Travel money guide
How Much Cash Can You Travel With? Declaration Limits by Country
Carrying cash for a holiday rarely raises any question at the border. Carrying the money for a car, a wedding or a family visit can. Most countries do not cap the cash you travel with, but they do require you to declare it above a set amount, and that amount counts every currency in your pockets together. The rule is simple; the arithmetic is where people slip.
A declaration threshold, not a limit
The most common misunderstanding is that €10,000 or $10,000 is the most you are allowed to carry. In the EU, the UK, the US and most other countries it is not a cap. You can travel with more, as long as you tell customs about it on a form or in an online declaration before or at the border.
The rule exists to trace money laundering and terrorist financing, not to tax travellers. A declaration does not cost anything and, for legitimate money, rarely leads to more than a few questions about where it came from and what it is for. What is punished is silence: undeclared cash above the threshold can be detained on the spot, and fines can be a large share of the amount.
What counts toward the threshold
Every currency counts, added together. If you fly out of Frankfurt with €6,000, $3,000 and £1,500, you are above the EU threshold even though no single currency reaches it. Customs converts foreign currency at its own official rate, so a total that was safely below the line a month ago can cross it after the rate moves.
Cash is not only banknotes and coins. In the EU it also covers bearer-negotiable instruments such as traveller's cheques and cheques signed without a payee name, and gold coins and bullion. Other countries use similar definitions. Money in a bank account or on an ordinary bank card does not count, although some countries, such as France and Spain, include anonymous prepaid cards.
Whether the threshold applies per person depends on the country. Under the EU rule each traveller is assessed separately, so two adults can each carry just under €10,000 without declaring, although France may count a married couple's cash together. The United States and Great Britain count the total for a family or group travelling together, so a couple carrying £6,000 each would have to declare in Great Britain. Deliberately splitting a sum between travellers to avoid a declaration can itself be treated as an offence.
Thresholds in common countries
The amounts below are the declaration thresholds for cash carried in or out by a traveller. They change rarely, but they do change, so treat this list as a starting point and confirm on the customs authority's website before a trip with a large sum.
- European Union: €10,000 or more when entering or leaving the EU, per person. France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Denmark also require a declaration of €10,000 or more between EU countries; Germany asks you to state it if an officer questions you; the Netherlands and Poland have no such rule.
- Great Britain: £10,000 or more for a family or group together, when arriving from or leaving for a country outside the UK. Northern Ireland follows the EU rule.
- United States: more than $10,000 for a family or group together, reported on FinCEN Form 105 when entering or leaving the country.
- Canada and Australia: 10,000 Canadian or Australian dollars or more.
- Norway: more than 25,000 Norwegian kroner, also for trips to and from EU countries.
- Switzerland: no declaration, but from CHF 10,000 you must answer customs' questions about the money if asked.
- Turkey: on departure, foreign currency worth more than €10,000, or more than 185,000 lira in Turkish cash.
- Japan: more than ¥1,000,000. South Korea: more than 10,000 US dollars.
- China: foreign cash worth more than 5,000 US dollars must be declared on arrival, and taking more than that out needs a bank permit; you can carry at most 20,000 yuan in Chinese cash. Vietnam: more than 5,000 US dollars or 15 million dong.
- Thailand: foreign banknotes worth more than 15,000 US dollars, or more than 450,000 baht in Thai cash. Taking baht out is limited to 50,000 baht to most countries.
- Saudi Arabia: 40,000 riyals or more since mid-2026, down from 60,000, also covering gold and jewellery. United Arab Emirates: more than 60,000 dirhams.
Currencies you cannot freely take in or out
A few countries limit the movement of their own currency, regardless of what you declare. Morocco lets a traveller carry at most 2,000 dirhams in or out, and Tunisia does not allow its dinar to be taken in or out at all. In both, you change money on arrival and change what is left back before you fly, keeping the exchange receipts. China caps the yuan a traveller can carry, and Egypt and India also limit how much of their own currency you can take.
This is why you usually cannot buy Tunisian dinars, or more than a small amount of Moroccan dirhams, before a holiday. For those destinations, bring euros, dollars or a card and get local money after you land.
How to declare cash
Each country has its own channel. In the EU you declare to customs at the border, and Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Sweden and Denmark offer online forms you can fill in before you travel. Great Britain has an online declaration that you can complete up to 72 hours before arriving or leaving. The United States uses FinCEN Form 105, which CBP recommends filing online before your trip. Norway still uses a paper form. In a few countries, including Denmark and Saudi Arabia, an online declaration does not replace reporting in person at the customs office. Wherever you are, go to the red channel or the customs desk if you have not declared in advance.
Keep the paperwork that explains the money: a bank withdrawal slip, a sale contract, an invoice. You may be asked where the cash comes from and what it is for, and documents settle that much faster than explanations.
Check your total before you pack
- List every currency you carry. In WaveRate, put the threshold's currency first, for example EUR for the EU or USD for the US, and add every other currency in your wallet.
- Convert the whole amount, not the largest part. Enter each amount and add them up at the current reference rate. The total in the threshold currency is close to the number customs will look at.
- Leave room for the rate to move. Customs uses its own official rate, which can differ from the market rate you see. If your total is close to the line, declare it.
- Check again on the day. Recently loaded rates stay available offline, so you can recheck the total at the airport, but update the rates before you leave home if you can.
Questions people ask
Is there a limit to how much cash I can travel with?
In most countries, no. There is a threshold above which you must declare the cash to customs: €10,000 in the EU, £10,000 in Great Britain and more than $10,000 in the US. Above it you may still carry the money, as long as you declare it.
Does the threshold apply per person or per family?
In the EU it applies per person. The United States and Great Britain count the total for a family or group travelling together. Deliberately splitting a sum between travellers to avoid a declaration can itself be treated as an offence.
Do I need to declare cash when travelling within the EU?
The EU-wide rule applies only when you enter or leave the EU, but several member states add their own. France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Denmark require a declaration of €10,000 or more even between EU countries, and Germany asks you to state it if an officer questions you. The Netherlands and Poland have no such rule.
Does foreign currency count toward the threshold?
Yes. All currencies are added together and converted into the threshold's currency at an official rate. €6,000 plus $5,000 is above the EU threshold, even though neither amount reaches it on its own.
What happens if I do not declare cash above the threshold?
Customs can detain the money while they check where it comes from, and fines can be heavy: up to half the amount in France, up to €1 million in Germany, and in the US the cash can be seized and forfeited. Declaring is free, so if your total is anywhere near the threshold, declare.
Do bank cards, crypto or money in my account count?
Bank accounts, ordinary bank cards and crypto do not. The rules cover physical cash and bearer instruments such as traveller's cheques, in the EU also gold coins and bullion, and some countries, such as France and Spain, include anonymous prepaid cards.
WaveRate provides reference exchange-rate information only. It does not execute currency exchanges and is not financial, investment, or trading advice.