The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the maximum tuition fee remittance for students studying abroad from $15,000 to $25,000 per semester, a 67 percent increase reflecting a significant shift in how Nigeria balances education spending with foreign exchange management.
The new limit, now enshrined in the CBN’s Foreign Exchange Manual, 4th Edition, took effect on June 1, 2026, and was unveiled in Abuja by CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso. The manual, which functions as the definitive rulebook for Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, replaces the previous edition and introduces a raft of changes aimed at modernizing the country’s FX framework.
For the tens of thousands of Nigerian families bearing the cost of overseas university education, a figure that has climbed steadily as domestic institutions struggle with funding shortfalls and industrial disputes, the revised cap represents meaningful financial breathing room.
The previous ceiling of $15,000 had, in many cases, fallen short of actual tuition bills at mid-tier universities in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada, let alone elite institutions, forcing families to seek workarounds or make up the difference through unofficial channels.
One of the more practically significant clarifications in the updated manual is the formal delineation between tuition fees and student maintenance allowance costs that had previously been bundled together in ways that created administrative confusion for both families and authorized dealer banks.
Under the new framework, where tuition and maintenance fees are billed as a combined figure, the full remittance is directed to the educational institution. However, where a student lives off-campus or where maintenance fees appear as a separate line item, those living expenses are capped at $5,000 per quarter, remitted directly to the student.
The distinction matters because it closes a potential avenue for over-remittance while also giving off-campus students access to a structured, CBN-sanctioned allowance.
Notably, the revised manual draws a firm line on which educational programs qualify for foreign exchange support at all. Nursery, primary, secondary, foundation, and A-Level programs have been explicitly excluded from eligibility, meaning only undergraduate and postgraduate studies at recognized higher education institutions abroad will benefit from the new limits.
For families considering sending secondary school-age children abroad, no official FX window will be available through the banking system for those school fees.
Access to the higher remittance limits does not come without conditions. Applications for tuition remittance must be made through authorized dealer banks via Form A, accompanied by a prescribed set of supporting documents.
These include evidence of admission or course enrollment, a tuition fee schedule covering the applicable period, the student’s international passport biodata page, and a student identification card for returning students. Postgraduate applicants must also submit a first degree certificate or a certified copy thereof.
The documentation requirements are designed to ensure that remittances are genuine, traceable, and directed to accredited institutions, a safeguard against the abuse of educational FX allowances that the CBN has previously flagged as a vulnerability in the system.
The revision to tuition fee limits is one thread in a wider tapestry of FX reforms contained in the fourth edition of the manual. Importers will welcome a separate change that doubles the allowable advance payment for imports from 15 percent to 30 percent, a move intended to ease the cash flow pressures on businesses that must pay foreign suppliers before goods arrive.
More broadly, the manual is positioned as part of the CBN’s ongoing effort to harmonize market procedures, standardize FX practices, and provide a clearer regulatory framework for both domestic businesses and international investors.
Governor Cardoso, who has made FX market reform a centerpiece of his tenure, framed the updated manual as a tool for building confidence among stakeholders on both sides of the market.
Whether the revised tuition cap will translate into measurable relief for families navigating the cost of overseas education or whether practical implementation bottlenecks at commercial banks will dilute its impact remains to be seen as the new framework beds in.
What is clear is that the CBN, under Cardoso’s stewardship, is betting that transparency and predictability are the twin engines of a more functional foreign exchange market. The 4th Edition of the FX Manual is, in that sense, more than a regulatory update. It is a statement of intent.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Central Bank of Nigeria has raised the overseas tuition remittance cap to $25,000 per semester, giving Nigerian families studying abroad greater financial flexibility through official banking channels.
Critically, maintenance allowances are now clearly separated from tuition, capped at $5,000 per quarter for off-campus students. Only undergraduate and postgraduate programs qualify; secondary and pre-university education are excluded.
Strict documentation requirements apply, and the changes form part of a broader CBN push to clean up Nigeria’s FX market.
