Nik comes from India and has been in Hangzhou for two and half years as a businessman. Recently he decided to purchase a car, however, he encountered a series of unexpected difficulties.
It was Sunday Jan. 6th. As for an Indian, it is lucky to do shopping on Sundays. Nik went to the Bank of China to exchange his USD to RMB at 10am. However, he was told by a bank clerk that the foreign currency exchange service was not provided on weekends. As a result he could only exchange 100 USD to RMB.
It was far from what Nik needed to buy a car. As a matter of fact he needed at least 25,000 USD. After negotiation the bank agreed to exchange 1000 USD for him. "I need to exchange 25,000 USD, not 1,000!" Nik was still quite upset when he complained to me later.
Nik was complaining about it in the bank and requested to talk to the person-in-charge. At last the bank agreed to exchange 10,000 USD for him. Realizing there was nothing else he could do, Nik left the bank and sought for help from his Indian friends.
Fortunately one of his friends from India was able to collect 15, 000 USD for him. After lunch, Nik went to another branch of the Bank of China, and was told that he could only exchange 1000 USD. "How come the branch I went to this morning exchanged for me 10,000 USD?" Nik asked. But the reply was that the branch must have made a mistake.
Without any choice Nik exchanged 1000 USD and borrowed the balance from his friend. It was around 4:30pm. Nik rushed to 4S store and went through all the procedures of purchasing the car. However, the sales executive told him to come back the next day for more procedures like insurance, registration and application for the car plate.
At 8:30am on Jan. 7th, Nik came to the 4S store, hoping he could go through all the formalities, as he had to work after that. It didn't take too long to pay insurance and the tax, however, when he came to the car registration, he was told that, according to certain rules, Nik had to submit a valid ID with Chinese translation. Nik's India passport, evidently, is all in English. What he could do was to rush all the way to Hangzhou PSB for a certified translation of his passport.
After he paid 30 RMB for the translation, Nik got the translation copy of his passport at 3pm and rushed over to the car registration office again. It was very crowded and he queued for about 50 minutes until it was his turn. But he was told that there was still a problem with his documents as the name of the purchaser indicated on the car invoice is in English but the name on the translation is in Chinese. The registration officer was not able to proceed due to the name difference.
Nik was almost fainted. He realized that he should go back to 4S store to revise his name on the invoice. At 4:15pm he finally got the new invoice and rushed all the way back to the car registration office at Liu Xiang's speed to submit all documents at the last minute.
It was the least fortunate day for Nik.
Now sitting in the Starbucks coffee shop, Nik, who got his new car eventually, told me the story with a bitter smile on his face. He said the other day when the registration was finally done, the office requested to take a photo of his new car, but it took a long while for them to find the camera man. What's more, when the camera man finally showed up he found his camera was running out of batteries.
When all these nightmares were over, Nik took a look at his watch, it was 6:30pm already.
Tip A:
It is confirmed that there is a limit for foreign currency exchange on weekends at a maximum value of 1,000 USD while on working days the ultimate limit for foreign exchange is 10,000 USD.
Tip B:
Documents requested for foreign expatriates to register,insure and tax a new car in China:
1.Original copy of passport and a certified copy of translation of the passport issued by Hangzhou PSB office. The cost is 30 yuan.
2.Temporary Residence Certification issued by local PSB branch. Please be noted that if the car is purchased in Hangzhou, the residence certification should also be issued by a Hangzhou PSB branch other than other branches like Shanghai or Nanjing, etc.
3.Certificate of Made in China or Imported Certificate issued by the customs.
4.Original invoice of the car purchase. The name of the purchaser indicated on the invoice must be in Chinese.
5.Original tax payment of the car purchase.
6.Mandatory Insurance of Traffic Accident.
7.Application Form.
8.Confirmation Form of the Uniqueness (examined
and confirmed).
9.Tags of the serial numbers of the chassis and the engine, 2 copies each.
Some 4S stores provide administration services as well. However, a letter of authorization should be presented as well as the above-mentioned documents.
Tip C:
How to get a Driver's License for foreign expatriates in China:
Foreign expatriates also need to present their driver's license when purchasing a car in China.
There are two circumstances. One is that you've already had a driver's license from your own country; the other is that you don't have a driver's license at all.
For those who have driver's license, please bring with you the original copy of the driver's license, residence certification in Hangzhou, passport as well as the certified copy of the passport translation, to attend the theory test. You don't need to attend the practical test and open road test.
For those who have no driver's license, please get registered in a driving school, bringing along your residence certification in Hangzhou, original copy of your passport as well as the certified copy of the passport translation. Having passed the theory test, practical test and the open road test organized by the driving school, you can get the driver's license.
