Under Bangladesh Bank's FEPD-1 Circular No. 33 of 6 September 2026, release of foreign exchange in US dollar notes "shall not exceed USD 5,000 (five thousand) per person within the applicable entitlement", and that entitlement is US$18,000 per calendar year for an adult. The cash cap is part of the annual amount, not a fresh allowance for every trip. Separately, FE Circular No. 37 lets a departing passenger take up to Tk 10,000 in Bangladeshi cash each time, and the destination country has its own declaration rule.
This page is about Bangladeshi residents carrying money out of Bangladesh for personal travel. It sets out what each rule says and where older pages differ. It does not suggest how much cash to take, which depends on your trip and is your decision.
How much cash can I carry abroad from Bangladesh: the four limits
| Limit | Set by | What it covers | Figure and source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual travel entitlement | Bangladesh Bank | All foreign exchange released to you for travel in a calendar year, cash and card together | US$18,000 for adults; 50 percent for minors below 12 (Circular 33, para 02) |
| US dollar notes within the entitlement | Bangladesh Bank | How much of that can be released as US dollar notes | Not above US$5,000 per person within the entitlement (Circular 33, para 02) |
| Bangladeshi taka | Bangladesh Bank | Taka cash an outgoing passenger may take | Up to Tk 10,000 each time (Circular 37, para 9(2)) |
| Destination declaration | The country you land in | Cash you must declare on arrival | Set by each country; for example, over US$10,000 for the United States |
The US$5,000 cash cap sits inside the annual entitlement
The core of the question is the second row.
FE Circular No. 37, 30 September 2025. Paragraph 9(2) set the annual travel entitlement at US$12,000 and said: "Out of the prescribed entitlement, ADs may release up to 5,000 in the form of USD notes and the remainder in other freely convertible currencies at any one instance." Paragraph 9(11) counts the annual quota "from January 01 to December 31."
FEPD-1 Circular No. 33, 6 September 2026. Paragraph 02 raised the entitlement to US$18,000 and restated the cash rule: release in US dollar notes "shall not exceed USD 5,000 (five thousand) per person within the applicable entitlement." Paragraph 03 leaves all other travel instructions unchanged.
So the cap is set per person, inside an entitlement that runs by calendar year. Neither circular describes a separate US$5,000 in notes for each trip. A traveler making three trips in one year draws all three from the same US$18,000, and the notes within that total stay under the US$5,000 cap. Your bank, as an Authorized Dealer, can confirm how much of the cap remains for you, because it has to check what was already issued to you this calendar year, in cash and on cards (Circular 37, para 9(8)(d)).
Why other pages say "per trip". Bangladesh Customs' currency regulations page, read 11 September 2026, says foreign exchange taken out "in the form of cash must not exceed US$ 5,000 per person per trip," citing FE Circular No. 17 of 6 April 2014 and FE Circular No. 02 of 11 February 2015. Its currency Q&A page says the same. Both pages cite those older circulars and not Circular 37 or Circular 33, so they appear to predate Circular 37. Circular 37's covering letter repealed the relevant instructions in Bangladesh Bank's 2018 foreign exchange guidelines "and its subsequent circulars." Of the reports of Circular 33 on 6 September 2026, BSS and Dhaka Tribune used the circular's "within the applicable entitlement" wording, while Prothom Alo wrote "on each trip." The circular text does not say "per trip."
Why the cash cap is lower than the entitlement
With the annual entitlement at US$18,000 and US dollar notes capped at US$5,000, most of a full year's entitlement cannot leave as US dollar notes. Circular 37 para 9(2) provides for the remainder in "other freely convertible currencies," and para 9(7) says the entitlement may be used through international cards issued in the traveler's name. The cap sits alongside the entitlement, not instead of it. Our article on international debit cards from Bangladeshi banks explains how the non-cash part is used abroad.
The US$10,000 figure you may see elsewhere
Search for this topic and you will meet a US$10,000 figure. It is not the cap on currency a bank sells you for travel. It belongs to the rules on money coming into Bangladesh and going back out.
- Circular 37 para 16, on unspent travel money brought back by returning residents, says amounts "more than USD 10,000" are brought back with a declaration on Form FMJ and may be encashed to taka or kept in an RFCD account, and "up to USD 10,000 may be retained in hand."
- A Bangladesh Bank circular of February 2020, listed at bb.org.bd with a file dated 11 February 2020, is described in search listings we read on 11 September 2026 as letting incoming passengers bring in up to US$10,000 without declaring it and take the same amount out again. We did not read that circular's text, so we give it as reported.
