Tertiary Student Finance Scheme – Publicly-funded Programmes (TSFS) and Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Full-time Tertiary Students (NLSFT)

Application Period and Deadline

Applicable to both TSFS and NLSFT in 2024/25

Continuing students:
Application period: start from 18 April 2024
Deadline (online application): 17 May 2024

New students (2024/25 intake, admitted in September 2024):
Application period: start from August 2024
Deadline (online application): 27 September 2024

Notes to all applicants:

1. Applicants need to submit relevant supporting documents online, by post or in person within 7 calendar days after submitting online application. Please read the details in “Application Procedure”.
2. Please select the correct Application Form to fill in and you are eligible to apply for 2 schemes only:
   1. Tertiary Student Finance Scheme – Publicly-funded Programmes (TSFS) [means-tested]
   2. Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Full-time Tertiary Students (NLSFT)
3. Please input your 8-digit Student Number correctly on the form(s).
4. Note to students who will promote to Year 2 in 2024/25 but do not know your major yet:
   Please fill in the programme name and code of the major you expect to study in Year 2. Our Unit will report your major programme name and code to the Government SFO once the information is confirmed by our Academic Registry in around July/August.
5. TSFS:
   1. Applicants must fill in the actual annual income (not monthly income) during 1 Apr 2023 to 31 Mar 2024 (whole year) and the actual amount of each item of assets on the online application form. You should not input an approximate amount. Therefore, before you fill in the online application, please refer to the TSFS Checklist on Documentary Proofs Required and gather all necessary information first in order to fill in the correct details. Information and/or documents that are not submitted in the first place and are then reported/provided upon the Government SFO's enquiry will be treated as misrepresentation and/or omission. This may result in rejection of application. If you have ever received any warning letters from the Government SFO regarding misrepresentation and/or omission of your previous applications, further misrepresentation and/or omission may cause rejection of application, refund of all or part of the financial assistance received and/or prosecution.
   2. If there are missing bank records (e.g. with remarks “Net Back Items” / “CBC” printed on the bank passbook or missing pages of bank statements ), please request the bank to re-issue the records as soon as possible.
   3. All saving- or investment-linked insurance policies have to be reported as well.
   4. Please click here for TSFS Checklist on Documents Required for CSSA (Comprehensive Social Security Assistance) families
   5. Items of unavailable documents upon submission should be listed in Step 12 in the box of “Information / Supporting Document(s) Not Yet Available” on the online application form, stating the reason(s) for the delay and when the documents will be available. Applicants should take the initiative to submit all relevant documents to the Government SFO without further request. Information and/or documents that are not submitted in the first place and are then reported/provided upon the Government SFO's enquiry will be treated as misrepresentation and/or omission. This may result in rejection of application.
   6. All documents submitted after the submission of an application (i.e. you have submitted an online application and have submitted supporting documents once) are “supplementary information”. You, as an applicant, have the responsibility to make sure all supporting documents for your application, regardless of being supplementary or not, are complete and true without further request. If you need to submit any supplementary information/documentary proofs, please complete this “Provision of Supplementary Information/Documentary Proofs” Form, and submit it with your documents to the address printed on it.
6. NLSFT:
   1. Applicants must pay the administrative fee of HK$296 when you apply for NLSFT. Applicants need to upload a copy of the transaction advice of the paid admin fee at Step 5 of the application form in order to proceed to submit the NLSFT online application. After the submission of online application, applicants need to submit other supporting documents within 7 calendar days [please refer to the NLSFT Checklist of Supporting Documents]. You are required to keep the original copy properly as you may be required to provide the original copy of the admin fee payment proof upon the Government SFO's request.
   2. The admin fee payment can ONLY be settled by ATM to SFO's HSBC account, by cash at a physical HSBC branch, by FPS or by credit card (only Visa, MasterCard, China UnionPay and JCB are accepted). Payment through online transfer, by cheque or PPS is NOT accepted. For details, please refer to the Points to Note for Paying Administrative Fee.
   3. Please input your correct bank account number on BUniPort (bank account solely under your name). If you settle part or all of your tuition fee before the University receive your NLSFT loan of the same academic year (Acceptance Fee of new students consists a part of the tuition fee), the Finance Office (FO) of our University will deposit the relevant amount of your NLSFT loan in the bank account registered on BUniPort when your NLSFT loan arrives. Omission or incorrectness of your bank account information on BUniPort will delay such payment to you. Please visit the Finance Office website for the instructions on how to input bank account information on BUniPort.
7. Please note that the server will be very busy close to the deadline for online application. To avoid delay or problems, you are strongly recommended to submit your application as early as possible.
8. All applications submitted after the deadline are regarded as late applications. According to the Government SFO, late applications will not be accepted save in exceptional circumstances (including overseas exchange / internship) and accompanied with sound explanation. Students who cannot submit an application on time due to overseas exchange programme or internship, please submit a “late application” as soon as you have come back to HK. Please refer to "Late Application" part for details.
9. If you have a sibling residing with you and he/she is going to submit an application for TSFS, NLSFT, FASP and/or NLSPS but not studying in HKBU, you and your sibling should submit the application/supporting documents according to the instructions of your own institutions separately.
10. To safeguard private information of yours and your family’s, you are recommended to submit your documents in person if you need to submit any hard copy of them .
11. Please check your HKBU student email and this website regularly for up-to-date information.

