Applying for Student Financial Assistance

In this article you will find pointers to a variety of student financial assistance schemes administered by the Student Finance Office under the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency (WFSFAA) to help you pick the ones that suit your needs.

For Students of the Publicly-funded Post-secondary Programmes

Tertiary Student Finance Scheme – Publicly-funded Programmes (TSFS)

TSFS provides means-tested financial assistance to eligible full-time post-secondary students.  To be eligible for the scheme, the applicant must:

• be registered as a full-time student of a recognised post-secondary programme at one of the recognised institutions, taking up an exclusively publicly-funded student place; and
• have the right of abode in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("Hong Kong"); or alternatively, the applicant or his / her family must have resided in Hong Kong continuously for three complete years prior to the commencement of the programme*.
  (Remarks: This does not cover non-local students holding –
  
  • student visas / entry permits;
  • visas / entry permits under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates; or
  • dependant visas / entry permits which were issued by the Director of Immigration when the relevant students have reached 18 years old.)
  * Applicants without the right of abode in Hong Kong (i.e. without the alphabet "A" beneath the Date of Birth field of the Hong Kong Identity Card) should also provide a copy of their entry permits to Hong Kong, e.g. "Permit for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao" (commonly known as the “One-way Permit”) / dependant visa, etc., with their applications.

Financial assistance under TSFS is made up of the following components –

• grant for assisting to settle the tuition fee (excluding continuation fee) payable to the concerned local institution;
• grant for assisting to settle the academic expenses for the concerned discipline of study;
• grant for assisting to settle the compulsory union fees;
• loan for living expenses;
• hostel subsidy (for eligible undergraduate students only); and
• additional academic expenses grant for students with special educational needs.

Please refer to WFSFAA website below for the updated information and rates.

The eligibility for financial assistance depends on the financial position of the applicant’s family. If you would like to have a rough idea of your level of assistance, you may try the Calculator on WFSFAA website.

For details of the eligibility criteria, application procedures and repayment arrangements, please refer to the links below.

Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Full-time Tertiary Students (NLSFT)

Eligible applicants for the TSFS can also apply for NLSFT simultaneously which provides loans to eligible students to settle tuition fees of recognised full-time study programmes. The NLSFT operates on a full-cost recovery basis. Loan borrowers have to pay interest for their loans. Interest is accrued at the prevailing interest rate for the non-means-tested loan schemes upon loan drawdown and throughout the study period until the loan is repaid in full. The interest rate of non-means-tested loans is derived on a no-gain-no-loss (“NGNL”) basis plus a risk-adjusted-factor (“RAF”) rate which seeks to cover the risk of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in disbursing unsecured loans. The NGNL rate will be reviewed by the end of each month and if adjustment is to be made, the adjusted rate will take effect from the first day of the following month. The RAF rate has been reduced to zero since the 2012/13 academic year.

Eligible students who apply for the NLSFT loans only, i.e. have not applied for assistance (i.e. grant and/or loan) or have failed to obtain assistance under the TSFS, may receive loan up to their total annual tuition fees payable in the academic year. Students who receive financial assistance under the TSFS may be entitled to loan under the NLSFT up to the difference between the maximum financial assistance (i.e. actual tuition fees payable plus the maximum amounts of assistance for academic expenses and living expenses) under the TSFS and the amount of financial assistance they may receive under the TSFS, subject to the NLSFT loan maximum (equivalent to the tuition fees payable) not being exceeded.

With effect from the 2012/13 academic year, a combined life-time loan limit is imposed on students eligible for receiving loans under the NLSFT and the Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Post-secondary Students (“NLSPS”). The loan limit will be price-adjusted annually in accordance with the movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index.

Loan(s) disbursed from the 2012/13 academic year and onwards will be counted towards the combined life-time loan limit, which is not of revolving nature and will not be reset by any repayments.

For details please refer to the link below.

For Students Pursuing Locally-Accredited, Self-financing Post-secondary Programmes

Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students (FASP)

FASP provides means-tested financial assistance to eligible full-time students pursuing locally-accredited, self-financing post-secondary education programmes at the level of associate degree, higher diploma or bachelor’s degree. To be eligible for the scheme, the applicants should also:

• be aged 30 or below;
• have the right of abode in Hong Kong; or alternatively, applicants or their families must have resided in Hong Kong continuously for 3 complete years prior to the commencement of the programme*.
  
  (Remarks: This does not cover non-local students holding –
  
  1. student visas / entry permits;
  2. visas /entry permits under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates; or
  3. dependant visas / entry permits which were issued by the Director of Immigration when the relevant students have reached 18 years old.)
  * Applicants without the right of abode in Hong Kong (without the alphabet "A" beneath the Date of Birth field of the Hong Kong Identity Card) should provide a copy of their entry permits to Hong Kong, e.g. "Permit for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao" (commonly known as the "one-way permit”) / dependant visa, etc., with their applications.

