How much cash to carry: Japan, Germany, Türkiye, Morocco, Thailand

Each country on this page sets an amount above which cash must be declared to customs, and an undeclared amount can be held, fined or reported. The amounts differ, and in two cases the official sources do not agree with each other. Türkiye's page calls its figure a limit on taking money out, and it does not say whether larger amounts can leave at all once declared, so ask customs before a large carry.

This page lists the declaration limit for each of five countries, who it covers and what to do at the border. It adds one official figure on how much each country still uses cash, because a limit tells you the ceiling and the payment data tells you whether you will need to get near it. It gives no daily spending amounts, since none of the sources do. Checked 2 October 2026.

Germany and the EU

The rule is EU-wide. Anyone entering or leaving the EU with EUR 10,000 or more in cash, or the equivalent in other currencies, bonds, shares or traveler's checks, must complete a cash declaration, and customs can check travelers, luggage and vehicles and detain undeclared cash. The European Commission's page on EU cash controls says cash includes banknotes and coins, bearer instruments such as cheques and traveler's cheques, gold coins of at least 90% purity and gold bars of at least 99.5%. For a group, the EUR 10,000 limit applies to each person individually.

German Customs applies the same threshold on its cash declaration page. You can file online through the Customs portal service for cash declarations, which gives an identification code to quote on your trip, or on paper using form 040000 in German or 040001 in English. At an airport you hand the declaration in at the red exit, and you must do so without being asked. Foreign currency is converted to euros at the exchange rate of the day of entry. A fine of up to EUR 1 million is possible for failing to declare, and a traveler with no fixed address in Germany may have to lodge a security amount for the fine procedure. Even below the threshold, an officer who checks you can require information on the origin and purpose of your cash.

On usage, the Bundesbank's payment behavior study for 2023, published in July 2024, found that 51% of payments in Germany were still in cash, down from 58% in 2021, and that cash made up 26% of spending by value against 32% for debit cards. About 80% of in-person payments could be made by card or smartphone, and almost a fifth of respondents had met a store where they could not.

Japan

Japan sets a single figure. The Customs page for travelers says that carrying more than ¥1,000,000 in cash or other means of payment requires a declaration to Customs. The item list includes cash in any currency, checks, traveler's checks, promissory notes, securities and gold bullion over 1 kg of at least 90% purity. The form is called the Declaration of Carrying of Means of Payment, Etc.

On usage, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry published on 31 March 2026 that cashless payments reached 58.0% of consumer spending in 2025, about ¥162.7 trillion, and 82.7% of that cashless total was credit cards. That ratio is weighted by value, so it says little about a ¥500 temple offering. The Japan National Tourism Organization says cards of international brands are generally accepted, adds that they cannot always be used for short train or subway fares, and names Japan Post Bank and Seven Bank ATMs for withdrawals. Our money in Japan guide covers where cash still matters.

Türkiye

Türkiye's limits are written for leaving the country. The Ministry of Trade's customs FAQ, last updated 22 March 2023, says a passenger taking more than 25,000 TL in Turkish currency, or more than EUR 10,000 in foreign currency, out of the country must declare it to the customs officer, and cash under those amounts need not be declared. The declared total may not exceed the limit, so you cannot take both 25,000 TL and EUR 10,000. Cheques, traveler's checks and payment orders count as cash.

For entry, the same FAQ says declaring cash is not mandatory, though a voluntary declaration must then be complete and accurate. It does bar some money from arriving in a passenger's luggage: personal loans, gifts, donations, dowry, inheritance and emigrants' assets may only come through banks. If an officer asks about the source and purpose of cash and you give no explanation or a false one, the FAQ describes an administrative fine of 10% of the undisclosed amount, the cash being held, and a report to the prosecutor and the financial crimes unit. A 2021 notice from the Presidency for Turks Abroad advises a written declaration for EUR 10,000 or more on entry, which is stricter than the ministry's text.

For usage, the central bank's researchers wrote in September 2024 that high inflation and digital channels were pushing people from cash to bank and credit cards. We did not find a current official share of cash payments for Türkiye, and the older survey figures we saw date from 2020, so no number is quoted here.

