Today I heard that a guy was stopped at customs for bringing in 400,000 HKD.

Because he used the no-declaration channel, and the money was packed in his suitcase, it was easy to scan and find. In the end, he was fined 6%, and that was it.

Previously, someone brought in over 1 million without declaring and was fined 10%. So foolish.

The maximum fine is 20%, but if you cooperate voluntarily and the amount isn't large, it's usually between 1-6%.

In fact, there is no limit to bringing foreign currency into the country. If you carry more than $5,000 USD, just go through the declaration channel. You can make an appointment via the mini-program or go directly on-site.

They won't question you; just fill out a form and get a stamp, and it's over. You can then take the paper to a domestic bank to deposit the foreign currency, which is very convenient.

Customs won't charge tax. The only possible tax is if the information is passed to the tax bureau, and in the future, they might tax based on the source of funds.

However, I haven't heard of anyone being contacted by the tax authorities because of this. I heard that currently, the system only syncs with the foreign exchange administration bureau and doesn't proactively share info with the tax bureau, but the tax bureau can request assistance in retrieving data.

One last fun fact: a 28-inch checked luggage can hold up to 5 million USD.