Korean Job Discussion Forums

[maddog]

On Friday I went to Wooribank and sent 1.5M back home. The clerk pointed out that I could send back a maximum of of 10M a year. I pointed out that I was an E2 visa and was under the opinion that I could send my entire salary home if I wished. He insisted that I was limited to 10M.

One of the pay staff in work said that I could send ALL remaining money home if I presented my letter of release to the bank at the end of my contract.

Which is it? Can anyone help?

MD

[poet13]

It's up to 100% of your salary.
If you send more out in a month than your monthly pay, (say for example you didn't send money last minth) they might question that as they did me, but other than that, it's 100% of your salary.
If you make 28,386,100 won this year, you can send same.

[thegadfly]

It sounds to me like the clerk may have mis-spoken...up to $10,000 USD at one time is fine, after that, there are a bunch of checks and red flags going up, so though you could do it, it is hardly worth the hassle....

I have also been told $10,000 USD per visit -- that is, I sent $10,000 before a trip to the states, got back to Korea, and sent another $10,000 the beginning of the next month, no problem....

In five years, I have had them stamp my passport twice -- once because a Korean friend with me tried to "expedite" the process and ticked off the clerk, the other time because it was 11k (i.e. over 10k)....

Worse comes to worst, try a different bank

[waltjocketty]

from http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/content_549.php?abarcar_Session=cc39b22f644f09dbd54b6681a8d3d75d

"There are certain limitations as to the amount you can send home while you are here, as the Korean government would much prefer that you spend your money in Korea rather than take it all back to North America. For those of us on the standard one-year contract with a work visa to go along with it, you are permitted to send home 60% of your earnings. This percentage is not certain... some banks allow you to send 80% others 100% others don't care and don't stamp your passport...

If your stay is shorter than 1 year, then the supposed limit is $10,000.00 US. The bank is supposed to keep track of your total for you. This is good to keep in mind if you have exhorbitant student loan payments or some such thing. There are also service charges, of course. What bank would be complete without them? You get nicely double-dinged for them, too. The Korean bank will charge a fee to send the money, and your home bank will charge a fee for receiving it. The fees will vary from bank to bank, both here and at home. It's best to try to make as few transfers as possible with as large an amount as possible to avoid these paying these fees often.

Some people that are making extra money and have a surplus to send home will take a trip to Thailand or another country and will wire the money home from there. Legally you can enter almost any country with less than 10,000USD without declaring the money. There are Western Unions all over the place. "

[fruitcake]

I was sending money out monthly to pay off debts for a few years, and if I remember correctly...

the actual limit is pretty high. I think it was like $77,000 a year.

if you send out more than 12mil won/year, then the national tax service gets notified. I did that one year and never heard from them. I was using PC banking and some window popped up warning me about that. I wasn't very high over the 12mil for the year...

I think that's correct, but don't quote me. it's been a while since I've had to worry about that.

[Atavistic]

[ttompatz]

FACT:

You can send up to $10,000 per visit to Korea without proof of income or taxes.

For remittances over $10,000 per visit you must show proof of legal income and taxes paid (contract or pay slip).

You can also carry home up to $10,000 in Cash (or other negotiables like T/Cs) before you have to file paperwork.

This IS in the stickys AND the FAQs because it gets asked about once a week.

.

[jlb]

The 10 000 is a big myth. It's how much you can carry to another country without declaring it to the powers that be. You can send home your entire salary. If a bank won't let you, then find another one.

[NicRenee]

NO, as I believe only one or two other poster's have said 10,000 is the limit per year with no proof of income. You can send between 10,000 and your salary per year, but you need proof of income. READ THE FAQ!!