Regulations taking US cash out of China?

[stoney]

Is there a limit as to how much US cash they will let me leave China with?

[billiardsmike]

Other people have occasionally posted that you can take out as much as you've brought in (including transfers), as long as you can show show proof. At least one official politely implied that I was an idiot for thinking so. The limit is 20,000 yuan. As a pleasant surprise, since I was already at the airport, he let me go with 35,000 and said not to do it again.

This was only because I was ridiculously honest and declared that I had the money. Had I not, no one would have checked me. I could have had 1,000,000, if I could carry that much.

[stoney]

Then how do people who come to China to work, get thier savings out of the country? 20,000 yuan is less than $3000US; I've got over $5000US?

[muyongshi]

Through very expensive wire transfers.

Sucks huh?

[WangYuHong]

I didn't think there were any issues with taking foreign money out. (Which is different than having RMB that you want to convert and take out of the country)

My wife had a bank account with HSBC in Beijing, denominated in US Dollars.

We initiated a wire transfer for $10,000 from that account to an account I have in the US, and it went through without any problems. The fee was only $10 or $20 too (which they double-charged us on, grrrrr), but for that large a transfer I consider that to be quite a deal.

[cdn_in_bj]

Yes, if you leave China with cash, you have to declare it on the customs form if it exceeds a certain amount. It looks like you can take out $5k US, above which you will need to get a permit (see the link below).

http://www.pbc.gov.cn/rhwg/19970103f.htm

Also, when entering the US although there is no limit on how much money you can bring in, you do have to declare cash or other monetary instruments (including traveller's cheques, etc.) if the total amount exceeds $10k US. This is done for anti-laundering/terrorism reasons.

It is interesting to note that although the government here is very strict about how much money leaves the country, they are quite liberal when it comes to the flow of money within the country. I've seen someone withdraw 400k RMB at the counter, the money was in four 100k RMB stacks and each stack had to be passed one-by-one through the compartment below the teller window. Very niu bi. Also the ability to transfer 6 figure amounts to someone else's account and have it process immediately (as long as both accounts are with the same bank). It's a lot easier to do here than back home. And lastly the ATMs which let you withdraw up to 20k.

[gato]

See this from Bank of China website:

http://www.bank-of-china.com/en/common/third.jsp?category=1099300769100

Issuance of Foreign Currency Taking Certificate （外币携带证）

• In accordance with relevant provisions of the foreign exchange administration, a domestic resident to take USD 2,000 to 4,000 (or other foreign exchange equivalent) out of the territory, or a non-resident to take USD 5,000 to 10,000 (or other foreign exchange equivalent) out of the territory may ask for the issuance of a Foreign Currency Taking Certificate from the bank.

[calif2nanning]

$5,000 is the limit. You can western union any amount to yourself for $27 or less from almost any China Post Office and many Agriculture Banks.

Hope this helps