Bangladesh Customs' passenger page, read the same day, still says incoming amounts above US$5,000 are declared on Form FMJ, which is another place its page and Circular 37 differ. Our guide to declaring foreign currency on Form FMJ covers the incoming side, and which threshold Customs applies at Dhaka on your date is a question for Bangladesh Customs.
Taka: a separate limit
Taka is not foreign exchange, and it has its own rule. Circular 37 para 9(2) says: "Irrespective of foreign exchange entitlement, the outgoing passenger is permitted to take up to Bangladesh Taka 10,000 in cash at each time." Chapter 12 of Bangladesh Bank's older Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Transactions, paragraph 1(ii), carried the same Tk 10,000 figure. We rely on Circular 37 for it, as the current text.
The Customs page, read 11 September 2026, gives a different figure: Tk 5,000 in or out without declaration, citing FE Circular No. 05 of 30 January 2014. That page appears to predate Circular 37. If the taka amount matters for your departure, Bangladesh Customs can say what it applies at the airport.
The destination sets its own rule
Leaving Bangladesh inside its limits does not settle what you declare when you land. Each country sets its own threshold in its own law.
As one worked example: US Customs and Border Protection's money and monetary instruments page, read 11 September 2026, says travelers entering or leaving the United States "must report amounts exceeding $10,000" on FinCEN Form 105. The US government's travel money page adds that there is no limit on the amount you can travel with, only the duty to report it. Other countries set different thresholds and different forms, so the customs authority of your own destination is the one to check.
Coming home with cash left over
Unspent foreign cash on the way back falls under the incoming rules, not the outbound cap, and Circular 37 para 16 above is the Bangladesh Bank side of it. What you can bring home in goods is a separate question again, and our guide to coming home through Dhaka customs covers phones, laptops and gold.
Carrying it
The rules decide how much you may take out. They say nothing about where to keep it in your luggage. Cash in checked baggage is outside your control once it is checked, and airline and customs rules on what goes where are covered in our comparison of airline baggage allowance and Bangladesh customs rules.
What to ask before you fly
- Your bank: how much of the US$5,000 dollar-note cap and the US$18,000 entitlement remains for me this calendar year?
- Your bank: how much has already been drawn against my passport this year, in cash and on cards?
- Bangladesh Customs: which threshold applies to foreign cash I brought in and am taking back out, and to taka?
- The destination's customs authority: at what amount must I declare cash on arrival?
If this is your first trip out of Bangladesh, the money step is one of many in our first international trip from Bangladesh checklist.
Nothing here is financial or legal advice. Currency rules in Bangladesh change by circular, so confirm with your bank, Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Customs in the week you travel.
FAQ
How much cash can I carry abroad from Bangladesh?
In foreign currency, US dollar notes released to you for travel cannot exceed US$5,000 per person within your annual entitlement, which is US$18,000 for an adult under FEPD-1 Circular No. 33 of 6 September 2026. In Bangladeshi taka, FE Circular No. 37, paragraph 9(2), allows an outgoing passenger up to Tk 10,000 each time. Your bank can confirm what remains of your year.
Is the cash limit per trip or per year?
Circular 33, paragraph 02, sets the US$5,000 cap "per person within the applicable entitlement," and Circular 37, paragraph 9(11), counts that entitlement from 1 January to 31 December. Neither circular describes a new cash allowance for each trip. The Bangladesh Customs page that says "per trip" cites 2014 and 2015 circulars and appears to predate Circular 37.
Can I carry US$10,000 in cash out of Bangladesh?
Not as travel money sold to you by a bank, which is capped at US$5,000 in US dollar notes. The US$10,000 figure comes from rules on money coming back into Bangladesh: Circular 37 paragraph 16 lets returning residents keep up to US$10,000 in hand, with an FMJ declaration above that amount.
How much Bangladeshi taka can I take abroad?
FE Circular No. 37, paragraph 9(2), allows an outgoing passenger up to Tk 10,000 in cash each time. Bangladesh Customs' page still shows Tk 5,000, citing a 2014 circular, so Customs is the authority to ask about the airport.
Sources read on 11 September 2026: the text of Bangladesh Bank FEPD-1 Circular No. 33 (6 September 2026), FE Circular No. 37 (30 September 2025) and Chapter 12 of the Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Transactions, read from Bangladesh Bank's PDFs; the Bangladesh Customs currency regulations page and its currency Q&A page; the Bangladesh Bank circular index; the BSS, Dhaka Tribune and Prothom Alo reports of 6 September 2026; the Bangladesh Bank February 2020 circular as excerpted in search listings; US Customs and Border Protection's money and monetary instruments page; USA.gov's travel money page.