How Much Cash Can You Bring Into China: Customs Cash Limit and How to Declare It

Last verified: 2026-10-28.

The answer first: the limit depends on the currency, and entry and exit are different rules

Cash limits for entering China are tiered by currency and amount. The single most useful distinction is this: some amounts are fine to carry without a declaration, some amounts must be declared on entry, and at least one amount is not a declaration question at all — it is a prohibition. Confusing those three categories is how travellers get into trouble.

Entry and exit must not be mixed: the entry declaration rule and the exit permit rule are separate, with separate thresholds below. Do not convert these figures into another currency from memory, and do not round them into a simpler rule such as "10,000 dollars total". The tiers are currency-specific and threshold-specific.

The tiers — confirmed from the General Administration of Customs guide and the Yantai municipal government guide

• Chinese yuan (RMB) — 20,000 yuan limit, exceeding part prohibited — Confirmed in the General Administration of Customs passenger guide: the limit of RMB allowed to bring in or take out is 20,000 yuan, and the exceeding part is prohibited: http://english.customs.gov.cn/statics/88707c1e-aa4e-40ca-a968-bdbdbb565e4f.html. The Yantai municipal government Guide for Foreigners states the same limit per individual: "an individual can carry a maximum of RMB 20,000 in cash at each entry or exit": https://www.yantai.gov.cn/attach/0/2110081636574245.pdf.
• Foreign currency, entering — no quantitative restriction, but declare at US$5,000 or above — Confirmed in the Customs guide: there are no quantitative restrictions on foreign currencies brought in. The guide's red-channel list puts "RMB 20,000 cash or above, or any other foreign currencies in cash equivalent to US$5,000 or above" in the "Goods to Declare" channel, while its exchange-control paragraph phrases the declaration duty as "more than 5,000 US dollars". This page therefore applies the adjudicated boundary: declare on entry at US$5,000 equivalent or above — exactly US$5,000 is declared, not treated as exempt. The guide states no 10,000-dollar ceiling for entry.
• Foreign currency, exiting — permit band, kept separate from the entry rule — Per the Yantai municipal government guide, travellers exiting with foreign-currency cash equivalent to US$5,000 to US$10,000 must apply for a "Permit for Carrying Foreign Exchanges" from a designated foreign exchange bank, and Customs allows free passage to travellers carrying the appropriately bank-sealed permit; in principle, travellers may not carry more than the equivalent of US$10,000 of foreign currency in cash out of China. Do not write the exit band as if it were the entry rule, and do not write the entry declaration as if it were an exit permit. What permit, if any, covers exit above US$10,000 with no entry-declaration record is not stated in the guides used here — check the current foreign-exchange rules before travelling with such an amount.
• Declare on entry if you plan to take cash out again — Confirmed in the Customs guide: Customs releases foreign currency on departure upon the declaration made at the last entry, and passengers carrying foreign currency worth more than US$5,000 who intend to take it out of China in the future shall fill out two declaration forms; after endorsement, one copy is returned to the passenger for use when leaving China. Without a last-entry declaration record, or if the recorded amount is less than what the passenger carries on exit, Customs releases only the discrepancy upon a certificate issued by the Foreign Exchange Bureau or its authorized banks.

Do not convert these figures into another currency from memory, and do not round them into a simpler rule such as "10,000 dollars total". The tiers are currency-specific and threshold-specific.

Per person, or per group? The limits are framed per traveller

The search terms behind this page include "per person," and that wording matters. The RMB limit is framed per individual: the Yantai municipal government guide states an individual can carry a maximum of RMB 20,000 in cash at each entry or exit. The Customs guide frames its declaration duties per passenger. Each traveller should therefore be able to account for the cash they personally carry, and should declare their own cash in their own name.

Whether a group or family may aggregate its members' allowances into one pooled amount is not stated in either guide. Do not pool cash across travellers to stay under a threshold unless an official original confirms that pooling is permitted.

Cash you plan to take out again: declare it on the way in

• The form name — The Customs guide names the forms "CHINA Customs BAGGAGE DECLARATION FOR INWARD PASSENGERS" and "CHINA Customs BAGGAGE DECLARATION FOR OUTWARD PASSENGERS", collectively the "DECLARATION FORM". Travellers with nothing to declare use the "Nothing to Declare Channel" (green channel); travellers with articles to declare use the "Goods to Declare Channel" (red channel).
• Why it matters — The endorsed entry declaration is the document Customs uses to release the cash on departure. Without it, taking the same cash out becomes a separate problem, even if the amount was lawful on entry.
• What to keep — For foreign currency over US$5,000 that you intend to take out again, fill out two declaration forms on entry; Customs endorses them and returns one copy to you for use when leaving China. The guide also states the endorsed declaration form "shall be kept properly, and shall be re-submitted to the Customs at the time of return if necessary". Keep the returned copy with your passport for the whole trip, and do not discard it after the arrival hall.

