# Taking GBP to UK



## miloo (Aug 22, 2015)

Hi everyone

I will be travelling home to the UK soon and wanted to ask about taking money to the UK, I will take circa £14K, obviously I should declare to the border force either on arrival or before. 

Has anyone been stopped before at the border after declaring?

Also wheres the best place to exchange AED to GBP in Dubai? I don't mind going for a bit of a drive as long as the rate is good.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

miloo said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> I will be travelling home to the UK soon and wanted to ask about taking money to the UK, I will take circa £14K, obviously I should declare to the border force either on arrival or before.
> 
> ...


Hi,
Why would you declare cash to the border force? Their job is to check passports.
Customs (HMRC) deal with goods that attract duty.
Cash does not need to be declared - as far as I know - at the levels you are talking about - for a British citizen repatriating overseas earned income.
Cheers
Steve


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## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

If your so concerned, why not transfer to a UK account? By UAE exchange or from UAE bank to UK bank

I'd hate to walk around with that kind of $$$

If someone has that kind of cash, its usually illegally...


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## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

It looks like cash do need to be declared if it's €10,000 or above (or the equivalent).
"The obligation to declare cash on entering or leaving the EU is part of the EU strategy to combat money laundering and to counter the financing of terrorism."

Cash controls - European Commission

Here's a UK link confirming the same too:
https://www.gov.uk/bringing-cash-into-uk


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## webmongaz (Feb 2, 2011)

If you're travelling with someone then take 7k each and they cant ask any questions but yes 10k and above you have to declare.


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

The problem doesn't stop there, the UK banks don't like large sums of cash being paid into accounts, it'll be seen as unusual activity and get flagged.

And don't think you can walk into a car dealership and buy anything for cash, it's almost impossible now, thanks to big brother needing to monitor every single thing the populace does, where it goes, where it spend's it's money etc.


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## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

Another question is the money in AED, Dollar or the all mighty pound? 

You could argue AED you've been paid cash in hand, but in another currency would bring up questions. I always thought GBP 10k was the limit, but the situation of carrying that amount of cash has never occured to me.

On a slight tangent, what is Tax Re-fund? For example if I buy something in France, can I claim back the tax back at the airport?


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## sm105 (Jan 9, 2014)

miloo said:


> Has anyone been stopped before at the border after declaring?


For various reasons, I have carried large sums of cash to/from both the UAE and the UK at different times. The process is very straightforward once you know what to do.

UAE : No declaration needed for up to AED 100k or equivalent. If you have more than this, you need to have a bank withdrawal slip for the amount and a NOC from the account holder (if not yourself). Take it to the Customs office at your airport of departure and they will issue you a clearance letter after verifying.

UK : You need to complete form C9011 if transporting EUR 10k or more in cash from a point outside the EU. You can get the form on the HMRC website or pick it up at the Red Channel at the airport. The form is simple enough to fill up. You can hand the form over to a Customs officer in the Red Channel, or if the Red Channel is unmanned there will be either a box (to drop the declaration) or a telephone (to speak to a Customs Officer) which you need to use to make the declaration. Keep your copy of the C9011 safe as you will need to show this to the bank in the UK when depositing the money.


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## sm105 (Jan 9, 2014)

webmongaz said:


> If you're travelling with someone then take 7k each and they cant ask any questions but yes 10k and above you have to declare.


No. The cash limit is EUR 10k per family or traveling group to avoid exactly this kind of structuring. Don't make this mistake.


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## Yussif (Jul 27, 2015)

sm105 said:


> No. The cash limit is EUR 10k per family or traveling group to avoid exactly this kind of structuring. Don't make this mistake.


hi,

when did this happen? i thought it was always 10k GBP? 

On topic: Best to just transfer the cash to a UK account using an online forex company, then you can just walk into the bank on the other end and take the cash out if you indeed need it in cash still.


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## sm105 (Jan 9, 2014)

Yussif said:


> when did this happen? i thought it was always 10k GBP?


It's been EUR 10k (as opposed to GBP 10k) for at least the last 10 years when I first started doing this.


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## iggles (Jan 4, 2015)

https://www.gov.uk/bringing-cash-into-uk

why the f is it in Euro's, should be in pounds. We are British.


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## Yussif (Jul 27, 2015)

sm105 said:


> It's been EUR 10k (as opposed to GBP 10k) for at least the last 10 years when I first started doing this.


most probably another ill informed pub conversation some years agon  cheers


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