The student file: how to send tuition and living costs abroad legally from a Bangladeshi bank

In short: A student file at an authorised dealer bank is the legal channel for sending tuition and living costs abroad under Bangladesh Bank's rules — the bank remits what the offer letter and fee structure justify, straight to the institution. Cash you carry must be endorsed in your passport. Documents in order make it routine; starting late makes it a crisis.

Every student going abroad needs a lawful way to move money out of Bangladesh. The student file is that way. Without it, paying tuition or carrying a meaningful sum of foreign currency becomes complicated at best.

What a student file is

A file opened in the student's name at an authorised dealer bank, through which tuition and living expenses can be remitted abroad in line with Bangladesh Bank's foreign-exchange guidelines. The bank remits against the amounts your university documents justify.

What the bank usually asks for

• Admission or offer letter, with the fee structure
• Passport
• Academic certificates
• The visa, where applicable — some steps happen before the visa, some after
• The bank's own forms and declarations

Rules vary slightly by bank. Each bank keeps its own checklist, and Bangladesh Bank's remittance policy is updated from time to time. Confirm the current requirements with your bank's student-file desk before you gather documents.

Currency endorsement

Foreign currency you carry when travelling must be endorsed in your passport through the bank — that endorsement is your proof of carrying it legally, and the endorsed amount is your ceiling at Dhaka immigration. The travel quota and the student quota can differ. For anything substantial, the student file is the safer instrument: tuition goes to the university; living money can follow to your own account once you have one.

What causes delays

1. 1An offer letter with an unclear fee structure — the bank cannot remit against a figure it cannot see.
2. 2Name or spelling mismatches across passport, certificates and offer letter.
3. 3Starting the week before a tuition deadline — processing takes time.
4. 4The wrong branch — not every branch handles student files.

Timing

Contact the student-file desk as soon as the offer letter arrives. Tuition deadlines do not move for bank processing, and a deposit the visa file itself requires may need to go before the visa. Where a country requires proof of tuition paid in the visa file — Greece asks for at least a third up front — this step sits squarely on the critical path.

How it fits with the rest of the money picture

The student file moves money; it does not prove you have it. The visa file's funds evidence is a separate question — see the proof-of-funds guide for what the embassy looks for, and the funding guide for how families assemble the money honestly.