Transferring Money Out of Thailand: Rules, Limits & Fees

Transferring Money Out of Thailand: Rules, Limits & Fees

Thailand has no blanket cap on how much money you can send abroad, but the Bank of Thailand (BOT) requires paperwork once the amount gets serious. The key trigger is the FET form (Foreign Exchange Transaction form), which your bank automatically issues on any inbound transfer of USD 50,000 or more (~฿1,650,000) and reports to BOT. That same FET is the document you will need years later if you sell a condo and want to send the proceeds back out. Outbound wires themselves typically cost ฿700–3,000+ once you add the sending bank's fee, the FX markup and any correspondent-bank deduction.

Quick answer: the rules at a glance

• No fixed limit on outbound transfers for legitimate purposes; larger amounts just need more paperwork.
• FET form threshold: USD 50,000+ inbound — the receiving Thai bank issues it automatically and files it with BOT.
• Repatriating condo-sale proceeds needs three documents: the original FET (or credit note) from when the purchase money arrived, the Land Office sale agreement, and the Land Office tax receipt.
• Since late December 2025, banks apply enhanced documentation checks on inbound transfers of USD 200,000 or more — a separate, stricter tier above the standard FET threshold.
• Bank SWIFT wires run roughly ฿400–800 in bank fees plus a 2–4% FX markup; Wise charges about 0.5–1% at the mid-market rate with no hidden spread.
• Sending money out is a currency-control matter, not automatically a tax event — but if the funds are foreign income you remitted into Thailand after 1 Jan 2024, Thai remittance tax may already apply on the way in.

The basic rule: exchange control, not a ban

Thailand runs a managed exchange-control regime under the Bank of Thailand, not a capital lockdown. You can move foreign currency in and out for legitimate purposes — savings, family support, investment, or the proceeds of a legal sale — without special permission for ordinary amounts. What changes as the number climbs is documentation, since banks file large flows with BOT to catch money laundering and undeclared capital flight, not to block genuine transfers.

For inbound money, the practical dividing line is USD 50,000. Below that, a standard SWIFT transfer into your Thai account usually just needs a stated purpose. At or above it, the receiving bank issues an FET form automatically and files it with BOT. Since roughly the end of December 2025, several legal-advisory sources report a stricter second checkpoint: inbound transfers of USD 200,000 or more now trigger deeper documentation review at the counter. Treat that figure as directionally correct but confirm current practice with your bank or bot.or.th before moving anything near that size — it's still mostly law-firm-blog sourced rather than a BOT circular.

What the FET form actually does

The FET form (formerly Thor Tor 3 / ต.ท.3) is your paper trail proving that money now sitting in a Thai bank account originally came from abroad in foreign currency. It matters far beyond the day it's issued: it's the document banks and the Land Department later demand before letting you take an equivalent amount back out tax-free. Lose it, and repatriating that money later gets complicated — banks have no other clean way to confirm you didn't simply move baht around domestically.

See the FET form glossary entry for the mechanics of receiving one, and FET forms for a condo purchase if you're bringing money in rather than sending it out.

Fees for sending money out of Thailand

Outbound bank wires are not expensive by international standards, but they stack three separate charges: the bank's own fee, a correspondent or receiving-bank deduction you don't control, and the FX spread against the mid-market rate.

Source: Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn Bank official fee pages, accessed 2026-07-10; Wise Help Centre, accessed 2026-07-10 · verified July 2026 · ฿33/USD. Correspondent-bank deductions on SWIFT transfers are common and outside the sending bank's control.

On a $10,000 transfer, Bangkok Bank's commission alone runs about $25 plus the ฿400 outward fee, before any correspondent bank on the receiving side takes its own cut and before the FX spread. Wise skips the spread entirely, which is why it beats bank wires on cost for routine transfers — see the Wise vs Revolut comparison and the Thai bank fee comparison. For amounts that need an FET-backed paper trail, such as a condo sale, banks remain the more conventional route since they're set up to attach the required documents to a regulated SWIFT payment.

Repatriating condo-sale proceeds: the three-document rule

Selling a condo and sending the money home is the single most document-heavy outbound transfer an expat will ever make, and it is where people get stuck years after the fact. To move sale proceeds out in foreign currency and avoid it being treated as an undocumented domestic transfer, your bank will typically ask for:

1. The original FET form (or bank credit note) issued when the purchase money first arrived in Thailand — proof the funds you're repatriating trace back to a foreign-currency inflow.
2. The Land Office sale agreement, stamped at the time of transfer.
3. The Land Office tax receipt, showing the transfer fee and any withholding tax on the sale were paid.

If the sale price is higher than the original purchase price, the gain portion can usually still go out, but the bank will want tax-paid evidence from the Land Department transfer receipt covering that gain. If you cannot produce the original FET — a common problem after 5–10 years of ownership — repatriation gets significantly harder and may need additional bank-level justification or professional help. Keep the FET, sale agreement and tax receipt together, in paper and cloud backup, from the day you buy. This sits alongside your broader banking setup — see opening a Thai bank account and foreign currency deposit (FCD) accounts if you want to hold proceeds in USD, GBP or EUR before deciding when to convert.

Does sending money out trigger Thai tax?

Not by itself. Exchange control and Thai personal income tax are separate systems — the FET form and BOT reporting threshold track currency flows, not tax liability. Whether you owe tax depends on whether the money was ever assessable foreign income remitted into Thailand while you were a tax resident under the current Por 161/162 remittance rule (effective 1 January 2024) — see the remittance tax status tracker and was the remittance tax repealed?. Condo-sale proceeds instead involve Land Department transfer taxes and withholding paid at the point of sale, documented by the tax receipt in your repatriation file.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much money can I send out of Thailand at once?

There's no hard cap for a legitimate transfer, but paperwork steps up with size. Below roughly USD 50,000 a stated purpose usually suffices; at USD 50,000 and above the bank issues an FET-linked filing; since late 2025, USD 200,000 and above brings extra scrutiny. Amounts tied to a specific event, like a condo sale, need the matching paper trail regardless of size.

What is an FET form and why do I need it to send money out later?

The FET (Foreign Exchange Transaction) form is issued by a Thai bank when USD 50,000 or more arrives from abroad, and it is filed with the Bank of Thailand as proof the money originated overseas. Banks and the Land Department later require it — alongside a sale agreement and tax receipt for property — before letting you send an equivalent amount back out without extra hassle.

How do I get my money out after selling a Thai condo?

Bring your bank the original FET form (or credit note) from the purchase, the Land Office-stamped sale agreement, and the Land Office tax receipt showing transfer taxes were paid. With all three, the bank can process an outbound SWIFT transfer for the proceeds. Losing the original FET is the most common reason repatriation stalls.

Is Wise cheaper than a bank wire for sending money out of Thailand?

For routine transfers without FET documentation attached, yes — Wise charges roughly 0.5–1% at the mid-market rate with no FX spread, versus a Thai bank's flat fee plus a typical 2–4% markup. For transfers carrying FET paperwork, such as condo-sale proceeds, a conventional bank wire remains the more standard route.

The bottom line

Moving money out of Thailand is administrative, not restrictive — the real risk isn't the size of the transfer but missing the paperwork that proves where the money came from. Keep every FET form, sale agreement and tax receipt indefinitely, use Wise for routine transfers to save on fees, and go to your bank for anything large enough to need an FET-backed paper trail.