Foreign currency allowances : travel, studies and online purchases

Definition

What this covers

The foreign exchange regulations allow authorised intermediary banks to release amounts in foreign currency to individuals, within set limits and for defined uses : that is an allowance. It is provided by the bank. The tax-linked supplement, which makes up most of the envelope above the base amount, by contrast calls for a separate application to the Foreign Exchange Office.

The applicable text is the General Instruction on Foreign Exchange Operations 2026, published on 31 December 2025 and in force since 1 January 2026. Each amount set out below is attached here to the category of persons to which the Foreign Exchange Office attaches it.

Scope

Who is concerned

• Moroccan resident individuals.
• Moroccans living abroad, in respect of the personal travel allowance, online purchases, medical care costs and living costs relating to higher education.
• Resident foreign nationals, who benefit from the personal travel allowance on the same footing as Moroccan residents and Moroccans living abroad, as well as from medical care costs.
• Non-resident foreign nationals passing through Morocco, in respect of family support payments only.
• The spouse and children of the beneficiary, for whom the personal travel allowance may be released.

Status under the foreign exchange regulations is determined by reference to tax residence, which a change of residence alters without any notification : that is the first question to settle. The second is specific to this area : the categories of beneficiary differ from one allowance to another and cannot be inferred from one another.

Applicable rules

Which allowances exist, for whom, and within what limits

The personal travel allowance is open to Moroccan resident individuals, to Moroccans living abroad and to resident foreign nationals. It rests on a base amount of 100,000 dirhams, "which may be increased by a supplement equivalent to 30% of the income tax paid or withheld at source during the previous year". The total must not exceed 500,000 dirhams per person per calendar year.

The basis is therefore income tax, paid or withheld at source : an employee or a pensioner with Moroccan-source income is not outside the scheme. The base amount is released by the bank ; the supplement requires a separate application to the Foreign Exchange Office.

It may be provided in banknotes, traveller's cheques, bank cheques, transfer or international payment card, including for the benefit of the spouse and children, and may be combined on a single trip with any other foreign currency allowance.

The other allowances open to an individual each follow their own logic, and above all their own beneficiaries :

• Higher education abroad : living costs, including language stays, may be transferred up to a limit of 15,000 dirhams per month. The beneficiaries stated are Moroccan resident individuals, Moroccans living abroad and foreign nationals born to a Moroccan mother or father, for studies after the baccalaureate.
• E-commerce : 20,000 dirhams per calendar year per beneficiary, for resident individuals and Moroccans living abroad.
• Family support payments : 10,000 dirhams per calendar year per payer, for resident individuals (as payers) and non-resident foreign nationals passing through Morocco. Moroccans living abroad do not appear among the beneficiaries stated by the Office.
• Medical care costs abroad : for Moroccan resident individuals, resident foreign nationals and Moroccans living abroad. The published sources we have been able to consult state no cap ; we therefore cite none.

The Hajj does not fall within this list : "the caps on the allowances to be granted to travel agencies in respect of the Hajj operation are communicated annually by the Foreign Exchange Office to the banks". The beneficiary is the travel agency, not the individual ; none of those caps is published.

Finally, there is no emigration allowance : "the emigration allowance is not provided for by the provisions of the General Instruction on Foreign Exchange Operations in force".

Deadlines and limitation

The timetable

1. Per calendar year

   The personal travel allowance, online purchases and family support payments are assessed per calendar year, each within the beneficiary limits specific to it. The maximum of 500,000 dirhams is understood per person per calendar year.

2. In respect of the previous year

   The 30 % supplement is calculated on the income tax paid or withheld at source during the previous year. A person who bore no Moroccan income tax that year has only the base amount available.

3. Monthly

   The cap on living costs relating to higher education is expressed as a monthly amount and requires a file held with a Moroccan bank, kept up to date throughout the studies.

4. Each year, without publication

   The caps on the allowances granted to travel agencies in respect of the Hajj are communicated by the Foreign Exchange Office to the banks, and are known only through that channel.

None of the official sources we have been able to consult sets a processing time or a limitation period specific to these operations ; we announce none.

Documents and supporting evidence

The elements of the file

The file rests on the following elements :

• Identity and status documents : passport or registration card, and the elements establishing the position under the foreign exchange regulations.
• Evidence of income tax for the previous year : the only elements allowing the supplement to be established, whether the tax was paid or withheld at source.
• Evidence of enrolment and of the stay : elements relating to the institution, the course and the accommodation.
• Medical evidence : medical certificate and invoice or estimate.
• Elements relating to the beneficiaries : documents establishing the family relationship, where the allowance is released for the spouse or the children.

This list is indicative ; the exact composition of the file depends on the situation.

Points to watch

What can cause a file to fail