Currency Import Limits

[Guest]

Thanks to Bao Bao's blog, (blog) I just realised there's a 50,000 baht limit on undeclared currency imports. That's quite a small sum!

 

I wonder if anyone has experience of the process for declaring cash imports and the corresponding limits? Does one just walk through the red channel, fill in a simple form & carry on within minutes?

[Bob]

Thanks to Bao Bao's blog, (blog) I just realised there's a 50,000 baht limit on undeclared currency imports. That's quite a small sum!

 

You've got the wrong number there (the number you mention only applies to exports of Thai currency). There's a difference under the Thai law about bringing currency in or out and there's a difference if you bring or take Thai baht or a foreign currency.

 

For Thai baht, you have to declare if you're taking out more than 50,000 baht (why anybody would want to take that much Thai baht out is beyond me). If you want to take out more than 50,000 Thai baht, you need to declare it at customs before you leave. The Thai website (customs) lists no limit for the amount of Thai baht you can bring into Thailand so apparently you would have nothing to report on that occasion.

 

For a foreign currency, you can bring in or take out any amount less than $20,000 (US dollar value - which currently means about 600,000 Thai baht) without declaring anything. If you want to bring in or take out more than that in a foreign currency (and I presume it's all foreign currencies lumped together in case you have more than one foreign currency), you need to declare it at customs.

 

I've never had to report anything because I've never physically transported that large a sum of foreign currency in or out of Thailand - and it's difficult for me to understand why anybody would want to do it (it's unsafe to carry huge sums and it's much easier and no reporting is required by yourself if you simply wire the funds in or out).

 

The Thai Customs websites does list some severe penalties (fines exceeding the currency amount and apparently some possible jail time). You'd have to be nuts to flaunt this law (nuts to carry $20,000+ on your person and nuts to risk losing even more than that).

[Guest fountainhall]

For Thai baht, you have to declare if you're taking out more than 50,000 baht (why anybody would want to take that much Thai baht out is beyond me)

I have a Baht account in Hong Kong, and so I sometimes take more than the limit. I don't wish to maintain a large supply of Baht in Thailand because of the difficulties getting it out should anything happen to me.

[Guest buckeroo2]

I've never had to report anything because I've never physically transported that large a sum of foreign currency in or out of Thailand - and it's difficult for me to understand why anybody would want to do it (it's unsafe to carry huge sums and it's much easier and no reporting is required by yourself if you simply wire the funds in or out).

 

I have been carrying out US$ 20,000 everytime I leave Thailand - the legal limit. I will continue to do this until I am able to get all of the money I want to take back to the States. I am not sure where you bank but I have inquired at various Thai banks including SCB where I have had an account for 12 years and they do not allow foreigners to wire money outside of Thailand unless the money was wired into Thailand for the purchase of property and the documents must be presented to the bank showing this transfer in. That particular method does not fit my situation. I certainly understand the perils of carrying large amounts of cash but after exploring my options it seems to be the only one that works for me. I do not have to declare this money to Thai customs as I am within the legal limit and I do declare it to US Customs as I am not trying to avoid taxes - so far I have done it 3 times and US Customs does not make me fill out any paperwork. They ask me the source of the money and advise me to be careful and I am on my way. But I am nervous until I get to my U.S. bank and I am careful telling people about my travel plans. I wish I had a more secure way to move money but Thailand will not allow me to wire transfer my money out of my Thai bank acount into my U.S. bank account.

[Bob]

I have a Baht account in Hong Kong, and so I sometimes take more than the limit. I don't wish to maintain a large supply of Baht in Thailand because of the difficulties getting it out should anything happen to me.

 

Out of curiosity only, can you open in Hong Kong an account with Chinese yuan without any hassle and would you know what interest rates they pay? Given one can expect (hope?) that the yuan will appreciate to the US dollar about 5-6% a year, some interest on top of that might make it interesting.

 

Also, do you know if there's any hassle or issue of wiring those funds back to the US or UK?

[Bob]

I have been carrying out US$ 20,000 everytime I leave Thailand - the legal limit.

 

Wow, that's gotta be fairly rare. Given your commments seem to indicate the funds were not involved in a real estate deal, could you give us an idea why all that money was brought here in the first place? (no problem if you don't wish to comment as it's none of our - or my - business in the first place).

[Guest fountainhall]

Out of curiosity only, can you open in Hong Kong an account with Chinese yuan without any hassle and would you know what interest rates they pay? . . . Also, do you know if there's any hassle or issue of wiring those funds back to the US or UK?

Presently only Hong Kong residents (i.e. those with Permanent Residence status) can open Yuan/Renminbi deposit accounts.