Two different forms: the customs declaration form and the arrival card are not the same form

This is the confusion this page exists to clear. The customs declaration form and the arrival card are two different forms, with different purposes, different triggers, and different places in the arrival process.

• Customs declaration form

  • Purpose — To declare dutiable or controlled items, including cash above the declaration threshold, to customs.
  • When you fill it in — Only when you have something to declare under the customs rules. The Customs guide's red-channel trigger list for inward passengers includes "RMB 20,000 cash or above, or any other foreign currencies in cash equivalent to US$5,000 or above".
  • What it is not — It is not your immigration arrival record, and filling it in does not replace the arrival card.

• Arrival card

  • Purpose — To record your arrival for immigration purposes.
  • When you fill it in — As part of the immigration arrival process. Exact timing and channel rules belong to the separate arrival-card topic and are not settled here.
  • What it is not — It is not a customs declaration. Filling in an arrival card does not declare your cash, and declaring your cash does not complete your immigration arrival.

• The mistake to avoid — Filling in only one form and assuming the other is covered. If you have cash to declare, you need the customs step as well as the immigration step. If you have nothing to declare, you still complete the immigration step as required.

This guide deliberately does not settle arrival-card timing, channels, or field details. Those belong to the separate arrival-card topic, and they are not imported into this cash page beyond the distinction above.

Forfeiture and penalty risk: what to take seriously

• Undeclared cash above a declaration threshold — The Customs guide states you are "subject to punishment if you fail to declare to the Customs when carrying the articles listed above", and that passengers who fail to observe the exchange regulation "are subject to the administrative penalty fine or even get their currencies confiscated". This page states the guide's wording; it does not state a fine amount, which the guide does not give.
• Cash above a prohibition line — The RMB 20,000 limit is a prohibition on the exceeding part, not a declaration tier: carrying RMB above 20,000 is a different and more serious problem than a missed declaration.
• Do not rely on "nobody checked me last time" — Enforcement varies by port, flight, and officer. A previous unchecked arrival is not a rule.
• When in doubt, declare — The Customs guide itself tells passengers who are not certain about the instructions to ask Customs officers for details or choose the "Goods to Declare Channel" (red channel). A declaration you did not strictly need is a paperwork cost; an undeclared amount you should have declared is a penalty risk.

This section gives a risk warning, not a legal opinion. Travellers carrying large amounts should check the current official wording and, for complex cases, seek professional advice before travel.

Before you travel with cash: a short checklist

• Currency — Separate your yuan from your foreign currency before applying any tier. Entry and exit tiers are separate.
• Amount — Count each currency separately. Entry: declare foreign currency at US$5,000 equivalent or above; RMB 20,000 per individual is the in/out limit, exceeding part prohibited.
• Declaration — If any tier requires a declaration, complete the "CHINA Customs BAGGAGE DECLARATION FOR INWARD PASSENGERS" and keep the Customs-endorsed copy.
• Taking cash out again — Declare on entry (two forms for foreign currency over US$5,000 you intend to take out again) and keep the returned endorsed copy for the exit. For exit amounts, the bank-sealed Permit for Carrying Foreign Exchanges covers the US$5,000–US$10,000 band per the Yantai government guide.
• Two forms — Complete the immigration arrival step and, separately, the customs step if you have anything to declare.

Sources

• General Administration of Customs of China — Customs Clearance Guide for International Passengers (cash and exchange-control section): http://english.customs.gov.cn/statics/88707c1e-aa4e-40ca-a968-bdbdbb565e4f.html — confirms the RMB 20,000 limit with the exceeding part prohibited, the foreign-currency entry-declaration rule, the red-channel trigger list, the declaration form names, the two-form rule for cash to be taken out again, the endorsed-copy retention rule, and the penalty wording (administrative fine or confiscation of currencies). The exit-permit band above is not from this guide; it is from the Yantai guide below.
• Yantai Municipal People's Government — Guide for Foreigners Living and Working in Yantai (currency section): https://www.yantai.gov.cn/attach/0/2110081636574245.pdf — confirms the RMB 20,000 limit per individual at each entry or exit, the exit band of US$5,000 to US$10,000 requiring a bank-sealed Permit for Carrying Foreign Exchanges, the in-principle US$10,000 exit ceiling, and the inbound written-declaration duty above US$5,000. The exit permit route above US$10,000 with no entry record is not stated in the guides used here.

Internal links

• https://hellochina.fans/guides/visas-entry
• https://hellochina.fans/payments