CBN reveals guidelines and allowances for PTA, School & Medical Fees

Nairametrics| The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued new guidelines for the documentation required to access Forex for Personal Travel Allowance, School, and Medical Fees.

Here is a list of all the documents you will need and criteria before you can get Forex from banks along with explanation notes.

MoreStories

Naira slides to N1,359/$ after CBN cuts interest rate to 26.5% 

February 25, 2026

Nigeria’s FX reserves hit $50.45 billion, highest in 13 years – Cardoso 

February 24, 2026

SALES FOR PERSONAL TRAVEL ALLOWANCE

The following conditions shall henceforth apply for sales of PTA

• Applicants shall be eighteen (18) years of age and above. – No forex for kids under the age of 18
• Applicants/beneficiaries shall be holders of Nigerian Passports – Means foreigners can’t access this market
• Applicants shall be account holders in the chosen bank – You have to own a bank account in the bank you want to buy forex from
• PTA shall only apply to journeys of not less than five (5) hours flight time. – People traveling to places like Ghana or neighboring African West African do not qualify for a PTA. 
• The flight must originate from Nigeria – This is a no brainier
• Sale of PTA shall be for travel to be undertaken not more than 14 days from the day of the purchase of PTA. – Means you can buy the forex within 14 days of your travel so you do not need to have a boarding pass.
• Applicants shall present verifiable BVNs to their bankers – This can be a nutcase. The BVN certificate can be obtained from your bank. Make sure you get it before applying for Forex.
• Applicants shall be entitled to $4,000.00 per quarter – You can only buy as much as $4,000 once every three months.

SALES FOR SCHOOL FEES

• Applications shall be for University Education only – Means this is not for students who are in Secondary School
• Remittances shall be made directly to the University’s account. – They won’t pay you the cash. it goes straight to the University. But what happens when the school refunds the money? Not sure they considered that.
• Applications shall be for not more than $15,000.00 or its equivalent per term/semester. – Too bad if you go to a school that charges higher than this per Semester. Luckily, very few schools do.
• Applicants shall be recognized parents/guardians. – Not for friends or brothers and sisters
• Applicants shall provide their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) to their bankers. – Same as above.
• Applicants shall present the following:-

Duly completed Form “A”.

ii. Valid tax clearance certificate of the applicant.

iii. Admission letter from the University.

iv. Invoice from the University.