12. Please pay attention to the tuition fee due dates every year (2 instalments every year). Debit note will be available on BUniPort 2 weeks before the payment due date. Please visit the following websites for tuition fee payment details.
    HKBU Finance Office: http://fohome.hkbu.edu.hk/fopage.html
    HKBU Academic Registry: https://ar.hkbu.edu.hk/ (Dates of tuition fee payment are printed on Academic Calendar)

Application Procedure

Step 1:

Complete online application here: https://ess.wfsfaa.gov.hk

Note:

1. Creation and log-in of MyGovHK and/or iAM Smart accounts is required. Please follow the instructions guiding you through in the online application webpage.
2. Please read the Guidance Notes. Captured screen images showing you how to fill in the form are available.
   TSFS Guidance Notes: http://www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo/pdf/common/Form/tsfs/Guidance_Note_Eng.pdf
   NLSFT Guidance Notes: http://www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo/pdf/common/Form/nls/NLSFT111B.pdf
3. If you encounter any problem during the process of filling in or submitting your online application, please check the “Online Demonstration”, “Guidance Notes” and the relevant “FAQ” first.  If you have further queries, please click “Help Desk” next to the online form and contact the Government SFO by calling the number of the respective schemes during office hours.

Step 2:

Submit the declaration and the required supporting documents within 7 calendar days after submitting your online application. [You do NOT need to submit a printout of the application form, unless you need to make amendments to your submitted online application.]

Please choose either ONE of the following three ways to submit supporting documents.

Note:

1. Choose ONE method ONLY to submit ALL your documents in one go.
2. NO checking will be performed by staff for any of these document submission methods. All items of documents are listed clearly on the Checklist on Documentary Proofs Required [ TSFS / NLSFT ] . Applicants have the responsibility to refer to the Checklist and ensure ALL relevant documents being submitted are true and complete. 

Method 1: ONLINE UPLOAD
(applicable to both TSFS and NLSFT)

File format:
PDF or JPEG

Total upload limit:
TSFS: 40MB (around 100 black and white A4 pages)
NLSFT: 40MB (around 100 black and white A4 pages)

Procedure:
1. Before uploading, check the total file size of your supporting documents.
2. If the total file size of your supporting documents is larger than the above upload limit, DO NOT use this method! Use Method 2 or 3 below. Please use ONE method only to submit all your supporting documents in one go.

Note:
- Use scanner. Do NOT submit photographs of declarations and documents.
- Scan one image only on one page in its original size.
- If you need to highlight anything on the documents, circle or underline them with a pen. Do NOT use highlighter.
- If you upload a few documents but subsequently decide to submit the documents by mail or by hand instead and click the radio button “By Mail or through the SFO Drop-in Boxes” and select “Submit”, the uploaded and saved documents will be deleted.  Retrieval of the deleted documents is not possible.

Method 2: BY POST / IN PERSON (DROP-IN BOX) @ GOVERNMENT SFO

[You are NOT recommended to deliver your documents by post. If you do, you have to bear the risk of mail loss.]

