(life) How to Change RMB to Foreign Currency (US$)

[Ria Smit]

This was received from the Bank of China who frequently get people
come without the correct documents.  It may save you much time.
Depending on how much you want to change, here is what you need and
also what the bank will keep on file.

1. Less than US$ 500 wanted. --- Valid Passport and Visa. --- Bank
will file copy of photo and visa.
----------------------
2. US$ 500 or more wanted.
    a.  Unused RMB carried from abroad. --- Bank exchange receipt less
than two years old OR ATM receipts withdrawing from foreign bank
account. --- Bank will file the original receipt or ATM receipts.
    -----------
    b. (i)  Total salary earned in China up to US$ 30,000. ---
Passport & valid Visa plus either Foreign Expert Certificate, signed
contract or salary stubs or certificate from the employer. --- Bank
will file copies of all of these and originals of salary stubs or
certificate.
    b. (ii) Total salary earned in China US$30,000 or over. --- as for
"up to US$ 30,000" and also a tax certificate which the bank will keep
on file.
----------------------
These the bank sent us as a group, and assured us that these are the
latest regulations issued by the bank.

Ria Smit
--------------
Ria Smit, Zhengzhou, China
Phone:[phone]
Mobile: [phone]
SKYPE: riacalling
www.yellowwattleenglish.com
www.betterphoto.com?englishteacherinchina
***********************************
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and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the
same person?
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[Wendy Smith]

Perhaps i missed something in one of the original posts. I send money to Australia regularly and have never had any of these problems. I use the CITIC Bank. I have a normal account with that bank.I need to take my passport and the details of the bank in Australia including the SWIFT number. Residence status must be current. Money is in my account in Australia within twenty four hours.Total fee 170 RMB. Total time to conduct transaction 15 minutes.

Wendy Smith

[Vicki Steven]

--- In TEFLChinaLife@..., Ria Smit <tryria@...> wrote:
>
>     b. (i)  Total salary earned in China up to US$ 30,000. ---
> Passport & valid Visa plus either Foreign Expert Certificate, signed
> contract or salary stubs or certificate from the employer. --- Bank
> will file copies of all of these and originals of salary stubs or
> certificate.

I have done this successfully about 4 times and can confirm the above.  However although I was given this information the first time, what was not made clear to me was that I had to produce enough salary slips WITH tax  deducted to cover the total I was remitting (usually 4-6 months salary).

Vicki

[Alan Simpson-2]

A foreign teacher suggested getting a Bank of China debit card which can be used overseas and for buying on the internet.
Has anybody tried this, does it work okay?
Alan Simpson

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Alan Simpson-2]

I'm thinking of cycling around Taiwan July / Aug. The reports I have read it sounds okay.

Food about the same as here but hotels about 20% more expensive.

Presume the weather is hot, humid, a chance of rain & a few cyclones thrown in.

Would the above be correct?

Are English novels available in Taipei? Is visa card readily accepted?

 

Alan Simpson


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Alan Simpson-2]

We are lucky to have our ticket allowance paid to us irrespective if we go home or not. 8,000.00 RMB which is not enough to cover most flights.

A couple of years back both the holiday allowance & ticket allowance became taxable & as this happens in one hit, it's usually about 430 RMB in tax.

However, talking to other teachers at other universities, they say this is never taxed.

What's your experience please?

Alan Simpson


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Bishop Johnson]

Mine worked just fine, the 2 times I visited he States (China Merchants Bank -- subject to both banks' daily ATM limits. But I had to specificanny request an INTERNATIONAL debit card.

KTF
RAY

Alan wrote:
> A foreign teacher suggested getting a Bank of China debit card which can be used overseas and for buying on the internet.
> Has anybody tried this, does it work okay?

[Marc Anthony-2]

Regarding Taiwan:

Due to a bicycle craze, Taiwan has been developing bike paths and routes all
over the island.  Biking here is a real pleasure.  I recommend seeing the
Taiwanese film "Island Etude" (2007).  It's a tribute to Taiwan's beauty
from the perspective a biker who travels around the circumference of the
island.

Food the same?  I wouldn't eat food in China due to poor quality.  Taiwan
cuisine is superb and at times unique because of the rich variety of
seafood.