Morocco

Morocco's rules sit with the Office des Changes and the customs administration. Customs' guide for travelers, which carries no date, says foreign currency banknotes and negotiable instruments equal to or above 100,000 dirhams must be declared in writing at the border on entry. A declaration can also be made for smaller amounts, and it is the document that justifies the money's origin if you later pay it into a currency account or take it back out. For non-residents it is valid for at most six months.

The guide also covers leaving. Taking out foreign currency of 100,000 dirhams or more requires a declaration to customs, and the guide says failing to declare can bring a fine of half the undeclared amount. Moroccan dirhams are a separate matter: it says travelers may import and export Moroccan banknotes up to 2,000 dirhams. A customs leaflet dated 2010 and still online gives 1,000 dirhams, so carry as little local currency across the border as you can.

On usage, Bank Al-Maghrib's 2024 report on payment systems says cash withdrawals still make up most bank card operations: 68% by number and 86% by value in 2024, with payments at 32% and 14%. Cash in circulation stood at 29% of GDP, up from 22% in 2019.

Thailand

Thailand is the case where two official sources differ. The Bank of Thailand's exchange control page says foreign currency and baht can come in without limit, and that bringing in or taking out baht banknotes above THB 450,000, or foreign banknotes above USD 15,000 or the equivalent, requires a declaration to Customs. Foreign banknotes may leave only up to the amount bought from authorized banks or money changers. Baht may leave up to THB 50,000 for most countries, and up to THB 2 million for countries bordering Thailand, Vietnam and China's Yunnan province.

A text copied from the Customs Department by a Thai embassy, which states the foreign-currency rule took effect on 24 February 2008, gives USD 20,000 for foreign currency and THB 500,000 for neighboring countries instead. We could not open a current Customs page to settle it. Both agree on THB 50,000 for other destinations. If you carry between USD 15,000 and USD 20,000, declare.

For usage, the Bank of Thailand's payment diary survey, conducted from February to April 2021 with 6,020 participants, found cash was 86.8% of everyday transactions, averaging 118 baht each, against 13.2% for e-payments, averaging 440 baht. The paper projects cash use declining. It describes Thai residents rather than visitors, and it is five years old.

The EU limit is per person, and the Commission adds that the duty to declare applies to minors through their parents or legal guardians, so each member of a family is tested on their own. German Customs also applies the EUR 10,000 duty to passengers who arrive from a non-EU country and continue to another non-EU country through the transit zone of an EU airport.

In Morocco, a non-resident's entry declaration is valid for at most six months. In Türkiye the issue is the kind of money as much as the amount: loans, gifts and inheritance cannot arrive as luggage cash. In Japan, Germany and the rest of the EU, traveler's checks and similar instruments add to the cash you carry.

Add up everything that counts, in every currency, converted at the day's rate, and check it against the limit before you pack. If you are close, declare, because the cost of a form is small next to a held sum.

• In Germany or elsewhere in the EU, file the declaration online before the trip or take the paper form, and hand it in at the red exit without being asked.

• In Japan, ask a customs officer for the declaration form at the airport or port.

• In Türkiye, take the cash declaration form at customs before you leave if you exceed the limit; the Ministry's FAQ says undeclared cash above the limit can lead to fines and holding of the cash.

• In Morocco, keep the entry declaration and your exchange slips, because they justify the money when you leave.

• In Thailand, use the Customs foreign currency form above the threshold and carry your passport and boarding pass.

Keep the stamped copy of any declaration until you have left the country.

None of the sources announced a change to a cash limit in 2026. Germany now offers online cash declarations through the Customs portal in place of paper. The Japan figures on this page come from a METI release of 31 March 2026, and the Bundesbank study we read covers 2023. The Bank of Thailand's page carries a 2023 copyright and the Türkiye FAQ a March 2023 date, so a later adjustment is possible. Check the page named in each rule box before a large carry.

Do the arithmetic against the rule in the callout for each country on your route, then plan around cards for most spending and a modest amount of local cash for places that need it. For Japan in detail, read money in Japan. For the cost side of Europe, see tourist taxes in Europe, and for cover that includes lost or stolen cash and cards, see our travel insurance guides.