[MUST put the documents into an envelope, seal it and write your name, scheme name and application reference no. on the envelope]
[Documents MUST include the signed declaration(s) and Reply Slip (i.e. in the pdf file you can download in Step 14 of the online application)]

TSFS [By post or by hand (drop-in box)]:
Student Finance Office
Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency
12/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre,
1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon
(Attn: Applications Team (TSFS))

NLSFT [By post]:
Student Finance Office
Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency
Room 1204, 12/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices
303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon
(Attn: NLSFT APU)

NLSFT [By hand (drop-in box)]:
Student Finance Office
Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency
Reception Hall at 11/F OR G/F,
Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices
303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon
(Attn: NLSFT APU)

During Office hours (11/F):
8:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. from Monday to Friday; closed on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays
(If you will visit outside office hours, please enter the Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices through the side entrance near the security counter and drop the documents into the SFO drop-in box on the G/F lift lobby.)

Method 3: DROP-IN BOX @ HKBU
(applicable to both TSFS and NLSFT)

[MUST put the documents into an envelope and write your name, scheme name and application reference no. on the envelope]
[Documents MUST include the signed declaration(s) and Reply Slip (i.e. in the pdf file you can download in Step 14 of the online application)]
[Do NOT drop in any application from other institutions]

The drop-in box will be available @HKBU, at the counter of Scholarship & Financial Aid Unit (WLB 401), from 2024.09.13 to 2024.10.09 during opening hours. Please use Method 1 or Method 2 to submit documents directly to the Government SFO beyond the period or if the dates cannot meet your 7-day document submission deadline.

Scholarships & Financial Aid Unit
Office of Student Affairs
Hong Kong Baptist University
WLB401, Level 4,
The Wing Lung Bank Building for Business Studies,
Shaw Campus

The documents will be picked up by the Government SFO to handle in the morning on the following days during the aforesaid period:
20/9, 27/9, 4/10, 10/10*
(* subject to change without further notice)

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday – 9:00am to 1:00pm and 2:00pm to 5:30pm
Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays – Closed

Late Application

Applicable to both TSFS and NLSFT

Applicable to students who cannot submit an application on time due to overseas exchange / internship or reasons that are sound and justifiable.

TSFS and NLSFT application procedures include the submission of both the online application form and required supporting documents. Submission of online application form only without supporting documents will not be considered as a complete application. No matter when you submit your TSFS or NLSFT online application, you have to submit the required documents within 7 calendar days from the date of submission of online application. As stipulated by the Government SFO, applications received after the deadline will not be accepted save in exceptional circumstances (including overseas exchange or internship) and are accompanied with sound explanation. Submitting required documents over 7 days after submitting the online application is NOT a late application, but an incomplete application. The Government SFO cannot process online applications without documents. This kind of incomplete applications may be withdrawn by the Government SFO if they receive no relevant documents for a certain period of time.

If you cannot submit your TSFS/NLSFT 2024/25 application before the deadline due to your current overseas exchange or internship, we have the following recommendations for you.

TSFS applicants:
When you are back in HK, submit your application (online form + documents) as soon as possible. Before you come back, please ask your family members to prepare the documents needed for your TSFS application first.

NLSFT applicant:
When you are back in HK, submit your application (online form + documents) as soon as possible.

Procedures for submitting a late application:

1. Submit your late application as soon as possible, but no later than 24 Aug 2024, by following the same Application Procedure.
2. Write your reason(s) for late application in “Additional Information” (Step 12 for TSFS / Step 4 for NLSFT) in the online application.

• The arrangements and methods of document submission may be revised after the application deadline. For late application, please visit this website before you submit your application, to obtain the up-to-date information.
• According to the Government SFO: Late submission of your application will delay the processing of your application. Therefore, please submit your application as early as possible.

Maximum Grant and Loan

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

The maximum grant for a student is equal to the tuition fee payable in the academic year and the academic expenses for his/her course whilst the maximum loan for living expenses is the same for all students.

I. Academic Expenses Grant (2024/25)

Note: The above rates are applicable to undergraduates and below. The rates for postgraduates are 28% higher than that for undergraduates pursuing the same discipline.

II. Maximum TSFS Loan (2024/25) = $58,890

III. Maximum limit of deductible medical expenses per family member who is chronically ill or permanently disabled for 2024/25 application is $23,310.

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

The maximum NLSFT loan a student is offered equals to the tuition fee payable in the academic year.

Disbursement of Instalment of Financial Assistance

Please click here for details (for academic year 2023-24).