Hotels more expensive?  Depends where you stay, I suppose.  Hostels can be
found for around NT$400, and budget hotels can cost around NT$1000 a night.

Weather is hot now because it's summer. Weather is markedly different in the
north and south, west and east, mountains and shores.  Rainstorms are
possible. Very low risk of typhoons.

Page One and Eslite bookstores carry contemporary and classic books in
English.

Major hotels, supermarkets, train and metro stations, department stores, gas
stations, and large restaurants all accept credit cards.

Marc Anthony
Taiwan

--
_____________________________
“Men are not governed by justice, but by law or persuasion. When they refuse
to be governed by law or persuasion, they have to be governed by force or
fraud, or both.” -- George Bernard Shaw

"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and
democracy-but that could change.” -- Dan Quayle


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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[Don williamson-2]

Alan....Of my 6 times coming and going from the same univ. I have recieved full reimbursement on air and benifits with no question and the word, "Tax" has not even been mentioned. The RMB amounts are well in excess of the amounts disscussed re. this subject. Maybe established foot prints help.

Don

Alan wrote:
However, talking to other teachers at other universities, they say this is never taxed.
What's your experience please?





     

[CATRINA TAYLOR]

It seems that if you are exchanging RMB to USD and sending it...it would be easier to give the receiver your bank card to make withdrawals and you make deposits with your bank book while in China. The Bank of China's bank card works at Citibank ATM's and HSBC when I was in Sydney...notice I say "bank card"...not a credit/debit card


C. Taylor
Jilin City
Jilin Institute of Chemical Technology

[Vicki Steven]

This only works if you are not the receiver!  

I find it "easy" - just time-consuming & tedious - to send money to myself but the bank clerk asked me this time "Fill in your NZ address";
Me: "I don't have a NZ address.  My home is in China";
She: "That can't be possible"; tears up application form and leaves it blank!

If you do want to use your Chinese debit cards back home NAB accepts Union Pay symbol (eg Agriculture Bank & Bank of China) and BNZ does likewise.

Vicki

________________________________

From: Catrina Taylor <taylor_made122000@...>

It seems that if you are exchanging RMB to USD and sending it...it would be easier to give the receiver your bank card to make withdrawals and you make deposits with your bank book while in China. The Bank of China's bank card works at Citibank ATM's and HSBC when I was in Sydney...notice I say "bank card"...not a credit/debit card

[Alan Simpson-2]

I'm intending to cycle around Taiwan in July. Thanks for you advice  Marc.



Is it possible to change RMB cash at the Taiwan airport?

Can I take my phone & buy a sim card or easier to buy a phone card?

I believe I don't need a visa (Australian passport), but cannot stay more than 30 days, that an extension whilst in the country is NOT allowed �C true?

Alan Simpson

[Marc Anthony-2]

Re Alan's query about travel in Taiwan:

RMB can be changed at banks and at the airport. Improved economic relations
have made this possible only recently. Taiwan is happy to take China's
money.

Phone and SIM cards are available.

Like most countries, Taiwan's mobile phone networks use the GSM system, so
if you bring your GSM phone with you, you can just purchase a SIM card
when you arrive. Prepaid SIMs are available everywhere, including
convenience stores and more recently, supermarket checkouts. However, be
aware that in many cases, you are required to show two forms of ID to buy a
SIM in Taiwan.
Australian passports valid for more than six months are eligible for 30 days
free entrance into Taiwan.


Regards,
Marc Anthony
Taiwan

_____________________________
“Men are not governed by justice, but by law or persuasion. When they refuse
to be governed by law or persuasion, they have to be governed by force or
fraud, or both.” -- George Bernard Shaw

"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and
democracy-but that could change.” -- Dan Quayle


------------------------------------

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[Marian Rosenberg]

Alan,

Glad to hear that you are ready to go bike touring already.  Any news on the girl who was injured while riding with you during the May Holiday?

