Hey, I was bitching about this on twitter and a couple people wanted to know the story so here it is. I would recommend not bringing cash across the border if you can avoid it until we figure out wtf is going on with this. This is the relevant section copy/pasted from my blog. I'm flying to Australia from Toronto connecting in LA.

The only possible issue was that due to a set of strange circumstances from last year I had more than 10K in AUD cash on me. Normally I avoid traveling with cash whenever possible (and carrying cash on my person at all for that matter) and just wire money ahead, but getting raped on exchanging the money into CAD or USD and then back into AUD is stupid when I can just carry the cash at no cost. For those of you who have never carried large amounts of cash across the border the whole thing is pretty easy. You tick the box to declare it on your customs card. They take you to secondary inspection and ask you some questions which you answer truthfully and you fill out some extra paperwork for the money. Maybe if you're unlucky they search your bags. The whole thing should never really take more than an extra 30 minutes worst case scenario.

So I stroll into US customs 90 minutes before my flight knowing even with all the silly new US flight regulations I have heaps of time. The first sign of something weird is when the customs agent sees I've ticked yes to the currency question, she asks if I've already declared it with Canadian customs. I'm confused by the question and answer that I have not since I'm starting my trip here. I proceed to the secondary inspection room and there are way more people than I've ever seen in there. I hand them my card then have to sit for 5 minutes before they call my name. I roll my bags up to the desk with a male agent this time and again the first thing they ask is if I have declared my money with Canadian customs already? Again confused, I reply that I have not. He informs me that I was supposed to file the paperwork with them before I got to US customs. I ask how recently this change in procedure was implemented. He informs me that it's always been that way.

It has not always been that way. It's *possible* that it was always technically supposed to have been enforced that way, but it certainly never has been in the past. After a couple more questions he passes me the standard US currency form and says he's going to call Canadian customs and explain the situation, try to get someone to come up from there. He informs me further that I will have to fill out the paperwork again in LA saying I'm taking the money out of the country this time. The absurdity of this rule is somewhat mind-blowing. He says I will have to find US customs in LA and fill out the paper work. First of all, I have no idea how to find US customs in LA. Would they even let me back there since I'm already legally in their ****ing country? I'm certain that if I ask someone this in LA they will look at me like I'm ******ed. Obviously the same thing applies to finding Canadian customs in Toronto like I was "supposed to". And what happens when driving across the border? Is this a flying-only regulation? It really doesn't make sense, maybe US and Canadian customs could just try communicating the information with each other instead?

I fill out the paperwork and he is able to get a Canadian agent to come with their paperwork. He informs me that technically Canadian customs is allowed to seize the money since I came to US customs first but that there shouldn't be a problem. He was actually very friendly the whole time and he and the agent next to him made a bunch of remarks about how ridiculous so many of the policies they have to follow are, but as they are merely "peons" they just follow the rules. The funniest part was when converting the AUD into USD he got a number greater than the number in AUD. Obviously he immediately recognized this could not be right, but after double checking regulations he just left it that way saying it's obviously wrong but that's how he was told to do it and what does he care really. It's fairly likely this was still his mistake actually but either way I got a good laugh out of it.

Two Canadian customs agents arrive, I fill out their paperwork and they want to see/count the money for some reason. They leave, the US guy does the quickest, least thorough "search of my bags" in history and waves me along finally. This whole procedure took quite a while however and I am in big time trouble and there is a decent chance I may miss my flight.... I finally get through security with no hiccups and start running for my gate. I stop running about 5 seconds later when I see the secondary search point, now standard for any flight to the US since the events over the holidays, and the lengthy queue waiting there. I am so ****ed. My flight is scheduled to takeoff in less than 15 minutes so boarding may be almost over already, and it will take at least that long to get through this line. I'm just praying my flight is delayed at this point, though this seems a very reasonable hope knowing Air Canada.

Salvation: A lady with a walkie-talkie calls my name. I raise my hand and go to her and now I am in the front of the queue. Now they know I am here and won't leave without me. That was too close. In their thorough search at the security checkpoint they obviously find my cash (and would have even if I'd tried to hide it so don't bother). I tell them I've declared it. They ask for proof and I tell them that's not how it works, I don't have any. Your job is security for the flight not customs I already went through those and that's why I'm late you idiot (obviously I only actually said the that's why I'm late part). Though I can't blame them for wanting to be sure. Now I stand there another 5 minutes at least as someone runs to customs to double check on me. Finally the runner comes back and confirms it's all good.

Cliffs: Weird new regulation apparently u have to declare currency in Canada first AND then US customs. Don't be an idiot and not declare it because that's stupid anyways and they will find it in the 2ndary search they do at the gate now.

This happened to me on the way to Vegas in May

edit: missed my flight, missed the giant 1k

Its definitely not *that* new of a law, I got stopped in Canada in August and the informed me I should be declaring both ways and that to their knowledge that had been the rule for a while.

