State expat employees or NIS teachers

The "official" accronynm is AEO NIS.  Spelled out it's Autonomous Educational Organization Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools.  If you're an old timer like myself, you'd call it Orken.  Regardless, it really doesn't matter what you call it.

The reason why they have all this lingo/title is based around the hope of smoke and mirrors.  By calling it "Autonomous Educational Organization," they are trying to signify that the system is not under government control, which means not subject to the graft/corruption/incompentency that is Kazakhstani government.  However, just as my BS grad school posted signs inside every physical campus structure claiming "committed to be one of America's Great Public Institutions," a rose by any other name still smells the same.  The powers that be can "claim" independence, but I can claim to be the Sultan of Salam, too.  I'll let you make the decision...

Yes, you're a state employee with the Republic of Kazakhstan but with no claim to the social security/pension system.  That whole 10% tax thing is your pension, which they are supposed to give back to you when you leave the county, but, again, WELCOME TO KAZAKHSTAN!

If sending money is a concern, don't let that be on your list.  The banking system is definately not up to Western speed, but it's on a much higher level than government.  I can't speak for Aktobe as that's a brand new school, but SOP in this country by any employer is to be issued a Visa card by the bank of choice for the employer and for the employer to use direct deposit into a what the UK terms a "current" account or what the US terms a "checking" account which your Visa card is  tied.

If you are NOT from the USA, you will have the luxury of doing a Visa to Visa transfer where money on your KZ issued Visa is transferred to home institution Visa abroad, be that a charge/credit card or a banking ATM card.  If you are from the USA, CONGRATULATIONS!  Your government wants to know EVERYTHING and prohibts the transfer of money thinking you are a counterfeiter, drug dealer, or arms salesman.  The only methods to send money to the USA are to do a SWIFT/wire transfer from your KZ bank to your US bank (plan on paying an approx 2% conversion fee & whatever additional wire fee charged by your KZ bank and possibly any fees charged by the receiving bank in the USA) or to do a Western Union transfer (again, roughly 2% currency conversion transfer & about a 6-8% fee by Western Union).

The only alternative is to open an account with a "Western" bank in KZ.  I put Western in quotes because those banks are western in name only.  Banks must be owned by Kazakhstan so any overseas bank based in KZ is really a name only franchise.  They say that Citibank has branches in ALA, but I've never found it.  The only other western bank in KZ is HSBC.  The problem with HSBC is they are incredibly small with just 6 branches in the entire country and half of them are in ALA.  One is in TSE and the other two are in Atyrau & Aktau both petro towns.  They were established to cater to the financial sector (ALA) and the expat sector (grease monkeys).  There is Sberbank, a Russian bank (hell, it's the largest bank in Russia), which I have found tends to have their $hit together but wire services require opening an account and I don't have one there.  It may be in your financial interest to get a bunch of colleagues together and drive once a month over to Atyrau or Aktau (whichever one is closest) to do your banking.  Most just mutter under their breath and pay the $50-$100 USD conversion/wire fee.  Many of us just sock the cash in the banks here as the going rate on a term (UK)/savings (US) account is anywhere from 3-5% in USD and 5-7% on KZT and carry a big wad in our briefcases twice a year at the holiday periods.

Anyway, hope this helps!

Wow, this is an excellent response. Much thanks. While I don't have the first-hand experience to fully comment, these are my impressions:

It didn't take me long to figure out that the pet project of the President is an uber governmental one. From this point of view they seem to be the most funded. I agree, mottos and slogans are for shallow comfort and assuages, I assume, what the Cambridge partners are looking for.

I had no idea that the 10% would be returned. Big thanks for that even if the question gets deflected and buried in bureaucracy.

I knew the US had crazy strict rules hoping to keep billionaires from escaping taxes but what crap. All those extra fees to just move money. Crappy situation. I'll have to set up some type of automatic payment with my loans and leave some extra cash in my US bank. Things I was going to do anyway but I appreciate knowing this before finding out over there. $50 to $100 for wire fee is outrageous. I looked into HSBC but all expat accounts had to have at least $10k at all times. If I stay a second year that won't be a problem. While transferring money from a Kazakh bank to a Russian bank and then to a US bank is both nerve raking and probably puts up all kinds of red flags, I'll do what ever is most beneficial for me. I was hoping that the school and AEONIS reps would have answers on this. I spoke to a guy who has been a tremendous help but even this wasn't clear to him.

