Taking money out of Thailand

[Paddy]

Hi guys.

I'm very tempted to buy a little place in Jomtien, part investment, part holiday stay. And if the worst came to the worst I could always go and live in it full time. Life could certainly be worse.

But here's my question:

Say I bought this place, as a fully recognised named foreign owner (wouldn't fancy doing it any other way) then in five years (assuming it made some money during that time) I wanted to sell up and take the money out of Thailand. How easy or difficult would that be? Any ideas or stories?

Sorry. I should have probably UTFSE but (a) I forgot and (b) I can't be arsed. Even so, any input would be very helpful. Thanks.

[shark1963]

You have to transfer the money from outside thailand to a bank account in thailand. Remark on the transfer that the sum is transfered for the reason to buy a house,condo .... etc. also their is form you have to use for this declaration. So you can take this money out of thiland again. But i dont know i.e. what it is like you ask say transfer 100k $$ or whatever to buy a house and sold it again for 120k $$. Not sure whats about the difference the 100 k out is no problem as you have this amount declarated.

[urtheman]

Originally Posted by shark1963

You have to transfer the money from outside thailand to a bank account in thailand. Remark on the transfer that the sum is transfered for the reason to buy a house,condo .... etc. also their is form you have to use for this declaration. So you can take this money out of thiland again. But i dont know i.e. what it is like you ask say transfer 100k $$ or whatever to buy a house and sold it again for 120k $$. Not sure whats about the difference the 100 k out is no problem as you have this amount declarated.

You defitnately have to set up an offshore account.

Depending on your age buying might be more problematic than simply getting a 30 year lease or go freehold. It all depends if you want a house or a condo. There are some nice condo developments going on in that part.
You will have to live at least one month there to get to know the place, meet the professionals you can trust, look at all the options and then make a decision.

Good luck!

[Crustasian]

If you want to send money out most banks will be happy to oblige.

Other plan is change it from Thai Baht to USD or Euro or etc and walk it out.

I believe Western Union are also able to do it.

[Paddy]

Thanks for all the input guys.

Urtheman, in an ideal world, I'm sure you're right about needing to spend at least a month there beforehand - but can I probe you a bit further on it? I've been to Patts loads of times but never for longer than two weeks. I feel I have a fairly good handle on what the place is like, plus I have a mate based permanently in Jomtien who's promised to help me out with various legalities, the bureaucracy and keeping an eye on any building work etc. (By the way, there's also a BG from soi 8 who says she'd be delighted to help in any way possible - yeah, right!) On that note, I should probably add that I don't go there for P4P and no other reason. Sure, I do my share and I love those TGs, but above all else I just love being in Thailand. Feels like home.

Another consideration is, I'm a wage slave and if I was to spend four weeks there, or anywhere, that would use up pretty much all my holiday time for a whole year.

So mate, what I'm asking is, do you think I could do what has to be done to buy a place in a couple of weeks, then do the rest by phone and email? I guess you're going to say - up to you, it's your risk. But can I ask you to refine your response and either say - two weeks, completely out of the question, or two weeks, just about doable?

Sorry lads, I ain 't finished with the pesky questions!

Crustasian, are you saying that if I had an account with a big global bank (which I do, Citibank) and I finally got round to selling the place that I'd bought, I could just pay a cheque into it in LOS and withdraw it anywhere, no problem?

Sorry to ask so many dull questions guys - especially about something that is still just a theory! But as I'm sure you'll appreciate, it's essential to know these things.

Thanks again.

[Nicke]

You should in any case get a bank statement of the money you received in Thailand from abroad from your Thai bank. To transfer out the same amount of money is never a problem.

I dont know what limits they have now or what amount is OK and what is not. But I once had a friend who had trouble to send out money and he had to show the invoice for that payment.

I guess it can differ a lot between banks and branches.

I dont think small amounts of money is any problem, and you can also use your ATM and withdraw money in other countriesr or carry away with cash.

Maybe best to ask the bank you intend to use, of the current rules/regulations.

[alibaba]

I sent 2 million baht out via Siam Commercial bank.
They let me send out 5 thousand US.dollars at a time, once a week and they put on the transfer note that it was for living expenses??
I tried to send it out with B/Kok bank and got the run around.

[stevem]

I just used the ATM to move money out of the country. It only cost 4000 baht per million baht withdrawn, no need to involve anyone.