Declaring currency at customs costs nothing, takes a few minutes, and is the single cheapest piece of insurance in international travel. Not declaring, and being checked, can cost you the entire amount. The thresholds are specific and easy to remember.
The two thresholds on arrival
- More than USD 5,000 in foreign currency notes — declare.
- More than USD 10,000 in total foreign exchange, counting notes and traveller's cheques together — declare.
Either one triggers the requirement; you do not need to breach both. The form is the Currency Declaration Form, available at the customs desk in the arrivals hall, and filing it is free.
Why you want the form even when you are unsure
The declaration is what makes the money demonstrably yours and legally held. It is the document that lets you take the same currency out again on a later trip without questions, and the document that supports reconversion at a dealer. Where the amount is near a threshold, declaring is the low-risk choice: there is no penalty for declaring when you did not strictly have to.
On the way out
- Foreign currency taken out must be within what you legally bought — up to USD 3,000 in notes per visit for most destinations.
- Indian currency notes: up to ₹25,000 for a resident.
- Carry the encashment certificate showing where the currency came from. It is the answer to the only question customs is likely to ask.
If you do not declare
Undeclared currency above the thresholds is liable to seizure, and the burden then falls on you to establish that it was legitimately acquired and legitimately held. Even where that succeeds, it is a slow and expensive process that a five-minute form at the desk would have avoided entirely.