Again, this is a great help. Thanks a bunch.

Glad to help!

Remember, we are paid in KZT.  When you're converting $100 bucks you're only talking a dollar or two, but when you're converting $1000s that 1-2% adds up quick.  You're looking at a min of $45 USD @ 1% just to sell your KZT into USD and 1% is the low end.  It is usually about 1.5%.  Then figure on $10-$20 USD as the wire fee, and, well you're looking at $50-$100 USD.  That would be SOP if you were in Timbucktoo, London, or anywhere else where you are paid in one currency and wish to own another.  You can always play the exchange game but it's highly risky and the KZT is not a market-driven currency.  It is the KZ government's goal to be one some day, which is the reason why you, I, and everyone else is here (dictated by the World Bank; when it's not about the $$, it's ALWAYS about the $$), but right now, the currency is highly manipulated.  It's gone from about 147 KZT=$1 USD to 152 KZT = $1 USD in the 2 years I've been here.  Welcome to FOREX (FOReign EXchange)!

kz.hsbc.com/1/2/en/personal/home

Hi
You sound very disappointed with your experience working in Kazakhstan. Why are you still with them?.
I am coming over to work with a school for a year, i hope the experience is somewhat enjoyable.
Have you found any good points that you could share?
cheers

Just something brief because I'm not the teacher my husband is... You're working for the 2013-2014 school year? Banking is not a high issue if at all. My husband has to convert the tenge before transferring to our US account. I don't work so his pay applies for two people. There isn't a lot to do as far as sight seeing that cost so it's easy to save enough and have enough in the Kazakh account per their policy and still be able to transfer. We still have student loans to pay off. We travel almost every break he gets and still live comfortably. I have notice that the biggest concerns are the organization within the school. Last year the local teachers weren't told the international teachers were there to teach them a more westernized way of teaching so they kept butting heads a lot. Plans will be scheduled then changed so many times before the actual date then changed at the last minute. Go in with low standards. There are many teachers that have experienced the worse.

Thank you for your quick insights.

I have a major banking account (Schwab) but wanted to know specifically what people are using to convert their tenge payments into dollars. What I'm most interested in is avoiding some type of "we'll look into that scenario." Not knowing a lick of Russian is going to be a challenge enough so I'd lke to come in with some knowledge that gives me a head start. Beyond banking and decent internet, I'm quite satisfied to put everything into teaching, save up, and use the time to reset my mind so to speak. I've been watching more travel/tourism videos on and around the steppe. Incredibly beautiful. Wish I would have know that when I was asked where I preferred to teach although art teaching doesn't have as much opportunity as other areas.

It seemed to me that when they said I would be partnering with and even "teaching" their local teachers it was a little insulting to them.  After all, it's their country and we are guests.  I'm trying to beef up on my Russian and if I can find information on it, Kazakh visual art history and modern. The way I was told things would go is we would be planing together and sharing results/experiences. I need them more than they need me  I have plenty to contribute.

Lack of organization can be frustrating. For me it's especially so when I put in a lot of time on a project just to see it pushed to the side. I don't lie down easy but I have tact. There are some videos teach away created to promote the NIS jobs. Everyone said that things are challenging and to not expect for this job to be a holiday but the kids and the money balance that out. 

Does your husband teach in the school in Aktobe? What area?

I am being offered a position in Taraz. Does anyone already teach there?

Really. Some very useful and helpful information, but which is the best way of converting  and transferring money out without too much "charges"?

Hi Bryan,

You can change the national money tenge to USD.
For the example 1USD=154 tenge. So you should buy or USD or the money of your country and here in banks we have Western Union where we can transfer the money but it is expensive but very quickly. Or you can ask your family to open the account in your country and you can send salary through bank.

