The core documents for dollar endorsement in Bangladesh are your valid Bangladeshi passport, a confirmed air ticket that shows the date of departure, and a valid visa when the release is above US$200, with an exception for destinations that issue visas on arrival. Bangladesh Bank's FE Circular No. 37 of 30 September 2025 sets these checks in paragraph 9, and paragraph 9(9) tells banks to keep copies of the passport's identity pages, the visa page, the endorsement page and the ticket pages. Individual banks add their own forms on top.
This page is about Bangladeshi residents endorsing foreign currency for personal travel through a bank or licensed money changer in Bangladesh. It describes what the rules require and what varies by bank. Your own bank's list is the one that counts on the day.
The base set of documents for dollar endorsement
Bangladesh Bank's travel rules for banks, known as Authorized Dealers (ADs), sit in Part-B, paragraph 9, of FE Circular No. 37. Paragraph 9(9) says that in each case the bank should keep photocopies of:
| What the bank copies (Circular 37, para 9(9)) | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The first six pages of the passport, or the first two pages of a machine readable passport | Identifies the passport the endorsement is recorded against |
| The page bearing the visa (if available) | Shows the trip is to a destination you are cleared to enter |
| The page recording the endorsement of foreign exchange | The record the next dealer will see |
| The ticket pages showing passenger name, route and date of journey, and the endorsement | Ties the release to an actual trip |
The same list appeared in paragraph 1(vii) of Chapter 12 of Bangladesh Bank's older Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Transactions, so it is not new.
Paragraph 9(8) sets out what the bank must be satisfied of before it releases anything:
- (a) you are a client of the bank, or "sufficiently well known" to it for the bank to be satisfied the application is genuine;
- (b) you hold a confirmed air ticket, where applicable;
- (c) the amount released is endorsed on your passport and air ticket (where applicable) in indelible ink, with the branch's signature and name, and reported to Bangladesh Bank's Online Foreign Exchange Transaction Monitoring System;
- (d) the amount already endorsed or issued to you in the current calendar year, in cash, on cards or otherwise, has been checked against your annual quota.
Passport: the unit the endorsement is written against
The endorsement is a record against a specific passport. Circular 37 para 9(1) requires the amount released to be recorded on "the traveler's valid passport as well as ticket." That has three consequences for your documents.
The passport must be valid. An endorsement against an expired or nearly expired passport creates problems at the airport, the bank and the destination. For visa-on-arrival trips, Circular 37 para 9(10)(a) specifically requires the passport to be valid for at least six months. Our explainer on the six-month passport validity rule covers who else enforces it.
The format matters for the copies. Paragraph 9(9) distinguishes the older passport from the machine readable one, copying six pages from the first and two from the second. If you are unsure which you hold, our comparison of MRP and e-passport for travel explains the difference.
Your name must match. If the name or date of birth on your ticket does not match your passport, expect the endorsement to stall. The fix sits with the passport or the airline, not the bank. Our guide to name and date of birth mismatches on a Bangladeshi passport covers the correction route.
Ticket: proof the trip exists
The ticket ties the release to a journey, and Circular 37 is specific about it.
- Paragraph 9(1) says the bank should check that the ticket covers a journey "not later than two weeks after the date on which exchange is issued," and that "no exchange should be sold against tickets, which do not specify the date of departure."
- Paragraph 9(8)(b) asks for a confirmed air ticket, where applicable.
- Paragraph 9(9) asks the bank to keep the ticket pages showing name, route and date.
For money changers, the state news agency BSS reported on 7 January 2026 that under FEPD-2 Circular No. 01 each sale must be recorded in the traveler's passport and air ticket, with the money changer's seal and signature. A money changer cannot mark a ticket you did not bring.
A ticket that crosses 31 December raises a separate question. Circular 37 para 9(11) counts the annual quota "from January 01 to December 31" and says that when travel runs into the next year, the entitlement "will be counted for the particular year to which the transaction date relates," with a post facto endorsement for the following year unless a multi-year card endorsement is in place. Your bank can explain how it will record your dates.
Visa: above US$200, with a visa-on-arrival exception
Circular 37 para 9(1) says that release of foreign exchange "in excess of USD 200 or equivalent will require valid visa," except in the cases in paragraph 9(10). So the visa, or the e-visa approval, belongs in the pile whenever your destination requires one.
Paragraph 9(10)(a) covers destinations that issue visas on arrival. For those, a bank may release foreign exchange without a visa, up to your unused annual entitlement, provided your passport has at least six months' validity and the bank is satisfied, from the information you give it, that the destination does issue visas on arrival. Before the bank releases foreign exchange for your next trip, it has to confirm that the money released without a visa was actually used.
An earlier release that was not used
Circular 37 para 9(6) tells banks to check that any foreign exchange released for an earlier trip "was utilized with the journey being actually undertaken or was duly encashed unutilized." If a previous endorsement on your passport belongs to a trip you did not take, expect the bank to ask about it. How it wants that shown is the bank's decision.
What varies by bank
Beyond the base set, banks run their own forms and checks. What we could verify on 11 September 2026:
- Endorsement forms. HSBC Bangladesh publishes a form titled "FCY TQ (Travel Quota) Endorsement Form" for debit cards. Other banks use their own versions.