FAQ

1. Is e-submission (online application) the only way to apply for TSFS/NLSFT?
   Yes.
2. Near the end of the application process, which method of signing the declarations should I choose, “Sign on Paper” or “Sign with Digital Certificate”?
   “Digital Certificate” is an e-Cert for Smart ID Card which is a type of recognised digital certificate issued by the Hongkong Post Certification Authority. There is an application charge and it vouches for the identity of the certificate holder.
   If you and your parent(s) have not applied for the e-Cert through Hongkong Post, please select “Sign on Paper”, print out the declarations and sign on them with pen. If you submit your supporting documents by uploading them online, please scan the signed declarations and upload the scanned copy.
3. (TSFS) I have submitted supporting documents for my application once but the supporting documents submitted are not complete. What should I do next?

   Items of unavailable documents upon submission should be listed in Step 12 in the box of “Information / Supporting Document(s) Not Yet Available” on the online application form, stating the reason(s) for the delay and when the documents will be available. Applicants should take the initiative to submit all relevant documents to the Government SFO without further request. Information and/or documents that are not submitted in the first place and are then reported/provided upon the Government SFO's enquiry will be treated as misrepresentation and/or omission. This may result in rejection of application.

   All documents submitted after the submission of an application (i.e. you have submitted an online application and have submitted supporting documents once) are “supplementary information”. You, as an applicant, have the responsibility to make sure all supporting documents for your application, regardless of being supplementary or not, are complete and true without further request. If you have ever received any warning letters from the Government SFO regarding misrepresentation and/or omission of your previous applications, further misrepresentation and/or omission may cause rejection of application, refund all or part of the financial assistance received and/or prosecution.
   If you need to submit any supplementary information/documentary proofs, please complete this “Provision of Supplementary Information/Documentary Proofs” Form http://www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo/pdf/common/Form/tsfs/TSFS_AP_6_ENG.pdf, and submit it with your documents to the address printed on it.

4. Can I apply for Student Travel Subsidy only?
   No.  You have to apply for Student Travel Subsidy through the application of TSFS or FASP (applicable to students studying self-financing programmes).
5. Can I apply for Student Travel Subsidy through NLSFT?
   No.
6. How can I apply for Student Travel Subsidy?

   When you select the form TSFS, you also have to select whether you would like to apply for Student Travel Subsidy (STS) or not. If you fail to select STS on the form selection page, you need to fill in the Re-application for STS form (TSFS/STS/18C) and submit it to the Government SFO separately.

7. Do I need to submit the information of Loan Guarantor when I submit my application?
   No. You are only making an application of financial assistance to the Government at this stage. After the vetting procedure of your application is completed, you will receive a Letter of Notification of Result from the Government SFO. Please then follow the instructions printed on the Letter to accept/reject the loans offered (including the submission of the information of Loan Guarantor).
8. I have successfully applied for TSFS and/or NLSFT last Academic Year. Do I need to apply for it again for next Academic Year? Is there any application “extension” procedure?
   Students need to make a new application for Government financial assistances every year. There is NO application “extension” procedure.
9. How do I know if I am eligible to apply for TSFS according to my family’s financial situation / how much assistance I could get through TSFS?
   Please refer to the following links:
   Calculator for estimating the amount of assistance:
   https://ess.wfsfaa.gov.hk/  (“Financial Calculator” on the left column)
   
   TSFS Guidance Notes (Appendix III and IV)
   http://www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo/pdf/common/Form/tsfs/Guidance_Note_Eng.pdf
   
   Ready Reckoner under the “Adjusted Family Income” (AFI) Formula
   http://www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo/pdf/common/Form/tsfs/Adjusted_Family_Income_eng.pdf
   
   Sliding Scale of Asset Value for Discounting Grant and Loan Assistance
   http://www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo/pdf/common/Form/tsfs/Sliding_Scale_of_Asset_Value_eng.pdf
10. Other FAQ:
    SFO E-link – My Applications: https://ess.wfsfaa.gov.hk/  (“FAQs” on the left column)
    TSFS Guidance Notes: http://www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo/pdf/common/Form/tsfs/Guidance_Note_Eng.pdf  (the last Appendix)
    SFO website (TSFS): http://www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo/en/postsecondary/tsfs/faq.htm
    SFO website (NLSFT): http://www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo/en/postsecondary/nlsft/faq.htm
    Common Mistakes in Completing TSFS Application Form: https://www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo/pdf/common/Form/Common_Mistakes_E.pdf