Job Discussion Forums

[Itsme]

I asked how much of my salary I would be able to exchange into US currency and I was told %60. Who controls this amount, because I was under the impression that it was %70?

The person said that my salary would be directly deposited into my account. would this mean that they could take money out too if they wanted to?

Also. Is there a way to send the money back home to pay off bills etc. or must I wait until I leave the country to claim my money?

Does the school pay my taxes or do I have to do that myself?

[Roger]

The percentage of money you can convert is variable and up to the employer, I suppose.
Now how you go about converting your RMB into American yuan is dependent on whether they apply for your work visa and issue youwith all relevant documents (please, refer to that sticky on the top of this board).
I have never changed yuan into foreign currency in China, believing it is far too time-consuming and dicey at best.
But you should not have to worry about your employer being able to withdraw funds from YOUR account; you will no doubt be given an account in your name.
My employer gave me an ATM, and I am free to change my password.
Sending money overseas is possible only if you have a legal status; note that Chinese yuan are not convertible outside China. But this is not normally a problem - it will be one if you can't get your work visa.

[cheekygal]

Chinese Yuan is convertable at the Bangkok airport and in Russia.
Also I heard at the boarder with Burma (on Burma's side) and I know for sure in black market in India.

[T_Lanc]

Cheekygal is certainly correct about being able to change Chinese money into Thai money at Bangkok airport. It's also possible at many of the money exchange booths throughout Bangkok & Pattaya.

The only problem is that you get a lousy rate of around 4 Thai baht for 1 RMB, compared to the official rate of around 4.9 baht, and equating to a loss of approx. 20%.

Apparently it is not that difficult to locate 'blackmarket' money exchangers in many of the big cities in China (for RMB to US dollars). I've been told that you lose about 2% over the official exchange rate.

TL

[Itsme]

Would being legal mean a working visa only or would one be able to convert money on a business visa as well?

Also. why would some school prefer to have you working on a business visa, which has to be renewed every three months, to a working visa?

[carken]

[Chris_Crossley]

If you are working in China and you want to send money home, you must go to one of the major branches of a Chinese bank in the city where you work in order to do it. Sub-branches will not be the places to go to, because they will not deal with international financial transactions.

When you go to a bank to undertake this kind of transaction for the first time, you must present the following documents:

1. Your current passport, which has (or is supposed to have) your Z (working) visa in it;
2. A copy of your current contract, which indicates what your monthly salary before tax is, when you started work and when you will finish;
3. A tax certificate (ORIGINAL ONLY), which shows how much tax has been paid (either by you or by the school on your behalf) (schools will not automatically give you such a certificate - you will have to ask for it at least two weeks in advance of when you will actually need it);
4. Your Foreign Expert Certificate, which shows the expiry date; and
5. Your green Foreigner Residence Permit, which also shows the expiry date.

All your documents will be checked and photocopied, so that, if you return to the bank to do the same kind of transaction again at a later date, you need to bring only the tax certificate (again, original only - no photocopies accepted). If all the other documents expire and you obtain new ones (because you have, say, finished one contract and started another), you will have to bring in the new ones, because the bank staff will check that your current documents have not yet expired. If they have and you cannot produce new ones, you will not be allowed to send money out of China. Officially, according to the Foreign Expert Certificate, 70 percent of your net salary can be sent back to your home country; your contract should also say this.

The only time when you will be allowed to send all your money back at the time when you go to the bank for the last time with a letter from your (soon-to-be-ex) employer, stating that you are leaving the country and not returning.

The thing to watch, of course, is the exchange rate, especially if you are from the UK because the rate between the British pound and the Chinese yuan appears to be going up and down like a yo-yo. At the time of writing, there are about 15.22 yuan to the pound, well down on what it had been when I first arrived in China in October 2001!

You do not necessarily have to go to the bank with fistfuls of foreign currency in order to send it home - RMB will do. You give them the RMB, they calculate how much foreign money you can send home according to the exchange rate (based on that at the close of business the previous day), and you decide how much foreign money you want to send. They will then add a handling charge. Be aware that the bank you send the money to may deduct some commission, so you or any other recipient will not receive all the money you send - so check your bank balance after the money arrives if the account is your own.

[pandasteak]

[kev7161]

Nobody knows EXACTLY what one needs to exchange Chinese yuan into foreign currency in China. It is just hit and miss. Every bank is different (even each bank within the same name). I went into the main Bank of China in May to draw money off my credit card (and the transaction was smooth, fast, and easy - - converting that US dollar to RMB) and said to the lady helping me that I would be back in August to change some money as I was going home for a holiday. What do they need from me?

She produced a document (in English) that listed what I would need. I had everything that was listed (passport, FE book, contract, receipt of payment, etc.). When I came back a couple of weeks ago, it was almost impossible. Along with everything else, I now needed a certificate of some sort from the Hangzhou education bureau (or whatever it's called). The Edu. Bureau didn't know what the bank was talking about, my school didn't know, I certainly didn't know. I told my boss that, if nobody could figure it out, to just fax a note saying as much. For some reason, the lady helping me at the bank couldn't pick up the phone and call this bureau and explain to the person at the other end what she needed. And now there was apparently NO list of requirements in English - - I must have been on crack cocaine the last time. AND, the most I could convert now and in the future was 30% of my salary.

So, you see, my story is different than everyone elses. And look at all the different messages you are getting. I say: "GOOD LUCK!" - - it is a mess.

PS: I have sent Chinese currency home and have had it converted by my local Kansas bank (at exorberant fees), have exchanged at LAX (for a much lower exchange rate), and bought US money from a shady character in the lobby of some other bank (under the watchful eye of a nearby "security" guard) at the current exchange rate.

[Roger]