- Card endorsement. Circular 37 para 92(3) says that when a bank issues an international card against the travel entitlement, it "shall endorse on the passport, the value for which the card is issued." Southeast Bank's dual currency debit card page states that a cardholder must "endorse his/her passport against Travel Quota Entitlement and active foreign part portion" of the card before transacting abroad, and that full travel quota access requires the cardholder to be 18 or over. That age condition is the bank's own.
- A one-card declaration. Circular 37 para 94(3) requires a declaration from the intending cardholder that they are not using another international card from any other bank "against the same account or the same entitlement."
- Prior use check. Circular 37 para 9(8)(d) requires the bank to check what has already been drawn this calendar year. Dhaka Tribune reported on 8 February 2023 that banks and money changers do this through Bangladesh Bank's monitoring systems. It is not a document you bring, but it is why a branch may take longer than you expect.
Endorsement documents by situation
| Situation | What changes |
|---|---|
| Adult, personal trip | The base set above, against an annual entitlement of US$18,000 under FEPD-1 Circular No. 33 of 6 September 2026, para 02 |
| Child under 12 | The child's own passport and ticket. Circular 37 para 9(5) sets minors at half the adult amount, and Circular 33 para 02 keeps them at 50 percent, which is US$9,000 a year |
| Endorsing onto an international card | The base set, the bank's own card endorsement form, the one-card declaration (Circular 37, para 94(3)), and an enabled card |
| Card drawn on your RFCD or private FC account balance | Circular 37 para 9(3) allows release in card form from these balances without a passport endorsement |
| Buying notes at a licensed money changer | Passport and air ticket, both of which get the record. A 5 September 2024 Daily Observer report said money changers could accept a national ID card instead of a passport for purchases; the money changer can say how that interacts with endorsement |
| Several years endorsed on a card at once | Circular 37 para 9(10)(c) allows multi-year endorsement on international cards up to the passport's validity, with yearly use capped and no carry-forward of unused quota |
| Study, employment or migration on a one-way ticket | Circular 37 para 9(2) lets the bank release the whole unused annual entitlement for the year. Para 9(10)(c)(iii) excludes these travelers from multi-year card endorsement, and Bangladesh Bank's index lists a separate 10 August 2026 circular on study-abroad cards |
| Medical treatment abroad | A separate rule with its own application form, Circular 37 para 10 |
What the September 2026 circular did not change
FEPD-1 Circular No. 33 changed the amount, not the paperwork. Its paragraph 02 raised the annual entitlement to US$18,000 and capped US dollar notes at US$5,000 per person within it. Its paragraph 03 says "all other instructions relating to the release of foreign exchange for travel abroad shall remain unchanged," so the document rules in Circular 37 paragraph 9 still apply.
What we cannot see is any individual bank's internal checklist. A branch can ask for more than the regulator's minimum, for example a national ID card or an account statement. That is its decision, and it is not evidence of a hidden rule.
A short checklist to bring
- Your valid Bangladeshi passport, plus the child's own passport for any minor
- Your confirmed air ticket showing name, route and a specific departure date
- The visa or e-visa approval, where the destination requires one
- Your bank's endorsement form and one-card declaration, for a card endorsement
- The international card itself, if the entitlement is going onto it
If this is your first trip abroad, the endorsement sits among many other steps, and the visa rejection reasons we see for Bangladeshis are worth reading before any money changes hands, since an endorsement does not help a trip that has no visa.
Nothing on this page is legal or financial advice. Confirm the list with your own bank before you go.
FAQ
What documents do I need for dollar endorsement in Bangladesh?
A valid passport, a confirmed air ticket with a departure date, and a visa where the release is above US$200 and the destination requires one. FE Circular No. 37 of 30 September 2025, paragraph 9(9), directs banks to copy the passport's identity pages, the visa page, the endorsement page and the ticket pages. Banks may add their own forms.
Can I endorse dollars without a ticket?
Circular 37 para 9(1) says no exchange should be sold against tickets that do not specify the date of departure, and para 9(8)(b) asks for a confirmed air ticket where applicable. Your bank can tell you how it applies "where applicable" to your trip.
Do I need a visa to endorse dollars for a visa-on-arrival country?
Not necessarily. Circular 37 para 9(10)(a) lets a bank release up to your unused annual entitlement without a visa for visa-on-arrival destinations, if your passport has at least six months' validity.
Does my child need separate documents for endorsement?
The entitlement is recorded against a passport, so a minor's endorsement goes against the child's own passport. FEPD-1 Circular No. 33 of 6 September 2026, paragraph 02, keeps minors below 12 at 50 percent of the adult entitlement.
Do I need a bank account to endorse dollars?
Circular 37 para 9(8)(a) asks the bank to be satisfied that you are its client or sufficiently well known to it, which the bank judges for itself. An international card endorsement requires a card, which requires an account with the issuing bank.
Sources read on 11 September 2026: the text of Bangladesh Bank FE Circular No. 37 (30 September 2025), FEPD-1 Circular No. 33 (6 September 2026) and Chapter 12 of the Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Transactions, read from Bangladesh Bank's PDFs; the Bangladesh Bank circular index; BSS (7 January 2026); Dhaka Tribune (8 February 2023); the Daily Observer (5 September 2024); Southeast Bank's card page; HSBC Bangladesh's travel quota endorsement form listing.