Hey Lyaz. After 7 weeks and two banks later we have it nearly figured out. Here in Aktobe some teachers have used western union and money gram but I've been holding out for a bank to bank transfer. We all opened accounts with Halyk bank, one of two major banks in KZ, with the assurance that we would be able transfer money online or in the bank with a low fee. Three weeks later I was told that I needed to open up a US dollar account with the same bank since we are paid in tenge. One account can only hold funds in one currency. Makes sense. The US dollar account wasn't created due to issues or problems so we are taking our business to KazKom bank. They are the largest national bank and have many services that the other bank did not; one of which is the ability to send funds from your account using the Visa ATM to another Visa card, vice versa with Master card. While I haven't tried it yet the bank just installed an atm in the school- a good sign that they are taking the extra effort.

May be. You would know better. It depends of percents.

Art Man - So Kazkam bank do some kind of money transfer but via ATM and not internet. Is that right? Are the the best all round services bank as ell?
Is USD the best currency to bring for exchange rather than STG?

We were told, I believe, that Kazkom can do online transfers but without asking someone all I know for sure is that they have ATM transfer abilities. We have contacts and know where the people work that presented but walking in off the street expecting someone in the bank to speak English is bold. Still, there should always be someone on staff who has enough to answer questions or guide you in the right direction (transfer services) since English is a universal language for banking and international trade. Then again, I'm in Aktobe- a reasonably large city but no Astana or Almaty. The best way to transfer is using your account with the bank otherwise dropping a couple thousand on the table looks suspicious and takes 15 pages of documents before sending. Also, the great thing about Kazkom is that they convert tenge into dollars without a charge. Still waiting to test that.

Thanks Art Man - (Moderated: Off-topic. Please start a new discussion in the Kazakhstan forum)

Just before Xmas managed to transferred some money (after conversion to STG and opening another account) to a UK Bank (Building Society) with an IBANK code. It ONLY took 2 x half day and a lot of patient. The Kazcom branch do have a English speaking person there, but "Bank Transfer" seem to be something they don't understand and took a lot phone call to someone (internally) and a bit of reading from the manual themselves. The result been:
Exchanging KZT to STG @ 0.3% and whatever exchange rate they give you.
a standard charge of $55 USD for the transfer
Overall I estimated it costed me around 2% to use this method, less if you have a larger sum to transfer.
Hence it is worth while to save a large sum than to do one big transaction.
The online banking username and password haven't worked, so haven't tried it yet.
The ATM VISA to VISA transfer can only deal with KZT or USD (exchange rate applies) and again minimum charges applies too.
By the way, are you aware that every time you print out a receipt or mini-statement (with only outward transaction) you get charged for it. As in the UK we don't.

I too sent a wire transfer home before the holidays. It only took 2 days for the funds to go from Kazkom bank to my bank in the US. There are fees involved but I haven't quite figured out how much. I was just happy to complete it.

It is better to give someone you trust a card and have them withdraw money which can be deposited in your home bank. This usually only costs what the ATM charges and a currency exchange rate depending on your desired currency. I didn't receive my second bank card until after the holidays so I'm not absolutely sure that it is a solid plan but I intend to do leave one this summer. Like any foreign transaction it is wise to call the bank to let them know that you will be out of the country.

I may be offered a position for the 2014-2015 school year. How have you fared so far?

That's a pretty large topic. Depends on where you are, which subject, and those specific things that you need in your life. Message me with specific questions and I'll do my best to help.

Have been offered a position for the NIS in Pavloader.

Any info  about school etc greatly appreciated.

Love to help you to answer any questions, but need to be sure this is genuine. As there are people "watching" and "Monitoring" and some just "Hoaxers/Pranksters".

@Jaming ????

This is a topic that I have tried to obtain complete answers, but not until I happened to come across this website.You have no idea how helpful this forum will be to me.

I have been offered a position for 2014-2015. I am an experienced teacher. I have never had to deal with the currency situation. So, I lean upon those with experience and knowledge, i.e. my teachers are you.

As I understand it, my Tenge cannot be transferred to USD or Euros without a fee.

The fee is charged at the bank or by an exchange company.(The fee is paid in tenge?)

After the fee is charged for the exchange of the money, the USD or Euros can be wired or money transferred. This also incurs a fee. (The fee is paid in tenge ?)

Some banks have a way of transferring money from the employee issued VISA to a US/European VISA (?)

If anyone could please read this and clarify my questions, that would be great.

