Nigeria's Foreign Exchange Restrictions and Paying US Tuition

What changed in 2026

The Central Bank of Nigeria released the Fourth Edition of its Foreign Exchange Manual, announced by CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso and taking effect from June 2026. The update raised the tuition remittance cap for Nigerian students abroad and eased some domiciliary account rules, according to CBN's own reforms page and Legit.ng's coverage of the announcement. As of August 2026, treat these as the current rules, but confirm with your bank before a large transfer since CBN policy has changed more than once in recent years.

Tuition remittance limit

Undergraduate and postgraduate students now access up to 25,000 US dollars per semester for tuition, up from the previous 15,000 dollar cap. This money goes directly to the university, not to the student's or a family member's personal account, and your bank typically asks for your admission letter and the school's official fee invoice before processing the transfer.

Living and maintenance costs

Students living off campus access up to 5,000 US dollars per quarter as a maintenance allowance through official channels. Keep this separate from your tuition remittance paperwork, since banks process them against different limits. Students living in university housing sometimes have a smaller separate allowance category, so ask your bank which line item applies to your housing situation before you request the transfer.

Domiciliary accounts got simpler

A domiciliary account lets a Nigerian resident hold and transact in foreign currency. The updated manual removes the earlier requirement to disclose the source of foreign currency deposits into that account, and account holders now initiate telegraphic transfers of up to 10,000 US dollars per day. This makes it easier for a family to build up US dollars ahead of a tuition deadline rather than sourcing the full amount in one transaction.

If you already hold naira and need to convert it to dollars for your domiciliary account, do this through your bank's official window rather than an unlicensed street trader, since the official rate and the parallel market rate can move apart and an unlicensed exchange leaves you with no receipt for later documentation.

Getting money to your US university

• Go through an authorized dealer bank using Form A, with your admission letter and fee invoice as documentary evidence.

• Consider a dedicated international education payment platform such as Flywire , which many US universities accept directly and which shows a disclosed exchange rate compared to informal channels.

• Confirm your university's official payment page before sending money through a third party. A legitimate university lists its accepted payment methods on its own website.

• Ask your bank for the current tuition and maintenance caps at the time you remit. An outdated limit delays your payment.

Why forex access has been restricted

Nigeria has managed limited foreign currency reserves for years, which has led the CBN to set rules on who can buy dollars officially and for what purpose. Earlier editions of the manual capped tuition remittance lower and, at times, excluded certain education levels from official channels entirely. Families who could not get enough dollars through a bank sometimes turned to the parallel market, which trades at a different, less favorable rate and carries legal risk. The 2026 update aims to bring more of that demand back into official channels by raising the caps.

Documents your bank will ask for

• The student's admission letter and I-20 or equivalent from the US institution.

• The school's official invoice or fee schedule for the semester you are paying.

• The student's passport and visa.

• Evidence of the source of funds for the domiciliary account, even though the source of existing deposits no longer needs disclosure under the new manual.

Banks versus Bureau de Change operators

Deposit money bank routes tuition and larger remittances through your authorized dealer bank, since only banks process the full tuition and maintenance allowances described here. Bureau de Change operators, licensed smaller foreign exchange dealers, mainly handle smaller personal travel allowances and are not the channel for a university-bound tuition payment. Confirm with your bank which of its branches or digital channels process education remittances, since not every branch handles this specialized paperwork.

Start the paperwork early

Banks in Nigeria process education remittances against documentary evidence, and gathering an admission letter, fee invoice, passport, and visa takes time, especially if your university's invoice arrives close to a payment deadline. Start the bank process as soon as you have your admission letter and an estimated fee amount, and confirm with your bank how long their internal review typically takes before funds actually leave the domiciliary account.

If the official limit does not cover your full cost

A 25,000 dollar per semester cap will not cover every US university's tuition. Families in this situation typically combine official CBN channels for part of the cost with a US-based education loan, a scholarship, or an on-campus job's income once the student arrives, rather than sourcing the shortfall through unofficial parallel market channels, which carries legal and practical risk. Speak with your US university's international student office about payment plan options if the gap is large.