Job Discussion Forums

[MeiMei]

Hello

I know this issue has been discussed in the past, however I was wondering if there is any new information.

I have about 19,000 RMB that I would like to send home. I have a passport, residency permit, and a contact. I don�t know if my school pays tax on my income.

My income is 4000 RMB (I know small, but I love my job)

Any advice you can give me

I have a friend about 1000 km away (Not much help I know)

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Richard.

[WordUp]

Wiring money can be complicated, you need to show the bank doing the wiring some legal documents from your school that show you are employed with them which may include the contract and some tax documents of the school. If you earned that money with your employer in the time you were in China it should be no problem, you can expect a few trips to the bank to find out all the correct documents they need to wire the money.

If it is money that you brought with you to China that has been residing in your bank since you arrived, I think it will be almost impossible to wire using a bank, because the banks are quite strict about ensuring the source of the money being wired was derived by some legal means in China.

Another way is to use western union, but from my understanding you need to convert your RMB to dollars firstly, then you can go to Western Union and use their service (I believe they only wire in US Dollars. ) They also charge a hefty percentage fee so expect that.

Let us know how you resolve it, I'd like to know what documents you need in order to do this also..

Cheers

[7969]

one of my chinese friends wired RMB9000 to my home bank account this past summer thru bank of china. no questions asked, no documents needed.

[AQUA MARINA]

Is there a service charge to wire cash and how much is it?

What banks are reccomend In China and is the process
and complicated one?

I would like to transfer my earnings into my homeland account
and want to do my resrch before going down

[7969]

[AQUA MARINA]

I will be in Chengdu and luckily they have 2 branches of the Bank of China listed. I want to be prepared and am worried since i need to make sure i can wire my RMB earnings into my Canadian Account.

I hope it will as easy as you said 7969 if I give them my Banking info. to wire the cash to, in order maintain my pre-authourized payments for my student loan and storage payments in Canada while i am out of the country.

When you say u handed your money to someone, was it the bank teller?
And have you wired cash more than once?

[7969]

[Dragonsaver]

You have to go to the Main Branch of the Bank of China in your city. The bank of China will transfer money directly to your account. The fee is 200RMB doesn't matter how much you send, the fee is the same. You need to get the international swift code from your bank so you can transfer the money. Your bank in Canada will give you all the numbers you need.

The exchange rate may be slightly lower than at a 'outside' money handler but the fee will be the same to send converted money as to have the bank exchange the money and do the transfer for you.

You need to take your passport, your Foreign Experts Certificate and proof that you have paid Chinese Income Tax (the school will give you the form).
Very simple, very easy and doesn't take very long. I have done this in 2 different cities in China and the process is the same.

[phis]

Dragonsaver has got it right.

However, don't go and do it yourself. The bank employees find it dificult to understand that you are sending money to 'yourself'. Hence the production of all those documents - and lots of additional questions about who the recipient is? are you sure it is you? etc.....

It is much easier to get someone from your school, or another Chinese person, to do it for you. The first time I did it, I went with the designated person. However, I just stood around doing nothing, while the whole procedure was completed. No documents were asked for from me, but the person making the transfer produced their own identity card. It was as easy as that.

Now we've agreed that when I want to make a transfer, someone from the school will go to the bank, without me having to accompany them.

Do make sure you have ALL the bank details including any bank codes. Ask your bank for these if you don't already know them.

[rhunderhill]

Yep Bank of China is the place to go for transfers. If you can't get the tax certificate from your school (they tell me they can only be issued at the end of the year) you need to use a Chinese friend to change RMB into your home currency which you can then send by filling out the form they give you. Not too difficult. You need the sort code and account number. I was charged 320 RMB to send 3500. Quite steep.Also the money arrived �20 short the other end which surprised me.

Here's the list of docs they gave me:
Written application
Passport or other id
employment or expert certificate
employment contract
RMB income list (from your employer which shows your salary)
tax clearance certificate (for foreign exchange)

[kev7161]

The one and only time I wired money through the Bank of China, I was charged 200rmb (about $25.00). Upon receiving the funds, I checked my US account online and noticed the amount deposited was $15.00 less than what I sent. I contacted my bank and they tell me that they don't charge a fee to receive money. By the way, I had converted the money before sending it. Somewhere across the Pacific, I lost 15 bucks. Now I send money home using EMS express delivery. Takes about 4 days and costs a bit less than $25.00 (around 180rmb).

[7969]

[kev7161]

yep, I uxed to send it via registered air mail (it always got there for almost 3 year's worth of sending), but decided on EMS after the bank wiring thing. Is it safe and wise to send money via mail? Probably not. Is it legal? Don't know - - I don't list it as "money' on the package. But I have to get money home and I don't want to spend elaborate fees using Western Union or losing mysterious fees by using Bank of China.

[moderntime]

reviving this old thread...I have some questions:

1. For the Bank of China wire transfer application, what exact information do I need? I have the Swift code, the bank address, phone number, and my account number, but is there anything else I need?

2. If I simply give a Chinese friend the amount I want to wire in cash (RMB), will the bank be okay with that, or will the Chinese friend also need to have an account with the bank?

[james s]

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