-M

[sheila swanson]

Hi all! A little while ago, there was a discussion on international health insurance for those living and working there. I have a friend that is needing insurance  soon and can't find the emails in the mass of e-mails from this list, even with a search. It seems that there were two good ones that came up. Are there any suggestions?
Sheila


     

[Alan Simpson-2]

World Nomads  www.worldnomads.com  red24@...
Strangely the policies are different depending where issued. My is from Australia & I'm covered for cycle touring, whereas the U K one does not cover this.
Alan Simpson




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Chris-170]

Whether to buy international health insurance is a personal choice obviously.

 Haven't been on this site in a long time, and I might have missed the information being posted, but by LAW, as of August 2008, all schools must take out HEALTH insurance for their foreign teachers.

  For actually finding a job, you may not want to actually insist that this be in the contract, but if you do get sick, and health insurance is not in your contract, the school must pay themselves. I was sick for the first time in my life this past semester. Let the school talk with the Provincial FAO. The school will be paying me about 75-80% of my bill, the total bill was over 12,000 RMB

  Chris Pratt
   

[drgreg1212]

Chris, do you have any external reference or citation for this health insurance law (China newspaper article, official announcement, etc.)?  The coauthor of MKL, Kenneth Hayes, who owns and runs an SAFEA licensed school in Jilin, has never heard of it (which, in China, doesn't necessarily mean anything).

Greg Mavrides

-----------------
"Chris" <chrisp113@...> wrote:

>  Haven't been on this site in a long time, and I might have missed the information being posted, but by LAW, as of August 2008, all schools must take out HEALTH insurance for their foreign teachers.
>

[Chris-170]

drgreg1212 wrote:
>
> Chris, do you have any external reference or citation for this health insurance law (China newspaper article, official announcement, etc.)?
>>>

  No I don't. I have sources for other laws commonly not followed or not followed fully (two days off for Christmas, or the holiday of your religion). So anyone who wants to call this unconfirmed won't offend me. Cornell Uni in the U.S. translates new laws, takes a while.

  What I said I based totally on rumours of this law last year, and then personal confirmation by the SAFEA province office when someone at my school got sick, had to go to the hospital (Brit, "I guess go to hospital") and the SAFEA office told the unwilling school they must pay a major portion of the costs. For more details, e-mail me.

  SAFEA doesn't publicize their rules that favour foreigners (rules, not law, but enforceable by law). I don't want to say more here.

   Call your local SAFEA waishiban to confirm if neccessary, or discount my words, no offense either way

Chris Pratt

[drgreg1212]

Chris,

My purpose in asking you for a reference or citation was not to challenge or discredit you.  I am always on the lookout for important new information that affects foreign teachers in China for our website.  Obviously, I can't report information that is unverifiable.

As I mentioned before, Ken Hayes who owns a school in Jilin hasn't heard a word about this and he maintains very good ties with both the PSB and local SAFEA (and he called them this morning at my request).  Li Xue Ya who owns and runs the most successful private school in Haikou (Hainan YuDa) also hasn't heard a word about this and she is the first to know anything that affects foreign teachers in China.  I did try to verify it with two separate sources before replying to you.

If such a health insurance law does exist, it would be up to the SAFEA to regulate it as they have purview over the administration of foreign teachers, so it is odd that neither the SAFEA officials in Haikou or Jilin City have any knowledge of it.  Having just written that, I have also been in China long enough to know that their ignorance alone doesn't disprove the existence of such a law (or, more likely, yet another unenforceable *guideline*).

As is true for almost all guidelines that affect foreign teachers in China, if each municipality and/or province is free to either adopt or reject the SAFEA guideline, it doesn't have much practical significance even if it does in fact exist somewhere in writing.  On the other hand, the sporadic and intermittent enforcement of these guidelines (even across the same municipalities and within schools) do give members of anonymous EFL forums something to argue about until such time that the threads get locked or deleted.

If you do learn something more about this, please let us know.

Greg Mavrides


--------------------------
drgreg1212 wrote:
> >
> > Chris, do you have any external reference or citation for this health insurance law (China newspaper article, official announcement,
etc.)?
> >

Chris wrote:
>   No I don't. I have sources for other laws commonly not followed or not followed fully (two days off for Christmas, or the holiday of your religion). So anyone who wants to call this unconfirmed won't offend me. Cornell Uni in the U.S. translates new laws, takes a while.
>
>