's a pain carrying that much cash for me, the places I visit only have banks if your lucky, which rip you in conversion fees. 

 

 

 

 

[Pattaya46]

6 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

This law has always been on the books but has rarely been used.   //

 

Sorry to not read all the 18 pages () of this topic,

but wasn't the requirement only 10'000 baht ?

 

Article displayed in 1st message seems to be about one person, not a family

 

Edit:

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15380-Questions-&-Answers-on-Thai-Visa.html

"at least 10,000 Baht per person or 20,000 Baht per family"

[mickeymiles]

When I did a border run at Mae Sot 2 years ago with a legit tourist visa from London, a young immigration officer stamping me out was extremely rude and said we do not want you type of tourists in our country :-) Begrudgingly he stamped me out of Thailand.

Returning over the bridge back into Thailand a much older immigration official was very polite and kind and stamped me in with my tourist visa.

 

The thing that makes me not want to return to Thailand is the fact that there is no consistency and it is now a massive gamble to fly there even if you have done everything required of you.

 

I hope the neighbouring countries like Myanmar will become more tourist friendly so as to avoid Thailand altogether.

[crazydrummerpauly]

7 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?

Yes but why does it have to be in CASH when the OP was able to show substantial funds on deposit ?

[The Teacher]

Hahahahahahahahahahaha their making sure all tourists are properly cached up, really if you want to get fleeced this is a good start

[coulson]

If you can't put your hands on evidence of 20k to appease a dumb as a box of nails immigration policy that changes with the wind, then you might be glad to be turned away as you're shoestring budget could go farther in neighbouring countries.

For the majority who can, it's just more monkey business at usual.

[Pattaya46]

2 minutes ago, coulson said:

For the majority who can, it's just more monkey business at usual.

 

You mean that you always have more than 20'000 baht in *cash* on you ?

Sorry, but I am from the credit card generation, so I don't,

Also I fail to see the relation between the cash I have and my whole budget

[coulson]

 

You mean that you always have more than 20'000 baht in *cash* on you ?

Sorry, but I am from the credit card generation, so I don't,

Also I fail to see the relation between the cash I have and my whole budget

 

I never have 20k in my wallet at immigration. I can always very easily prove I'm good for it. If they turn me back without cash then the airlines will start to have a problem.

 

The budget thing I was referring to backpackers, who aside from the actual targets of this new rule being illegal workers, will be the ones struggling. Some people passing through may not have a 20k budget to get through a stint in Thailand, they're the poor gits who will suffer.....along with the rest of us who wait in line while they muck around at the immigration counter.

 

Similar scenario, my folks came to visit last year, both staying at my place but they didn't have my address information and couldn't contact me due to dead phone battery. The officer dragged a pair of 65+ tourists around in front of everyone, forced them to make a booking in some sh1thole hotel just to fill in the form. The whole experience was distressing for them after a long haul, and yet another delay to everyone else in the queue.

 

So that's my second point, this is not good news, it just means more delays for EVERYONE on arrival.

 

Monkey business as usual.

 

[CRUNCHER]

Last year, when traveling in Europe, my credit card got scammed and I had to cancel it.  Because I was traveling it took over a week to replace.  Without a wad of cash I would have been in real trouble, not the least paying for hotels.

 

I make good use of my credit card, but when acting the tourist it makes sense to have some cash just in case.