Regulations on purchase of foreign currency to transfer or carry it abroad in compliance with the law in Vietnam

Regulations on purchase of foreign currency to transfer or carry it abroad in compliance with the law in Vietnam (Image from the Internet)

1. What is purchase of foreign currency?

According to Clause 3 Article 3 Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN, purchase of foreign currency means that residents who are organizations or individuals use Vietnamese dong to buy foreign currency at authorized banks to transfer or carry abroad for purposes prescribed in Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN.

2. Guidance on purchase of foreign currency to transfer or carry it abroad in compliance with the law in Vietnam

* Guidance on purchase of foreign currency to carry abroad for one-way money transfer purposes of organizations

According to Article 6 Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN, the guidance on purchase of foreign currency to transfer or carry it abroad is as follows:

- Organizations needing to buy foreign currency to transfer or carry abroad for purposes prescribed in Article 4 Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN shall follow the instructions of the authorized bank.

- In case the resident organization buys foreign currency from the authorized bank to carry abroad for purposes prescribed in point a clause 1 Article 4 Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN with the amount requiring customs declaration, the authorized bank shall issue a Certificate for carrying foreign currency in cash abroad according to the regulations on carrying foreign currency in cash when exiting or entering the country.

- Within the scope of available foreign currency, the authorized bank is allowed to sell foreign currency to resident organizations to transfer or carry abroad for purposes prescribed in Article 4 Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN.

* Guidance on purchase of foreign currency for one-way money transfer purposes of Vietnamese citizens as residents

- Vietnamese citizens as residents who need to buy foreign currency to transfer or carry abroad for one-way money transfer purposes prescribed in clause 2 Article 7 Decree 70/2014/ND-CP shall follow the instructions of the authorized bank.

- In case Vietnamese citizens as residents buy foreign currency from the authorized bank to carry abroad for one-way money transfer purposes with the amount requiring customs declaration, the authorized bank shall issue a Certificate for carrying foreign currency in cash abroad according to the regulations on carrying foreign currency in cash when exiting or entering the country.

- Within the scope of available foreign currency, the authorized bank is allowed to sell foreign currency to Vietnamese citizens as residents to transfer or carry abroad for one-way money transfer purposes prescribed in Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN.

- Vietnamese citizens as residents needing foreign currency in cash to carry abroad for purposes such as study, medical treatment, business trips, tourism, or visiting shall be allowed to purchase the currency of the destination country at the authorized banks. In case there is no currency of the destination country, the authorized banks shall sell other freely convertible foreign currencies.

3. Amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer or carry it abroad under regulations in Vietnam

* Amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer or carry it abroad for one-way money transfer purposes of organizations

According to Article 8 Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN, the Amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer or carry it abroad for one-way money transfer purposes of organizations is as follows:

- The amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer, carry abroad in cases prescribed in point a and b clause 1, clause 2 Article 4 Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN is based on the amount recorded on relevant documents, proofs.

- The amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer abroad in cases prescribed in point c clause 1 Article 4 Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN is based on the amount recorded on relevant documents, proofs but must not exceed 50,000 USD (fifty thousand United States dollars) or other foreign currencies of equivalent value per transfer.

* Amount of foreign currency allowed to buy, transfer, carry abroad for one-way money transfer purposes of Vietnamese citizens as residents

According to Article 13 Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN, the amount of foreign currency allowed to buy, transfer, carry abroad for one-way money transfer purposes of Vietnamese citizens as residents is as follows:

- The amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer, carry abroad for purposes such as study and medical treatment prescribed in point a clause 2 Article 7 Decree 70/2014/ND-CP is based on the expenses notified by the foreign side.

In case there is no notice from the foreign side regarding living expenses and other related costs for study or medical treatment purposes, besides tuition fees, hospital fees, and other costs already notified by the foreign side, the authorized banks shall decide the amount to buy, transfer, carry additional foreign currency for these purposes according to point a and b clause 4 Article 13 Circular 22/2020/TT-NHNN.

- The amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer, carry abroad for purposes such as business trips, tourism, visiting abroad prescribed in point b clause 2 Article 7 Decree 70/2014/ND-CP is decided by the authorized bank based on the reasonable needs of the individual and according to point b clause 4 Article 13 Circular 22/2020/TT-NHNN.

- The amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer abroad for purposes of paying various fees to foreign countries prescribed in point c clause 2 Article 7 Decree 70/2014/ND-CP is based on the notification of expenses by the foreign side.

- The amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer abroad for the purpose of family allowance for relatives abroad prescribed in point d clause 2 Article 7 Decree 70/2014/ND-CP shall be implemented as follows:

+ The authorized banks decide the amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer based on the reasonable needs of the individual in accordance with the purpose of supporting living expenses, stabilizing the life of the beneficiary abroad;

+ The amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer for one recipient abroad in one year shall not exceed the average per capita income at current prices of the country where the recipient is residing. Annually, the authorized banks update data on average per capita income at current prices of countries published at the nearest point on the World Bank's website to serve as a basis for determining the amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer for the purpose of family allowance abroad;

+ The purchase and transfer of foreign currency abroad for the purpose of family allowance shall not apply to cases where the recipient is studying, undergoing medical treatment, on business trips, tourism, or visiting abroad.

- The amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer abroad for the purpose of transferring inheritance to the beneficiary abroad prescribed in point dd clause 2 Article 7 Decree 70/2014/ND-CP is based on the asset value that the beneficiary receives according to inheritance laws.

- The amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer abroad for the purpose of relocation abroad prescribed in point e clause 2 Article 7 Decree 70/2014/ND-CP is based on the value of assets formed in Vietnam before obtaining foreign nationality or before being allowed to reside abroad for the purpose of relocation according to the laws of the host country.

In case of transferring money to cover expenses related to procedures for applying for relocation abroad (excluding investment costs to obtain nationality or residency abroad), the amount of foreign currency to buy, transfer abroad is based on the expenses notified by the foreign side.

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