It was Sunday Jan. 6th. As for an Indian, it is lucky to do shopping on Sundays. Nik went to the Bank of China to exchange his USD to RMB at 10am. However, he was told by a bank clerk that the foreign currency exchange service was not provided on weekends. As a result he could only exchange 100 USD to RMB.
It was far from what Nik needed to buy a car. As a matter of fact he needed at least 25,000 USD. After negotiation the bank agreed to exchange 1000 USD for him. "I need to exchange 25,000 USD, not 1,000!" Nik was still quite upset when he complained to me later.
Nik was complaining about it in the bank and requested to talk to the person-in-charge. At last the bank agreed to exchange 10,000 USD for him. Realizing there was nothing else he could do, Nik left the bank and sought for help from his Indian friends.
Fortunately one of his friends from India was able to collect 15, 000 USD for him. After lunch, Nik went to another branch of the Bank of China, and was told that he could only exchange 1000 USD. "How come the branch I went to this morning exchanged for me 10,000 USD?" Nik asked. But the reply was that the branch must have made a mistake.
Without any choice Nik exchanged 1000 USD and borrowed the balance from his friend. It was around 4:30pm. Nik rushed to 4S store and went through all the procedures of purchasing the car. However, the sales executive told him to come back the next day for more procedures like insurance, registration and application for the car plate.
At 8:30am on Jan. 7th, Nik came to the 4S store, hoping he could go through all the formalities, as he had to work after that. It didn't take too long to pay insurance and the tax, however, when he came to the car registration, he was told that, according to certain rules, Nik had to submit a valid ID with Chinese translation. Nik's India passport, evidently, is all in English. What he could do was to rush all the way to Hangzhou PSB for a certified translation of his passport.
After he paid 30 RMB for the translation, Nik got the translation copy of his passport at 3pm and rushed over to the car registration office again. It was very crowded and he queued for about 50 minutes until it was his turn. But he was told that there was still a problem with his documents as the name of the purchaser indicated on the car invoice is in English but the name on the translation is in Chinese. The registration officer was not able to proceed due to the name difference.
Nik was almost fainted. He realized that he should go back to 4S store to revise his name on the invoice. At 4:15pm he finally got the new invoice and rushed all the way back to the car registration office at Liu Xiang's speed to submit all documents at the last minute.
It was the least fortunate day for Nik.
Now sitting in the Starbucks coffee shop, Nik, who got his new car eventually, told me the story with a bitter smile on his face. He said the other day when the registration was finally done, the office requested to take a photo of his new car, but it took a long while for them to find the camera man. What's more, when the camera man finally showed up he found his camera was running out of batteries.
When all these nightmares were over, Nik took a look at his watch, it was 6:30pm already.
Tip A:
It is confirmed that there is a limit for foreign currency exchange on weekends at a maximum value of 1,000 USD while on working days the ultimate limit for foreign exchange is 10,000 USD.
Tip B:
Documents requested for foreign expatriates to register,insure and tax a new car in China:
1.Original copy of passport and a certified copy of translation of the passport issued by Hangzhou PSB office. The cost is 30 yuan.
2.Temporary Residence Certification issued by local PSB branch. Please be noted that if the car is purchased in Hangzhou, the residence certification should also be issued by a Hangzhou PSB branch other than other branches like Shanghai or Nanjing, etc.
3.Certificate of Made in China or Imported Certificate issued by the customs.
4.Original invoice of the car purchase. The name of the purchaser indicated on the invoice must be in Chinese.
5.Original tax payment of the car purchase.
6.Mandatory Insurance of Traffic Accident.
7.Application Form.
8.Confirmation Form of the Uniqueness (examined
and confirmed).
9.Tags of the serial numbers of the chassis and the engine, 2 copies each.
Some 4S stores provide administration services as well. However, a letter of authorization should be presented as well as the above-mentioned documents.
Tip C:
How to get a Driver's License for foreign expatriates in China:
Foreign expatriates also need to present their driver's license when purchasing a car in China.
There are two circumstances. One is that you've already had a driver's license from your own country; the other is that you don't have a driver's license at all.
For those who have driver's license, please bring with you the original copy of the driver's license, residence certification in Hangzhou, passport as well as the certified copy of the passport translation, to attend the theory test. You don't need to attend the practical test and open road test.
For those who have no driver's license, please get registered in a driving school, bringing along your residence certification in Hangzhou, original copy of your passport as well as the certified copy of the passport translation. Having passed the theory test, practical test and the open road test organized by the driving school, you can get the driver's license.