v12 wrote:Far more important then the short-term problem of repatriating your money, is: What are you going to do with it ?
The moment you talk about substantial amounts, all items you can buy with it, are "registered" and you will be asked, when the collated amount of registered assets is (significantly) higher then your official income would allow you.
You clean it through diffusion. Once back in Oz and into a decent job, You use only a minimal amount of Your salary
(some countries banks are instructed to flag the authorities if someone doesn't use the salary) to avoid being flagged
by "they". Then You use the cash for all daily expenses while Your salary grows in Your bank account, pay only fixed
traceable expenses like rent and utilities from Your bank account. $30k might be used up in 2-5 years by this method
depending on living standard. Not fast but comfortable and can't be traced unless the tax authorities put a tail on You
to document Your life but that is unusual since $30k is not so much money and all tax authorities work for profit. Also
try to buy items off Craig's list or similar from private sellers who accept cash.
Most Western countries retire their bank notes at intervals to make life more difficult for people like the OP but then
I suggest a visit to some gold shops in Bangkok's Yaowarat Rd to pick up some jewellry ohn each trip to Cambodia,
reasonable amounts of jewellry is not taxable and Thai gold is usually bought back at noly a few percent loss. Also
some countries like Chine issue gold coins which is formal currency and therefore tax excempt. Some countries levy
VAT on bullion but not on currency.