Funny story about that... it was the ultimate good cop bad cop. The one security guy at our gate was asking me why I have all this money, telling me how strict their rules are, how it could get confiscated while the other guy is talking and laughing with my friend and I overhear them say something about poker. After things get sorted out with the "bad cop" the good cop asked if I do this professionally, I said ya, he asked for my screen name. I said timex and Mike McDonald on FTP, he said "oh cool, I've seen you play a bunch of times, I rail all the good Canadian players"

I'm taking a rowboat the next time I travel over a body of water, and driving everywhere domestically.

This regulation has been around for a while - I believe since 2000 when FINTRAC was introduced.

http://www.cbsa.gc.ca./publications/...f5052-eng.html

This has always been the law, but never ever advertised in the 'developed' countries. You always see a prominent sign at almost any airport in 'developing' countries, that if you are exiting the country with more than 10K, you should declare it, as well as having the same sign and printed in custom forms entering such countries...

but in developed countries, this has always been the law as well, but never advertised, and this includes US as well. If you are LEAVING US soil on an international flight, you MUST declare if you are taking out more that $10,000...however, there is almost no sign stating such anywhere in any airport that I know of. You must ask for them form, and fill out, but who is supposed to know all such laws?

Ya, I almost got screwed on this going to London in 08... Really thought they were gonna take my money and kick me out. I've just tried to stay away from carrying money out of the country since then...

so i've driven across the u.s.-canadian border many times to play poker in windsor, and i don't quite understand what this post is saying. when crossing to canada, one talks to canadian border agents, and informs them of any declarations there, and when crossing to the u.s., one speaks and declares to the american border agents. this is saying that before going to canada one must declare currency to the u.s. customs and vice versa? how would one do that given that setup?

Not the same for driving across. Driving you only deal with the agent on duty and cannot go to Canadian or US customs before crossing. There is a sign posted up on the booths (at least in BC) that says "if carrying greater than $10,000 in currency across the border you must declare it"

Also, taking the train, you declare when you are going to board the train at customs and you declare again when border guards do their walk through at the crossing.

yes this is correct. There is normally some sort of place to pull in. I guess the average person isnt carrying 10k in cash, so the boarder crossings arent exactly built to make this easy. I was with a friend going to windsor backin 07 I think it was, and he ran into the same problem with >10k in cash. The canadian customs officers were cool though.. they simply informed us of what we should have done, and explained that they are technically supposed to turn us back to the US border where the money could be seized, then let us through.

this is incorrect, read my post above.

shrug, i'd probably just become averse to carrying cash around

Weird...I've carried >10k to the US two or three times (edit: most recently June for WSOP), declared it at customs and never had any problems (other than standard questions/forms/money count) or had anyone tell me I did anything wrong. Where is this Canadian customs we're supposed to find?

At any major boarder crossing, it will be near the crossing. If you are talking about flying, I have no idea how to declare it to the country you are departing.

fwiw i still did not declare a second time before leaving US and had zero problems upon arrival in Australia. Take that system. Makes sense that this has always been the law, but of the 4 or 5 times I've crossed a border with cash I've never had to do this and never been informed of it before this week.

This was exactly my mindset before I was informed by a hardass boarder guard that this was incorrect. Now I get to enjoy 'random' security checks and extra hassle every single time I leave the country. It's tons of fun, let me tell ya...

As far as I know it's always been this way for every single country. The exact same thing happened to me on the Can/US border in August 2007 and I caught my flight by a matter of minutes (if I caught the next bus to the terminal I would have missed my flight). You have to declare your money coming in and out. I'm unsure about the EU though - some countries (england) tell me you only have to declare it on the way in and out of the EU, others (namely france and malta) insist I do it every time I enter and leave their country.

I grew up in Windsor and carried a bunch of cash across both borders and got hassled at the US side but it was <10k though. For WSOP last year I just wired the funds to the Venetian and that worked great, I have a USD account though so I don't have to deal with the exchange rate hassle. I think I would go out of my way to wire funds whenever possible rather than deal with the pain of customs.

If you're flying out of U.S. airports, ask the ticket agent and she'll direct you. Same goes for most of Western countries. If flying out of most developing and emerging countries, almost all of them have a departure form you have to fill out, which the ticket agents give you upon checking in. In those forms you must declare before departure, and obviously you must declare when you land as well.

Ok guys, just getting ready for summer in case I luckbox. So to summarize

when leaving or going into Canada with > 10k we need to fill out the form in this link

http://www.cbsa.gc.ca./publications/...f5052-eng.html

At the same time for the US side there is this link and form number, but form is not available on line

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/va...kbyg/money.xml

In both cases we have to find a customs office before leaving whichever country and hand in the corresponding form. Is this correct? Is there such an office in Vegas or does it have to be at an actual border crossing?

You have to report to both the country you are leaving, and the country you are entering. I do not know if it's possible to do this besides at boarder crossings or at the airport.

...

ya same thing happened to me last june on my way to vegas from toronto, had carried >10k before through the airport and only declared with the country i was entering (ie once each way)...almost missed flight running around the terminal from us customs to canadian customs. not sure when they decided to start enforcing this rule as i most definitely wasnt aware i had to declare it twice each way.