Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

max. cash to leave TJ with?

Country forums / Central Asia / Tajikistan

Hello,

We plan to travel from Tajikistan through UZ and TM to Iran for two months.
As far as I understand,
a) regarding Uzbekistan, a person cannot leave the country with more cash than he had at entering (for that reason it is not possible to withdraw more money than was spent in Uzbekistan)
b) in Turkmenistan it is practically limited to withdraw money from ATMs or banks,
c) in Iran there are no ATMs or banks accepting international credit/debit cards.
So, I expect that all the money needed for a 2 months travel in these countries (a huge amount of cash) has to be carried on with the traveller.

1) Does anybody have a better advise than carry on this big amount of cash needed for the 2 months travel?
2) If the load of cash should be carried with, do you know what is the maximum amount of cash what is allowed to leave Tajikistan with?
Pls do not write, that "it cannot be a problem." It definitely could.

Thanks a lot.

Regarding (2), the rule is that you cannot carry out more foreign currency than you brought into the country, and you cannot carry out any Tajik currency. If you are carrying more than $5000 upon entry, you must declare the amount and get a certified form from the customs office at arrival to show when you exit. The customs officer should make a copy of this and keep it for the official records. Perhaps you should do this anyway, even if you have less than $5000, as a means of protection.

However, TJ is a very corrupt country and the laws and interpretations of those laws can change without notice. I suggest you write to your nearest TJ embassy and get advice in writing.

Also, make sure you get a 'tourist' visa to avid the need to register while in the country. If you get any other kind and don't register within three days, you may face extortion attempts.

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