Luckily I have a friend in a local bank whom I am going to ask how they would handle my needs. Whatever I learn I will share on this forum.

Again, if anyone could reply with a knowledgeable reply to what I wrote, it would be so greatly appreciated. This a critical factor in my coming or not coming. I must have it totally understood as I have bills and loans to pay and I cannot have a gap in payments due to any misunderstanding of how the system works.I work in bookkeeping so knowing cash flows and expected fees and percentages is something I can do, and must understand.

Thank you for anyone's help. It is much, very much appreciated.

<<as i="" understand="" it="" my="" tenge="" cannot="" be="" transferred="" to="" usd="" or="" euros="" without="" a="" fee.="">>

Correct. Each exchange has a fee all banks do this. But, kazakom bank holds money in three currencies- euro, dollar, and tenge.  Some are told that they need a dollar account- even halyk bank does this- in order to send money. All bank transfers are handled in dollars. I believe that is the world standard. 

<<the fee="" is="" charged="" at="" the="" bank="" or="" by="" an="" exchange="" company.="" paid="" in="" tenge="">>

Kazkom charges $25 and that's been the case for large amounts.

<<after the="" fee="" is="" charged="" for="" exchange="" of="" money="" usd="" or="" euros="" can="" be="" wired="" transferred.="" this="" also="" incurs="" a="" fee.="" paid="" in="" tenge="">>

Like above, I'm not aware of any extra charges beyond the $25. You should always know which exchange rate they are buying dollars at. Every bank has the rates posted.

<<some banks="" have="" a="" way="" of="" transferring="" money="" from="" the="" employee="" issued="" visa="" to="" us="">>

Yep. Visa to visa has worked with every country I've seen EXCEPT America. Ridiculous but that's the game.

Having a friend at the bank can be very helpful as it can be difficult to get things done with both the language barrier and the bureaucracy. Finding a branch with a customer relations manager or even a mid level teller can help. Personally in NIS Aktobe we have a local deputy principal that is trilingual and knows how to get things done. Find that person quickly if you accept a position. It will help you immensely.  Then again, you shouldn't worry too much. Just ask a lot of questions and be diplomatically persistent.</some></after></the></as>

Forgot to mention.  When the tenge to dollar dropped- 150 tenge: 1 dollar to 180 tenge: 1 dollar- I personally lost a good bit. Not because they removed tenge or my balance was changed, rather my exchange bought fewer dollars. I've heard that they won't be devaluing the tenge anymore- some kind of 3 year fiscal planning but I'm looking into converting all my money to dollars.  That would avoid any fluctuations. Still checking on that.

But the good thing is that we get paid in dollars which meant we got a lot more when it was  converted to tenge so in my case it offset any increase in the exchange rate when I send money to the UK in US dollars

The rate used to converted from USD to Tenge is not the best and can change from day to day, when it hits our bank their USD conversion rate is not so good either. If you convert it from Tenge to GBP than you have do it between certain time and day of the week, as they have to ring someone to get the rate.
Please note that the rate shown (displayed) in the bank may not be the rate they give you. Overall with the conversion and transfer fee may loose you around 3%.
You will need a (home country) bank account that have a IBANK code and use CHAPS.
Depending on which city you are located the (school designated) bank and banking staff may not understand the term "bank transfer" or "wired/electronic transfer" it ma take one of two days to get it set up. Your VP-External Affairs should be able to help and advice you.
VISA to VISA transfer only works by using a Kazakhstan ATM (internally) and only in Tenge or USD charges and exchange rate applies.
Western Union is the worst for fees, but the fastest and sure way of transferring money..

I have been working in Taraz since October 2013 and have no problems with my local Kazcom
Bank when I make my monthly transfer to the UK in US dollars. You should also recognise that the rate US dollar to tenge doesn't change that much. At current rates 100 tenge = approx 40 pence, everything is relative

Science teacher man,

I responded to your message, as an American doing the transfer I'd say that art teacher man is your best source of info for this.  I can also vouch that he is reliable.

Good luck,

Hi Kazpat, You seem to be someone with "experience and local knowledge". Would you like to enlighten us with your own experience of the KZ banking and transfer process?

Jaming,

I have no first hand experience, that is why I referred the question to art teacher man, as I know he does, including transfers to the states.