Transporting Money Across Hong Kong Borders: What Are the Legal Limits?

On July 16th 2018, you will be limited to bringing 120,000HKD to Hong Kong without declaring it when crossing the border from Shenzhen by ferry, train, airport etc. Previously there was no limit of the amount of cold hard cash you could bring into the Hong Kong Special Administrative region. This now explains the plethora of currency exchange shops all around Hong Kong and the many Bitcoin ATMs. The “Cross-boundary Movement of Physical Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments Bill” is being put in effect as an anti money laundering (AML) protection. It is not clear at this time if this covers crypto currencies and if you need to declare your Bitcoin Wallet.

Declaration

If you have more than 120,000HKD worth of currency then you should take the Red Channel and make a written declaration.

Borders

This law applies no matter how you get into Hong Kong however if you take the following borders you can take the Red Channel and declare:

• Lo Wu
• Hung Hom Station
• Man Kam To boundary
• Sha Tau Kok boundary
• Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal
• China Ferry Terminal
• Lok Ma Chau boundary
• Hong Kong International Airport
• Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal
• Shenzhen Bay Port Hong Kong port area
• Lok Ma Chau Spur Line
• Kai Tak Cruise Terminal
• Ocean Terminal

Penalty

If you do not declare your currency you could end up with a penalty for up to two years in prison or a maximum fine of 500,000HKD.

China Customs Cash Limit

When crossing back into Shenzhen you still need to remember that you are limited to 20,000RMB or 5,000USD equivalent before you have to declare at the Chinese customs. Full details of the SCMP. Details of many countries customs cash limits. (As of this writing not updated for Hong Kong) Question: Is there any prohibited products you can’t bring when entering Hong Kong?