Korean Job Discussion Forums

[powerthinker]

Just wondering if there is some kind of limit on the amount of money you can send home in a year??? I'm from Canada and have heard some mixed views on the amount that you are allowed to send back-- some say that it's $20000 canadian, some say its 2/3 of your paycheck, some say there is no limit... can anyone straighten this out for me???

Also, what's the deal with the bank writing the amount of money you send home in your passport?

Thanks

[zee]

I have sent money home through the bank 6 times now, and they have never written in my passport.
I heard that could happen though, and the magic number I heard was $10,000. I don't know for sure however, I'm just glad no one wrote in my passport!

[prairieboy]

If you're working legally, then there should be no problem. I sent home well over $10,000US during my first year here without a single comment from the bank. Although they did not mark it in my passport they did keep a running total in the computer system they use to wire the money.

Be sure you get a letter from your hogwon owner or school/university administrator and a copy of your paystub. These items should be enough to proof that you are working legally.

Afterall, it's your money. Why wouldn't you be allowed to send as much as you want. You'll have to take it out of the country at some point especially if you've been working legally.

Cheers

[Homer]

The basic rule seems to be that you cannot send more then 100% of your monthly salary home every month.

This may seem silly but with some teachers doing a wagon load of pvts on top of their legal job it comes into play.

The 10 000 dollar limit only concerns the amount of money you can bring into the country on you at one time.

[J.B. Clamence]

As long as the money is legal, there is no limit.

[Homer]

True about the 10 000 non declaration limit JB.


As for the no limit thing that is certainly not true.
It may not be enforced all the time but there is a limit to what you can send out of the country.

[rudyflyer]

we ought to put the myth about a US$ 10,000 limit you can send back as much credibility as fan death

that has been dead since 1997, only us long-timers ever had to deal with it

[Bulsajo]

My experience- Korean banks will not exchange or allow you to send out of the country more than $10,000US using the method of stamping the transaction in your passport. Customs for most countries will not allow you to bring in more than $10,000US in cash on you- you may be stopped and questioned and possibly even have the cash confiscated.

I sent money home by bringing my monthly salary statement to my Korean bank and was able to transfer 100% of the value indicated (i.e. my entire salary) to my home bank; my passport was not required, nor was there a limit. I would hang on to my salary receipts for months at a time and then send back a huge lump sum (they stamped the receipts I used so I would not be able to use them a second time).

[usteach]

Last year, I went to the Korea Exchange Bank in my city and they stamped my passport EVERY time I wired money back to the US. Once, i hit the 10,000$ US mark they wouldn't let me send more home. So, I had a Korean friend do it for me, using their ID to my bank acct. I still do that now, just in case. I think all banks have different systems- so it pays to have other ways to get it home.

[rudyflyer]

I have been here since 1996 and only ONCE have I had my passport stamped and that was in March of 1997 when controls were in place. I have wired money from Kongju, Daejon, Kyungju, Asan, Kwangju and now Seoul at a different bank in each city. Most places the first time I wired money back they take a photocopy of my passport and ARC, never had to show pay stubs. This past week I wired home $5000 in pension money Mrs Flyer and I recieved from our last jobs that I transferred from a bank in Gwangju to my bank here in Seoul a week after I wired my paycheck home. Guy didn't bat an eyelash in fact it took less time than the week before.

Consistency in Korea...what a concept