Financial assistance under FASP is made up of the following components –

• grant for assisting to settle the tuition fee (excluding continuation fee) payable to the concerned local institution;
• grant for assisting to settle the academic expenses for programme of study;
• loan for living expenses;
• hostel subsidy (for eligible undergraduate students only); and
• additional academic expenses grant for students with special educational needs.

Please refer to the WFSFAA website below for the updated information and rates.

Level of Financial Assistance

The eligibility for financial assistance depends on the financial position of the applicant’s family.  Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria for FASP may refer to the Calculator on WFSFAA’s website to obtain a rough estimate of the amount of eligible financial assistance.

For details of the eligibility criteria, application procedures and repayment arrangements, please refer to the links below.

To check out the locally-accredited, self-financing post-secondary programmes at sub-degree level or above, you can go to iPASS.

The Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Post-secondary Students (NLSPS)

Eligible applicants for the FASP can also apply for the NLSPS which provides financial assistance in the form of a loan. The NLSPS operates on a full-cost recovery basis. Loan borrowers have to pay interest for their loans. Interest is accrued at the prevailing interest rate for the non-means-tested loan schemes upon loan drawdown and throughout the study period until the loan is repaid in full. The interest rate of non-means-tested loans is derived on a no-gain-no-loss (“NGNL”) basis (the NGNL interest rate is currently set at 3.538% below the average best lending rate of the note-issuing banks) plus a risk-adjusted-factor (“RAF”) rate which seeks to cover the risk of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in disbursing unsecured loans. The NGNL rate will be reviewed by the end of each month and if adjustment is to be made, the adjusted rate will take effect from the first day of the following month. The RAF rate has been reduced to zero since the 2012/13 academic year.

Eligible students who apply for the NLSPS loans only, i.e. have not applied for assistance (i.e. grant and/or loan) or have failed to obtain assistance under the FASP, may receive loan up to their total annual tuition fees payable in the academic year. Students who receive financial assistance under the FASP may be entitled to loan under the NLSPS up to the difference between the maximum financial assistance (i.e. actual tuition fees payable plus the maximum amounts of assistance for academic expenses and living expenses) under the FASP and the amount of financial assistance they may receive under the FASP, subject to the NLSPS loan maximum (equivalent to the tuition fees payable) not being exceeded.

With effect from the 2012/13 academic year, a combined life-time loan limit is imposed on students eligible for receiving loans under the NLSPS and the NLSFT. The loan limit will be price-adjusted annually in accordance with the movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index. Loan(s) disbursed from the 2012/13 academic year and onwards will be counted towards the combined life-time loan limit, which is not of revolving nature and will not be reset by any repayments.

For details please refer to the link below.

Other Schemes

Extended Non-means-tested Loan Scheme (ENLS)

Students who are pursuing specific part-time and full-time post-secondary and continuing and professional education courses provided in Hong Kong  may apply for the ENLS loan to meet their tuition fees.  The ENLS operates on a full-cost recovery basis.  Interest is set at the Government’s no-gain-no-loss rate plus a risk-adjusted factor which seeks to cover the Government’s risk in disbursing unsecured loan.  The Finance Committee of the Legislative Council has approved to reduce the risk-adjusted factor to zero with effect from the 2012/13 academic year, and the arrangement is currently under review.  Be aware that once your loan application under the ENLS is approved and the loan is drawn down, you are liable for loan repayment and the interest accrued.  Therefore, it is in your best interest to prudently select a suitable course and course provider.

The maximum loan amount is the annual tuition fees payable for the course under the application.

With effect from the 2012/13 academic year, a life-time loan limit is imposed on each student eligible for receiving loans under the ENLS.  The life-time loan limit will be price-adjusted annually in accordance with the movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index.  Loan disbursed from the 2012/13 academic year and onwards will be counted towards the life-time loan limit, which is not of revolving nature and will not be reset by any repayments.

For details, please refer to the link below.

Continuing Education Fund (CEF)

The CEF subsidises adult learners who enrol in the reimbursable education and training courses. Eligible applicants may submit an unlimited number of claims for reimbursement of course fees on successful completion of CEF reimbursable courses up to a maximum sum of HK$25,000. The co-payment ratios by learners (i.e. the percentage of fees to be borne by learners) for the first HK$10,000 subsidy is 20% of the course fee and that for the remaining HK$15,000 subsidy is 40% of the course fee. Check out CEF’s website for the eligibility criteria, application procedures and reimbursable course list.

The approval of subsidy is subject to your eligibility for the application. You can estimate the eligible subsidy by using the subsidy calculator available on the website of CEF.

Public Forms

You can find application forms for various financial assistance schemes on the link below.