How much cash can you travel with in Europe?

When we're off on our travels, most of us won't be carrying enough cash to warrant an official declaration. However, if you fail to declare when you are carrying large amounts of travel money, you could end up in serious trouble with foreign authorities. Here's our guide to travelling with cash in Europe.

How much money can I travel with?

If your money isn't in cash, there's no limit to how much you can travel with. If it is in cash, however, you'll have to declare it if it's over 10,000 euros (or the equivalent in your local currency) when entering or exiting an EU member state from outside of the EU. If you're travelling to a European country that isn't a member of the EU, check the local rules.

How much money can I travel with from the UK?

You can travel out of the UK with any amount of cash to another EU member state country, but make sure you check the limit in your destination first. Most EU countries won't have a limit on how much cash you can bring in from another member state, but if you fail to check and there is one you could get into serious legal trouble. However, if you're travelling to a non-EU country, you'll need to declare your cash, cheques and bankers' drafts if they exceed 10,000 euros in value (or the equivalent in pounds).

Do you have to declare money at the airport?

If you're bringing cash into the UK from any other EU country, you don't need to declare it. Those carrying in cash worth more than £10,000 will need to declare it at customs. If you don't, you could be fined up to £5,000 and have your cash seized by customs if you can't prove it's come from a legitimate source.

How much cash can I take abroad?

Outside of the EU, this depends on the cash import limit of your destination. Check with the government of the country you're travelling into to find out the limit. It's impossible to give a general idea, as the limit will vary from country to country, but make sure you're clued up on your destination's cash import rules before you go to avoid penalties or your cash getting seized.