The Way the Government Wants: Prove It, Then Wire It

Basically, you need to prove that you earned the money legally and that you have paid tax on it.

That means you need to bring your tax statements and a few other documents to the bank and tell them you want to transfer the money abroad. Be prepared that this usually means spending a few hours at the bank, and you really really need to have all these documents with you.

Make sure that all the passport numbers match (e.g. if you've changed your passport since you signed the labor contract you also need to bring your old passport). It's an annoying process, a single number mismatch on any of the documents (e.g. a small difference between tax records and salary receipts) and you've wasted a few hours sitting in a bank. As with anything banking related in China, smaller banks (China Merchants, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank ..) are usually easier to deal with and more likely to let you go away with missing documents.

And unfortunately, you have to do it in person, yourself.

Here's what you need to bring:

• Your work contract (劳务合同)
• Yearly income tax statement (个人所得税年度申报表)
• Your salary receipt (工资收入证明)
• A copy of the business license of your company (公司营业执照复印件)
• Your work permit card (外国人工作许可证)

You will also need your bank card, your passport, and your foreign account details, including the SWIFT code of your bank. The amount of money that you plan to transfer cannot exceed the amount that the tax office document covers.

The bank teller will absolutely love it if you forget one of these things, so be diligent and make sure you go in prepared.

If you have paid tax on your income and done everything above the board, you can send the total amount of your yearly net income abroad without any limitations. If you use the same bank in China and abroad (like HSBC), the transfer may be instant.

Withdraw Cash from an ATM Abroad

You can also send a Chinese UnionPay bank card overseas and withdraw cash from an ATM connected to the UnionPay system. Lots of them are. This is a popular but time-intensive option with limitations: UnionPay itself has a withdrawal limit of 10,000 RMB per day and some foreign banks have even lower limits. As for the yearly limit, the UnionPay website says there is a limit of 100k RMB per year.

The transaction fees vary from bank to bank but are usually around 5 Euro on a 1,000-Euro withdrawal, so that's about 0.5%, and the exchange rates are along what we've seen when exchanging money in China.

Other than withdrawing money from an ATM, you can also actually use your UnionPay card at many shops and restaurants overseas and those transactions have minimal transaction fees.

Take Cash on the Plane

Then there is cash-in-the-bag. The rules here are clear. Both Chinese and non-Chinese citizens are allowed to take up to USD 5,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency out of China each time they leave. Unless you leave twice within 15 days, triggering a new limit of just USD 1,000 or a foreign currency equivalent. Any more, and it's got to be declared at customs.

So, to recap. If you want to get money out of mainland China, you've got to prove how you earned it and show you've paid tax on it. Anything else is considered tax evasion and is illegal.

Larger Amounts: Transferring Proceeds from Selling Real Estate

Transfer of proceeds from selling Chinese real estate would follow the same rules as income from personal income tax: You may transfer the full sales amount, as long as you've paid taxes on it and you can prove it.

You will need to keep a clear track record of the real estate transaction and provide a complete "chain of evidence" including the property ownership certificate before and after the transaction, the real estate transaction agreement, the track record of cash flow, and the tax clearance certificates. This can often be tricky and you have to do proper planning in advance. Don't rush into selling your real estate and always get advice from real estate lawyers such as Camille Xu who's helped hundreds of foreigners with real estate transactions.

One issue that frequently comes up is who's name is on the property title.

Often foreigners don't purchase a property on their own but with their Chinese spouse. It is very important to note that the authorities will only consider the name registered on the property title as the owner of the real estate. For example, if your and your spouse's names are both on the property title, you are considered to own 50% of each of the properties and can only transfer 50% of the sales price; if only your spouse's name is on the property title, it is deemed 100% owned by them and you can't transfer any of it.

There are ways of adding your name to the property title even long after you've bought the apartment but it's a difficult process and you need help from a real estate lawyer.

Transferring Funds as Shareholder in a Company

If you are an entrepreneur and act as a shareholder in a Chinese company, you may also remit your income as a shareholder overseas under the same rules.

In this case, the annual audit report and accounting documents would be evidence of the source of funds. In addition, both you and your company must provide papers showing that you have duly paid up all the taxes.

We would like to mention that expatriates might be eligible to benefit from an exemption on individual income tax on the dividend (20% of the dividend to be remitted). Consult your lawyer to get advice on tax optimization options.

Special Arrangements for Naturalized People

Chinese citizens are under strict foreign exchange restrictions, however, if they emigrate to a foreign county and become naturalized citizens, they have the option to get all their RMB funds exchanged and remitted overseas in one shot.

In this case, you must provide documents on the deregistration of your Chinese nationality and Hukou. Those who have naturalized but want to maintain Pekinese / Shanghainese Hukou wouldn't be able to benefit from such an arrangement.

In practice, you will need to apply to the foreign exchange bureau and provide documents on the naturalization. There will also be an examination on the source of funds but it is not as complicated as it is for expats. If approved, you can get 50% of the total funds remitted in the first year, 25% in the second year and the remaining 25% in the third year.