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The €750 travel allowance: who gets it and how to claim it

Valid as of 19 October 20266 min read

Every Algerian resident aged 19 or over can buy €750 per calendar year at the official rate for a trip of at least seven days, and €300 for children aged 12 to 18. Since 19 July 2026, the allowance is paid onto an international payment card instead of in cash. Handing it over to someone else or selling it is a foreign exchange offence.

Your trip, step by step

  1. 7 working days beforePay the dinar equivalent, by transfer or card
  2. Before you leaveAllowance loaded onto your card, passport stamped
  3. 7 days or moreYour stay abroad
  4. Back before 7 days?Pay the allowance back within 5 working days
Banque d’Algérie Instruction 07-2026, arts. 11 and 15.

What changed in July 2026

Banque d’Algérie Instruction 07-2026 of 13 July 2026, in force since 19 July 2026, replaces Instruction 05-2025. The amounts stay the same, but the way you receive the money changes.

Before 19 July 2026Since 19 July 2026
How you get itIn cash, at the Banque d’Algérie desk at the airportOn an international payment card in your name
Paying the dinarsThree working days before departureSeven working days before departure, no cash
PeriodTwelve months from 20 JulyCalendar year (1 January to 31 December)

Who can get it

WhoMaximum per calendar year
Resident aged 19 or over€750
Child aged 12 to 18, two per family at most€300
Child under 12nothing

A few rules to know:

  • the trip must last seven days or more;
  • you get one allowance per calendar year, and you can’t carry it over to the next year;
  • if you got one the year before, your border police stamp must show you travelled for at least seven days;
  • it doesn’t apply to the Hajj;
  • you can only use the card for spending abroad linked to the trip (art. 13). Banque d’Algérie says payments abroad, cash machine withdrawals where the card allows them, and online purchases linked to the trip are all fine;
  • your bank must give you a helpline you can reach from abroad, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (art. 14).

If you’ve already had an allowance, Banque d’Algérie has explained the switchover. If you got it between 21 July and 31 December 2025, you can claim again in 2026. If you got it between 1 January and 18 July 2026, your next claim opens on 1 January 2027.

For a freelancer, this is travel money, not a business budget. To pay for a coworking space, a trade fair or software for your work, use your professional foreign currency account (guide 10).

Your options

Legal

Claim the allowance for yourself

Banque d’Algérie Instruction 07-2026 sets out this route. It’s a right, as long as you follow the steps.

  • Cost: the equivalent in dinars at the opening commercial selling rate on the day you pay (art. 11), plus a bank fee.
  • Timing: pay at least seven working days before you leave.

Step by step

  1. Check you have a dinar account and an international payment card in your name, linked to a foreign currency account (art. 7). If you don’t, ask your bank for one well before the trip. It can issue the card at any time, separately from your allowance request, and the card lasts at least three years (arts. 6 and 8). A Visa or Mastercard you already have from an Algerian bank works too.
  2. Gather your documents: a return ticket (or the tax receipt for overland travel), a valid passport and a copy of its first page, a copy of your visa if you need one, and proof of income.
  3. At least seven working days before you leave, pay the dinar equivalent at an approved bank, by transfer or by card. Cash isn’t accepted. Keep the receipt.
  4. Your bank loads the allowance onto your card and writes the amount, the currency and the date in your passport.
  5. According to Banque d’Algérie, whatever you don’t spend stays in the account for your next trip.
Legal

Claim it for your spouse or children

Each allowance is personal. Your spouse needs their own card, and you can’t receive their allowance on yours. For your children aged 12 to 18, two at most, the parent who holds a card applies with a family record or other proof, and receives the child’s allowance on their own card (art. 10).

If you come back before seven days or cancel the trip

You must pay the full allowance back to the bank that holds your foreign currency account within five working days of getting back, with your passport (art. 15). The bank gives you a receipt and notes it in your passport. According to Banque d’Algérie, if you pay it back on time, you can apply again the same year. If you don’t, you lose the right for five years, and you can still be prosecuted.

Illegal

Handing over or selling your allowance

Article 19 of Instruction 07-2026 forbids it. Letting anyone other than the actual beneficiary use the allowance is a foreign exchange offence. You can’t lend or hand over the card itself either (art. 5).

You’ll see ads online offering to buy allowances, or “trips” organised for people who lend their name. The penalty for foreign exchange offences is heavy: two to seven years in prison, a fine of at least twice the amount involved, and confiscation (Ord. 96-22, art. 1 bis). Acting in good faith is no defence.

Watch out for fake instructions. In August 2026, a fake “Instruction 08-2026” on the allowance spread on social media. Banque d’Algérie denied it: Instruction 07-2026 is still the only text in force.

Key points

  • €750 per calendar year if you’re 19 or over, €300 for ages 12 to 18, for a trip of at least seven days.
  • The allowance goes onto an international card in your name. Pay the dinars, without cash, seven working days before you leave.
  • It’s personal: selling it or lending it is a foreign exchange offence.

Sources