Job Discussion Forums

[weigookin742011]

If you want to send money home every month to pay your student loans, is it an easy process at the local bank? Since wages in big cities are rising, it may be worth it to go there from Korea. Also, I heard there is some official rule limiting what you can send out to 60 % or 80% of your income. Which is it? I'm not sure about this. Is it based on total income including housing allowances? So, if I work at a big academy in Beijing or Shanghai and make 12 or 13 K RMB and get a 2 or 3 K Housing allowance, would it be based on the total 15 or 16 K that I can send home?

(I'm weigookin74 over on the Korea boards.)

The reason I'm interested in looking over to China is that salaries will start to beat Korea. (I'm not trying to compare countries.) How low is the cost of living? If I can more quickly pay off debts from China, it may be the better deal. But, this limit on transfering or complicated process is the deal breaker. Can some of you please clear it up for me?

[Opiate]

May not be the answer you want to hear but if you want to pay off debt....go work in your home country. It is by far the easiest route. If you are unemployable in your home country then....well...you won't be hitting the 13k+ range unless you work for an int'l school or work for multiple schools.

There are some barriers to converting RMB to your currency of choice but there also are a hundred (ok...3) ways around them. Do not worry about that bit if you are in a city with more than 8 people.

[kev7161]

I exchange money every month and do a bank to bank transfer of said money every month. To date, no problems at all and I've done this for several years. However, there was a learning curve at the start. Now I know I can exchange and get up to 500 USD a day only by showing my passport. I know there are two USD mini-accounts within my main Chinese savings account. If I want to withdraw cash later (for traveling), I have the converted money deposited into my USD 1 account. If I want to transfer money to my US bank after I've accumulated enough, I have it deposited into my USD 2 account. The fee to transfer any amount is 200 RMB and my bank back home charges me $15.00 to receive it, so roughly I'm paying about $45.00 every time I transfer money. But I can live with it as I'm paying for the convenience and ease of doing so.

Just a few days ago, I asked the bank why they don't have all my transfer data saved on their computer so I don't have to keep filling out the lengthy form every time. In response, they printed out a filled-out form (leaving blank the date and USD amount to be transferred) and told me to bring that every month and they'd do all the fill-in-the-blanks for me. Not quite what I was asking, but good enough.

Does all this sound complex? At first it may seem so but, again, do this month after month for several years and it will all become commonplace. Sometimes the lines at the bank are quite long and I have to sit around for an hour waiting for my number to be called. Other times, I get in and get out within 15 minutes. I bank with the Bank of China so you may find different routines at different banks (heck, maybe even at different Banks of China!) but bank-to-bank transfers are do-able and can be easy if you find the right bank.

PS: If you have a Chinese friend convert a large sum of money for you in one fell swoop, I found that there is an extra fee to use that converted money to be transferred, even if you're standing right there with your friend and you pass the money directly to the same clerk. Can't explain why, but just a head's up.

[weigookin742011]

So, the bank isn't checking your income or anything? You can just send home what you need? Salaries are rising in China and it may be wrth it more than Korea (where I am now).

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

[therock]

[kev7161]

No, this particular bank checks nothing of my income. There's a number on an exchange form that I put in (403) that means my income is coming from a job, but that's it. No checking of how much I've exchanged in the course of a month, no limit on how much I send home every month (although usually it's only $1000.00), nothing. I'm a "regular" there, so that may be why, but I don't think so.

[weigookin742011]

[DosEquisX]

For me, it's a bit of a PITA. I have to shown my employment contract and a letter from my uni stating my pay as to show that I am not eligible for paying taxes. I fill out the transfer form and then I sit there for 40 minutes while I watch them print out form after form. I had to sign no less than 6 forms and enter my passcode for each one of them.

So much easier in ROK.

[Miles Smiles]

[knight4ever]

I sent money home last month just before Christmas. My bank is ICBC and I went there with a student from my school who also has an ICBC account. The process wasn't painful but the paperwork was endless.

ICBC never checked who I worked for or my paycheck stubs. I was told to send back less than $2000 US and bring a Chinese national with me. After I transferred the money, I was told I could have gone through the process without bringing a Chinese national. So many different versions of the same process but I felt much better bringing someone who can help me because my Chinese language skills are dubious!

[krayola]

Western Union is also pretty common and will normally save you a lot of red tape as well as a sizeable queue at the bank. Another option for you to consider.

[imjustme]

For what it may be worth:

1) I've found that ABC (Agricultural Bank of China) seem to be most accommodating. When a BOC (Bank of China) branch refused me an overseas transfer last year, claiming that it's "illegal" to send money out of China except in special cases, I simply walked across the street to ABC, where there were no questions asked. Your results may vary.

2) Wages are indeed rising in China. I was on the standard 5000 or so a month at uni/college up until last year, but more recent job offers have all been in excess of 6000. To be sure, my last employer has just cheated me on pay--but only after some months of handing over 7500/mo. I suspect that if more teachers simply started demanding 6500/mo and up, they'd get it.

[Miles Smiles]

[go_grrrl]

You can exchange RMB for USD, then go to China Post to wire the money back to your home account. It's cheaper than Western Union and just as fast.