Guide 17 · valid as of 22 October 2026 · getsahla.com
If you live in Algeria, keeping the money you earn from your work abroad is banned, whether it sits on Payoneer, PayPal, Grey, a prepaid card, a relative’s account or a company. It’s an exchange-control offence: rarely prosecuted, but heavily punished. The only legal route is to bring your earnings home to your foreign currency account on the day the client pays.
Take Walid, a developer in Algiers. He keeps $6,000 on Payoneer “for later” and pays his subscriptions with the Payoneer card. One day, Payoneer freezes the account for a review. The money is out of reach, and his bank can’t help: it was never brought home.
What the rules say
- The ban. ”[…] the building up of monetary, financial and property assets abroad by residents from their activities in Algeria is prohibited” (Regulation 07-01, art. 8Règlement 07-01 du 3 février 2007 relatif aux règles applicables aux transactions courantes avec l'étranger et aux comptes devises (version d'origine), p. 2).
- The duty to bring money home. Every payment received for a service sold abroad “must be repatriated to a bank in Algeria” (Regulation 07-01, art. 57Règlement 21-01 du 28 mars 2021 modifiant le règlement 07-01 (articles 57 et 67), p. 2), on the day the client pays (art. 61, as rewritten by Regulation 26-02Règlement 26-02 du 23 juillet 2026 modifiant l'article 61 du règlement 07-01 (JO n° 58 du 12 août 2026); guide 9).
- The offence. Ordinance 96-22 punishes, among other things, “failure to repatriate capital”, and adds that the offender “cannot be excused on grounds of good faith” (art. 1).
What counts as “money abroad”
| Situation | Why it counts as assets abroad |
|---|---|
| A balance left on Payoneer, PayPal, Grey, Upwork or Fiverr | Earnings not brought home, held outside Algeria |
| A prepaid or Payoneer card funded from abroad | Same thing: the balance is abroad |
| A European bank account opened with a borrowed address | A resident’s account abroad, plus a false declaration (guide 15) |
| A relative abroad who collects your payments | Your earnings stay abroad, under someone else’s name (guide 18) |
| An LLC or Ltd that collects from your clients | A company abroad without the required authorisation (guide 21) |
| Stablecoins or other crypto-assets | Also banned by Law 25-10Loi 25-10 du 24 juillet 2025 modifiant la loi 05-01 (JO n° 48 de 2025) (guide 16) |
The penalties
- The sentence: two to seven years in prison, confiscation, and a fine of at least twice the amount involved (Ordinance 96-22, art. 1 bisOrdonnance 03-01 modifiant l'ordonnance 96-22 (JO n° 12 de 2003), p. 14, as worded in 2010).
- Settlement: for amounts up to DZD 20 million, a settlement with the authorities is still possible (art. 9 bis).
- Enforcement: freelancers are rarely prosecuted today. But an order published in the Official Journal in August 2026 empowered 21 Bank of Algeria officers to record exchange-control offences, and banks must now watch for transfers containing words like “crypto” or “USDT”.
- The practical risk: an account abroad can be frozen or closed during a review, with the whole balance in it. If the money was never brought home, no Algerian bank can help you.
The methods
Bring every payment home the same day
Set out in articles 57 and 61 of Regulation 07-01Règlement 07-01 du 3 février 2007 relatif aux règles applicables aux transactions courantes avec l'étranger et aux comptes devises (version d'origine).
- Open a professional foreign currency account (guides 5 and 6) and declare each project (guide 7).
- Have clients pay straight into that account, or withdraw from Payoneer, PayPal or the platform on the same day (guides 3, 11 and 14).
- Pay for your tools and work trips with your foreign currency account’s card (guide 10), not a card funded from abroad.
Clearing a balance that’s already sitting abroad
If you already have money on Payoneer or PayPal, bring it home to your foreign currency account now. Be aware that a late payment is paid out in dinars (Regulation 07-01, art. 67Règlement 21-01 du 28 mars 2021 modifiant le règlement 07-01 (articles 57 et 67), p. 2; guide 8). You lose the foreign currency, but the money sits legally in your account in Algeria. For a large amount, talk to a lawyer first.
Keeping a “cushion” abroad
It’s the most common practice on social media, and it’s still an exchange-control offence, even for a few hundred dollars. “Everyone does it” or “I don’t have a foreign currency account yet” changes nothing: good faith is no excuse.
Key points
- A resident doesn’t keep their earnings abroad: not in an app, on a card, with a relative or in a company.
- The penalty on paper: two to seven years in prison and at least twice the amount, even if prosecutions are rare.
- Bring money home on the day you’re paid; an old balance can be cleared, in dinars if it’s late.
Sources
- Bank of Algeria Regulation 07-01 of 3 February 2007: art. 8, assets abroad, p. 2, original text read on 22 October 2026.
- Bank of Algeria Regulation 21-01 of 28 March 2021 amending Regulation 07-01: art. 2, new article 57, p. 2; art. 5, new article 67, p. 2, original text read on 22 October 2026.
- Bank of Algeria Regulation 26-02 of 23 July 2026, art. 2 rewriting article 61 of Regulation 07-01: Official Journal no. 58 of 12 August 2026, p. 28, read on 21 October 2026.
- Ordinance 96-22 as amended: Ordinance 03-01, art. 2 (new article 1, offences), Official Journal no. 12 of 2003, p. 14; Ordinance 10-03, art. 1 bis (penalty), Official Journal no. 50 of 2010, p. 8; art. 9 bis (settlement), p. 9, read on 22 October 2026.
- Officers empowered to record exchange-control offences: Algérie Eco, 14 August 2026 (order of 26 July 2026, Official Journal no. 58 of 2026), read on 22 October 2026.
- Banking Commission guidelines 06/2025 of 12 November 2025 on virtual assets: § 6, keywords banks monitor, p. 5, read on 21 October 2026.