Money plan: France

Governing circular: Bangladesh Bank FEPD-1 Circular No. 40, dated 30 Sep 2026, is the consolidated circular on outward remittances. It is valid for one year and replaces FE Circular No. 37 of 30 Sep 2025. Part C para 10 covers "Release of foreign exchange for study abroad".

Approval: You need no prior approval from Bangladesh Bank for undergraduate, postgraduate, language and professional diploma or certificate courses at recognised institutions. Any Authorised Dealer (AD) bank branch can do it. Only school-level study needs approval, and a 9 Nov 2026 circular eased that further.

Papers needed: To open the student file you need the application form (Appendix-6), the original and a copy of your admission or offer letter, and the original and a copy of the institution's estimate of annual tuition, board and lodging, health cover and incidental expenses.

You also need attested educational certificates and a valid passport. In practice banks also ask for NID, photos, sponsor details and later the visa copy. That is bank practice and is not in the circular. Amount allowed: The bank releases foreign exchange "as per estimate furnished by the educational institution".

The official circular sets no fixed dollar cap for tuition or living. Third-party sites (uni2study, LegalSeba) quote a "USD 2,000 per month living cap, +50% for costly cities" and "USD 1,000 pre-departure". These figures do not appear in Circular 40, so treat them as bank practice that is not confirmed.

Who gets paid: Tuition must be paid to the institution or its named payment processor. Board, lodging and incidental money may be released to you, in the form of an international card. Advance payments (application fee, seat deposit) are allowed if the institution's papers ask for them.

Mandatory health cover fees (OSHC type) are allowed with documentary proof. One year at a time: The bank releases no more than one academic year at a time. Each later release needs your progress report and a current estimate. All purchases for the whole course go through one AD branch.

The file can be transferred from bank to bank, but it is never handed to you. Blocked accounts: Blocked accounts (German Sperrkonto style, GIC-type deposits) are explicitly allowed if an embassy or institution requires them. The deposit must be refundable on visa refusal and you must travel within one year.

International card: Since FEPD-1 Circular No. 29 (10 Aug 2026), banks may issue a debit, prepaid or credit international card in your name or your sponsor's name for education payments. This is separate from the travel quota and does not use it up.

After you leave: Money can also be released after you have already left (para 10(3)), with an explanation, admission proof and results. Travel quota: The travel quota is USD 18,000 per person per calendar year (raised by FEPD-1 Circular No. 33, 6 Sep 2026). Up to USD 5,000 can be taken as notes.

A person leaving on a one-way ticket for study, job or migration may take the entire unused annual quota. Your spouse: There is no "spouse file". The student file covers only what the institution's estimate lists for you.

Your spouse's costs can legally be funded in three ways: (a) your spouse's own USD 18,000 annual travel quota, endorsed on your spouse's passport against the visa and ticket, (b) living money released to you under the student file, (c) once abroad, earnings there. If your spouse enrols in a course, your spouse gets a separate student file.

Family maintenance route: Para 17 "family maintenance abroad" (dependent parents, spouse, children) exists. It needs prior approval from Bangladesh Bank case by case, with a Bangladesh Embassy certificate. It is slow, so do not plan on it.

Couple's legal limit: With no extra approvals, a couple can legally carry this in the first year: tuition plus the institution-estimated living costs through the student file, plus 2 x USD 18,000 travel quota.

Banks with desks: Dhaka Bank, MTB, EBL, Pubali and Trust Bank run dedicated student-file desks (Daily Star, Dec 2024, an older report, for orientation only). The file opening fee and yearly renewal fee vary by bank and are not confirmed, so ask the branch.

How reliable: Confidence in these figures is medium-low. They come from 2026 press and comparison pages, not from the banks' own current product pages, and they conflict with each other. Confirm at the branch before relying on them.

Private bank loans: The typical ceiling for study-abroad education loans at private banks is about BDT 2,000,000. BRAC Bank: up to BDT 2,000,000, maximum 5 years, 13.40% quoted in press and comparison pages. Mercantile Bank: up to BDT 2,000,000 for study abroad, 1 to 6 years, age 18 to 26 (check whether you fall inside this age limit).

Jamuna Bank: up to BDT 2,000,000 for study abroad. Bank Asia: up to 10 lakh. EBL "Edu Loan": quoted anywhere from 10.5% to 13.5%, up to 20-25 lakh (the figures conflict). Prime Bank: quoted 1 to 12 lakh at 11.75 to 13%. Prime Bank's own rate sheet (18 Jun 2026) shows a personal loan against an FDR held at another bank at 12.00%.

This is the only number that comes from a bank's own page. Government loan: On 24 Mar 2026 the government announced collateral-free loans of up to Tk 10 lakh through Probashi Kallyan Bank for students going abroad. They are aimed at bank-solvency and guarantee needs (Daily Star, TBS). The rate and eligibility details are not confirmed.

Loan terms: Most of these loans are taken by a salaried parent or guardian, or need an FDR, property or a guarantor. Loans to the student alone with no security are rare. A 13% loan of BDT 2,000,000 over 5 years costs roughly 45,500 BDT a month. A student cannot service that, so treat a loan as bridge or proof money, not as spending money.

Proof of funds: What embassies accept is each country's rule, not Bangladesh Bank's. A sanctioned education loan letter from a bank is generally accepted by Australia (genuine access to funds), Canada, the UK (the loan must be from a regulated lender in the student's name) and the USA. Germany needs a blocked account (cash).

Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands want money in your own account or held by the university. Each destination's exact acceptance is not confirmed and must be checked on that country's visa page.

Cheapest route: The cheapest legitimate route in Bangladesh is usually a secured loan or overdraft against your family's own FDR, at about 2 to 3% over the FDR rate. It produces both a sanction letter and real cash.

International lenders: International no-cosigner lenders (MPOWER, Prodigy) market to Bangladeshis, but only for listed US and Canada universities, and at high USD rates.

Where from: tbsnews.net BRAC Bank loan article; mblbd.com/retail-loan/education-loan; jamunabankbd.com/education-loan; primebank.com.bd/conventional-rates; thedailystar.net (Tk 10 lakh loan support report).