Getting money out of China

[Artrageous]

Hi I really need some help with this problem from ex-pats who have successfully done this. I have had standing orders that meant money went home each month and only left a little bit of money left over in China. We lived on my partner's money. Now I have been paid my final pay with bonuses and overtime, and the amount is too large for my tax receipts so they are saying I can't send it out of the country until I get my recent tax receipts in three months time. We are leaving China next week and I don't really want to keep my money here for a few months. Any suggestions of how to transfer funds from here without tax receipts as I don't want to take a bag of cash out as that is problematic. Also my partner shipped his tax slips in our shipment this past weekend!!! just to add to the stress of it all.

[Overhere]

Exchange it, we moved multiple thousands of dollars out of the country last week that way. If you exchange enough each time you may not be liable for the fee. Admittedly it was a bit of a pain as you can only exchange $1000 USD at a time in the end it wasn't that big a deal.

[wrldtrvlr123]

Exchanging is good advice. Also, if you had someone you trust outside the country who had a card and your pin, they could take your money out in $$ and deposit it for you. It sounds like a lot but I know people who swear by it,

As for exchanging, check out whether there is still provision for Chinese nationals to exchange larger amounts. I forget the amount but it may be like $10k per year or something like that (or at least it was 2 years ago or so). Again, if you have someone you can trust, it can be an advantage.

[Artrageous]

Thanks for the replies. We did get a Chinese National to send it overseas for us, they can do 50 USD a year which is great! Whew what a relief.

[Mr DepTrai]

Wouldnt an easier thing to do would be set up an HSBC account, then just do a withdrawl at a branch outside of china?

[PsyGuy]

Im happy it worked out and you solved the problem, my advise would have been to change it all into large bills and walk/fly it out of the country in your luggage.

[bendetwile2]

Hey guys, I have a much better and cheaper way to do this.

First, if you are an American citizen and have an American bank account that accepts mobile check deposits then this method applies to you.

Next, go to the main Bank of China branch in your province with a Chinese national you trust and withdraw and give them up to $5000 (depends on your limit per check set by your US bank) worth of RMB. They will deposit it into their account and then proceed to fill out the forms for a 'demand draft' (they will know the form. Then, they will use the Chinese nationals ID to withdraw from their account for the check. This is essentially a cashiers check that is issued and states BOC branch in New York City, USA. The cost for this check is 50RMB. It takes about 30 min from start to finish. Once finished, just simply take a photo of the front and back of the check using the app on your phone. I have used this method about 10 times......by far the cheapest and safest way to transfer money out of China for American citizens.

I hope this helps! Most people are completely unaware of this method. Psyguy please don't refute me on this.....it works.

[Mr DepTrai]

@ben

Does the chinese national have to have a bank account at BOC already?

[PsyGuy]

@bendetwile2

Nothing to refute, Ive written about it before and it works. You dont need a friend to help you, you can do it yourself and have a higher probability of success if you take some advance precautions. The story I typically use is to claim you need to make a university/school tuition payment overseas, hence the large value draft.
You can plan for this in advance by getting a a DBA (doing business as certificate) while at home, and then applying for an EIN with the IRS, after which you can open a business banking account at one of the large international banks. The account will hopefully cost you nothing, the EIN is free and the DBA certificate is $10-$50. Pick a name for the DBA that sounds educational like "Pacific International Academy Preparatory School".

You may have a problem if your bank does not accept foreign drafts (smaller banks, credit unions, etc.) or if your bank wont accept remote deposits of foreign drafts (again advance planning in selecting a home financial institution makes this problem mote).