 

http://www.hsbc.com.hk/1/2/hk/banking/rmb

 

If you want to deposit a reasonably large sum, one way round this might be for you to form a company in Hong Kong (costs around US$1,000 plus a little each year for accounts, audit and formal tax filing). That may sound an odd way to go about it, but you don't need to be a resident of Hong Kong to be the owner of a limited company there. Plus you only need one director who does not need to live there - so you can live in Thailand and still be the sole director and shareholder. Hong Kong corporate tax regulations permit lots of allowances. So you can have a contract with yourself and not only pay yourself a salary, but also an allowance for your Thailand accommodation. Both will be tax deductible. These can more than offset whatever interest you are earning so you end up paying no tax. Also moving funds in and out of Hong Kong is incredibly easy and you can do it on the internet.

 

Sorry I do not know the rates. There is usually a small variation between banks, with HSBC often offering the least competitive rates. I'd try the Bank of East Asia.

 

Another possibility to gain the advantage of the expected rise in the currency would be to invest in a bunch of conservative H shares on the Hong Kong Stock Market. These are shares in Chinese companies which are listed on the Hong Kong Exchange and priced in Hong Kong dollars (which is linked to a virtually fixed rate against the US$).

 

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hshares.asp

[Guest buckeroo2]

Wow, that's gotta be fairly rare. Given your commments seem to indicate the funds were not involved in a real estate deal, could you give us an idea why all that money was brought here in the first place? (no problem if you don't wish to comment as it's none of our - or my - business in the first place).

I've never had to report anything because I've never physically transported that large a sum of foreign currency in or out of Thailand - and it's difficult for me to understand why anybody would want to do it (it's unsafe to carry huge sums and it's much easier and no reporting is required by yourself if you simply wire the funds in or out).

I never said I brought any money into Thailand. I only said that I wanted to wire money out of Thailand. The details are not relevant but it is not property related. You said that you did not understand why anyone would want to carry large amounts of cash when it is much easier and no reporting is required by yourself if you simple wire the funds in and out. No mention in the original post said anything about property - just a discussion of how much one can legally carry out of Thailand. You said that it is very easy to wire money in and out of Thailand. I was hoping you were going to point me in a direction about which I was not aware. I have not found it possible to wire money out of Thailand. I thought maybe you knew of a Thail bank that wires money out of Thailand for foreigners. Actually a friend did offer to take me HK to do a wire transfer. He said wiring money from HK to the U.S. is quite easy but I thought it safer to carry the moeny on my person rather than deposit in muy friend's HK account and trust that he would then wire it to my U.S. bank account. I would rather take my chances on being robbed by a stranger than by someone I know.

[Bob]

You said that it is very easy to wire money in and out of Thailand. I was hoping you were going to point me in a direction about which I was not aware.

 

Not sure I said it was easy and I really don't know all that much about wiring money out, having only done it in that direction (Thailand to the US) once. It was 3-4 years ago and it involved somewhat less than $20,000.00 (US value) and all I remember is I went to SCB with my US bank account information a couple of days before I went home, gave them some information and signed some forms, and the money was in my US account when I got home. Only time I've done it in that direction.

 

On the other hand - as may be more typical - I've wired funds over to my SCB account many times and that's pretty easy. Usually $20,000.00 at a time (just a number I randomly selected, not because of any particular rule). I tend to send larger amounts less often because my US bank charges me $40.00 to do the transfer regardless of the amount.

[Guest]

You've got the wrong number there (the number you mention only applies to exports of Thai currency).

 

Here's what it says on the Thai customs website "The following is a list (non-exhaustive) of prohibited or restricted merchandises and infractions:

* undeclared, unreported or smuggled merchandise (e.g., goods undeclared by passengers entering Thailand, unreported currency over Baht 50,000, etc.);"

 

Customs Website

 

Actually it doesn't explicitly say whether the currency limit applies for imports or exports, but it's easy to assume it's imports when reading it quickly, even if it doesn't strictly say that! Mr Bao Bao reached the same conclusion.

Do you know where I can find official text which clarifies these rules?

 

I've created a new thread for the Hong Kong discussions.

[Bob]

Here's the language directly from the Thai Customs Department website:

 

Foreign Currency

 

The travelers bringing foreign currency more than USD 20,000 or its equivalent into or out of Thailand are required to make a report to Customs. This report is required by the

[Guest]

Thank you!

 

Incidentally, one of the comments on the Bao Bao blog state's there's a CCTV screen at the entrance to each immigration area, showing the queue at the OTHER immigration area. That could be a top tip for minimising time to enter the country.