According to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange’s circular on adjusting the policy of forex purchase by individuals under the current account, the cap will be raised and the scope relaxed for supplying forex to mainlanders. The circular states that a mainland resident leaving the country for less than six months as indicated in his/her passport may purchase US$3,000 equivalent of forex each time provided that the purpose of travel falls under one of the following: tourism, visiting relatives, seeking medical treatment, business tour, employment, emigration, international exchange, overseas training or study, and labour service. If the trip lasts six months or longer, the individual may purchase forex equivalent to US$5,000. Meanwhile, the cap for buying forex to make offshore payments without leaving the country will be increased to US$3,000. Payments to international organisations, offshore mail orders and financial assistance to close relatives are examples of these payments.

At present, forex purchase by mainland residents travelling overseas as individual visitors is capped at US$2,000 (or US$1,000 for travelling to Hong Kong and Macau).

The circular also revises the administrative rules concerning forex purchase for travelling outside the mainland. When mainland residents purchase forex from banks for tourism purpose, the fee payable to the tour operator will no longer be counted towards the cap for forex purchase. Travel agencies may purchase the required amount of forex from the bank separately to pay for the tour fees overseas. Applications for forex purchase made by individuals to banks for tourism purpose should be accompanied by the applicant’s passport with a valid visa and identity card (or household register).

Meanwhile, individuals travelling to border areas for pleasure are subject to the following caps on forex purchase: US$100 per person per day, and US$500 per person per purchase.