Moving money in and out: FX and FET rules

The inbound rules and the FET

Foreign currency can be brought into Thailand freely, but inbound transfers at or above the reporting threshold, USD 50,000 or equivalent, are reported by the receiving bank to the Bank of Thailand, historically via the form known as the Thor Tor 3 and now generally as the foreign exchange transaction, or FET, record. The bank records who sent the funds, in what currency, and for what purpose.

The purpose declaration is not bureaucratic decoration. For a condominium purchase, the FET trail is legally load-bearing: the Land Department requires evidence that the purchase price was remitted into Thailand in foreign currency by the foreign buyer before it will register foreign ownership, and the FET record is that evidence. Send the money in baht, or route it through the wrong name, and you can find yourself unable to register the unit you have paid for. The practical rules: remit in foreign currency and let the Thai bank convert, put the buyer's name on the transfer, state the purpose as a condominium purchase with the unit identified where possible, and keep the credit advice and FET record permanently.

Foreign currency deposit accounts

You do not have to convert on arrival. Thai banks offer foreign currency deposit, or FCD, accounts to foreigners with proper status, in the major currencies. Funds can sit in USD, EUR, GBP or others onshore, converting to baht when you choose. The uses are practical: holding a property purchase amount while contracts settle, keeping optionality on the exchange rate, receiving foreign income onshore without immediate conversion, and simplifying an eventual outbound transfer since the funds never became baht. Interest is modest and fees vary by bank, but for anyone moving serious money on their own timetable, an FCD account is a standard part of the toolkit. Note that funds in an onshore FCD account have still been brought into Thailand, which matters for the remittance tax analysis covered in our separate briefing.

Getting money out: evidence is everything

Outbound is where the system shows its teeth. Thai banks will remit abroad, but for anything beyond modest amounts they require documentary evidence of both the source of the funds and the purpose of the transfer, under Bank of Thailand rules that give banks the compliance burden and therefore make them conservative.

The pattern is symmetrical: the FET record created when money arrived is the key that unlocks its exit. Sellers who cannot produce the original inbound trail face a slower, more discretionary process, sometimes needing tax clearance style comfort or escalation within the bank. This is the single best argument for filing discipline at purchase time, years before anyone contemplates selling.

Practical thresholds and frictions

• USD 50,000 equivalent is the inbound reporting line at which the FET record is generated; below it, ask the bank to document the purpose anyway if the funds relate to property.
• Physical currency crossing the border must be declared above set limits, USD 15,000 equivalent for foreign currency inbound or outbound, with baht subject to lower outbound limits to neighbouring countries.
• Banks apply their own internal thresholds at which enhanced questions start, often well below regulatory lines, and these vary by institution and even branch.
• Exchange rates and transfer fees differ meaningfully between banks and channels; on large transfers, a negotiated rate through a relationship manager or the bank's dealing room is worth a phone call, as the spread on a standard retail conversion is material at scale.
• Cross-border transfers in baht are restricted; the working currency for moving money in and out is always a major foreign currency.

Rules and thresholds here are the general framework; banks layer their own policies on top and these shift with the Bank of Thailand's AML posture. On any single large transfer, confirm the current requirements with the specific bank before initiating.

Designing the flow before the first transfer

Families who handle this well treat money movement as a designed system: the right account opened before funds move, each inbound transfer named and documented for its eventual purpose, FCD accounts used where timing or currency optionality matters, and every FET record archived as carefully as a title deed. Asia Global Partners sets this up as part of a family's arrival, working with relationship managers we know at each bank, so that when a principal needs eight figures moved, in either direction, the answer is a day's process rather than a month's correspondence.

This briefing is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Thai rules change frequently and individual cases differ. Verify current requirements with the relevant authorities, including the Immigration Bureau, the Board of Investment, the Land Department, the Department of Business Development and the Revenue Department, and take advice on your own facts before acting.