Maximum Cash Into Thailand?

[Big Boy]

Sorry to have to ask this question, but being poor I don't normally have to worry.

When we travel to Thailand next week, we have a friend travelling with us. She wants to bring her money in cash, and needs to know:

What is the maximum amount of British Sterling she is legally allowed to bring in to Thailand with her?

[dtaai-maai]

Do I recall someone saying that you could bring 20k US dollars in cash...? It was something to do with Chinese (?) businessmen a few months back.

(Edit) By the way, I think there's also a limit as to how much cash you can take out of the UK - can't tell you what it is, though.

[Big Boy]

Thanks DM.

I do remember the $20K being in existence before, when they kindly witheld 1/3 of money be transferred to a bank from outside of Thailand, so I suppose it would follow that they wouldn't allow you to bring more than that in cash. However, now that the ceiling on Bank Transfers has been lifted, is there a higher ceiling on cash?

I know there is a ceiling on money out of the UK - I'll start researching that now.

[Jockey]

Yes its 20,000 Us Dollars http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/tourist ... 21162.html

[Big Boy]

That's brilliant Jockey, thank you very much

[sandman67]

if shes bringing 10 grand in in sterling thats one hell of a holiday shes planning

[Big Boy]

She sure is - unfortunately, she's only travelling with until she gets to Thailand. She will be going up to Khon Kaen, and we will be travelling to Hua Hin.

I know for a fact that she won't have to worry about how much money she can legally take out of Thailand, because she won't have very much left.

[dtaai-maai]

I know for a fact that she won't have to worry about how much money she can legally take out of Thailand, because she won't have very much left.

But you should still check how much she can legally take out of the UK - hold on...

Whilst it may be true that there is no legal limit on the amount of cash that you can take out of the country nor any requirement to declare taking the cash, if you are carrying more than £1000, you can be asked by HM Customs to prove where the money came from. If the officer is not satisfied with your explanation of where it came from or what it is to be used for, the money can be confiscated and you will then have to prove to the authorities that it is yours and that it was not going to be used for any illegal transaction before getting it back.

It has been suggested in another thread that taking a bank statement with you will be sufficient to prove this. When I asked the helpline about this, I was told that it is solely at the discretion of the officer on the day and that there is no specific document that will provide the proof that they require. An officer simply declaring that in his opinion he believed that the money was to be used for illegal purposes is apparently sufficient for confiscation.

The rules on carrying cash out of the UK are to be changed in June when ian additional regulation comes into force whereby it will be mandatory to declare taking more than the £ equivalent of 10,000 Euros out of the country.

Obviously this is far from gospel, but it looks like something you need to make sure of.

[Super Joe]

spoke to someone who had 3k sterling taken off them at manc chester airport last christmas

he had to apply for it when he got back

maybe having some bank statements, as someone said above, will do the trick ?
.

[doggie]

in scandinavia ( denmark ) its 10,000 euro

[Big Boy]

dtaai-maai,

There's only one thing I can say to that - OUCH!!

That's an excellent piece of detective work. Would you mind telling me where you sourced it please? I must admit that when I read Jockey's link, I stopped looking.

Having said all of that, you've got to be very unlucky to get caught. I've been out of the country hundreds of times, and not once has any official asked me how much money I'm carrying. I must either look very honest or very poor

This could very well curtail my friends plans to party

[dtaai-maai]

Answered by PM, BB.



Of course, you could offer to split the money up between all your family members...

[Super Joe]

big boy,

this may not suit your friend's plans but she can get a better exchange rate from a telegraphic transfer than from cash exchanges here
can she not tt to your account, or hers if she has one

this way theres none of the problems associated with carrying that amount of cash, i guess her plans would be mucked up big time if some jobsworth confiscated it at the uk airport

or what about travellers cheques
.

[dtaai-maai]

I expect you've got there by now, but just in case...

Declaring cash when entering or leaving the UK

(Download options for this document)

From 15 June 2007, if you are travelling to or from a country outside the European Union (EU), you will need to declare any sums of cash of 10,000 Euro or more (or the equivalent in another currency) to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

You do not need to declare cash if you are travelling to or from another EU country.

The relevant page of the UK Revenue & Customs Service website is at

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPort ... e=document

[Big Boy]

Thanks dtaai-maai, you've been really on my behalf today. No I hadn't got there first - I've not long returned home from a doctors appointment.

Much appreciated