I. Aim

1. What is the aim of setting up the Continuing Education Fund (CEF)?

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II. Eligibility

1. What are the eligibility criteria? Any restrictions?
2. Can an applicant submit multiple applications to CEF?
3. Are there any age restrictions?
4. Why is there a limitation on age ?
5. Can applicants concurrently seek financial assistance from other organisations?
6. Where can I obtain further information on the Non-means Tested Loan Scheme?
7. If an applicant has completed part of the programme before the launching of the CEF scheme, can he/she apply for financial assistance in respect of the completed courses?
8. If an applicant fails to complete the initial course he/she has enrolled in, is it necessary for him/her to apply to CEF again?
9. If an applicant has obtained the financial assistance under CEF, can he/she still have any tax deduction on expenses of self-education ?
10. Can an applicant apply for assistance after he/she has completed and passed the course(s)?
11. Under what circumstances will an application be rejected?
12. Are fees paid for different courses reimbursable?
13. Under what circumstances can an applicant apply for CEF if the course (which is on the CEF Reimbursable Course List) has already commenced?
14. Is there any limitation on residency status under CEF ?

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III. Application Procedures

1. How can an applicant submit application?
2. Can an applicant submit his/her application through the Internet?
3. Can an applicant submit application in person?
4. Where to get the application forms?
5. Any deadline for applications?
6. When does CEF start receiving applications?
7. Does an applicant have to pay any application fees?
8. When should the applicants submit their applications?
9. Why are the applicants required to enroll in the course before applying to the CEF ?
10. What are the other documents the applicant should attach in submitting his/her application?

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IV. Notification of Application Results

1. How long does it take before an applicant receives the result of his/her application?
2. If an applicant has obtained in-principle approval from OCEF, but has lost the approval letter, what should he/she do?
3. If an applicant has not received any reply 4 weeks after submitting his/her application, what should he/she do?

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V. Level of Financial Assistance

1. What is the maximum level of financial assistance under CEF? How is it calculated?
2. If an applicant who has completed the reimbursable courses has emigrated overseas, will he/she receive the financial assistance?
3. If an applicant has concurrently been enrolled in a number of reimbursable courses, can he/she apply for reimbursement in respect of some of the completed courses?

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VI. Course Information

1. Are all courses eligible for financial assistance?
2. Why are there only a few designated sectors covered by the CEF ?
3. Why computer / IT are not included in the reimbursable course list ?
4. Where can an applicant get information on the reimbursable courses?
5. How can an applicant tell if the course he/she enrols in is a reimbursable course?
6. Where can the institution codes and course codes of the reimbursable courses be obtained?
7. Why are the course codes under CEF different from those of the course providers ?
8. Why is a course offered by a certain course provider included in the reimbursable course list, while a similar or same course offered by another course provider is not ?

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VII. Change of Information/Amendment of Personal Data

1. If an applicant needs to change the information on his/her personal particulars, how can he/she inform OCEF?
2. If an applicant wishes to correct the information he/she has supplied earlier, how can he/she make the amendment?
3. If an applicant has cancelled his/her bank account previously supplied to OCEF, what should he/she do?
4. Can an applicant switch to other courses after obtaining in-principle approval?

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VIII. Cancellation/Withdrawal of Applications

1. What should an applicant do if he/she wishes to cancel/withdraw his/her application?
2. If an applicant has withdrawn his/her previous application, can he/she make further applications?

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IX. Reimbursement of Funds

1. When can the applicants apply for reimbursement of the fees?
2. How to apply for reimbursement of fees?
3. What is the definition of "successful completion" of the course ?
4. What is documentary proof of successful completion of the course?
5. If the applicant makes reimbursement claim for a course co-organized by a local agent with a third party, say an overseas university, what kind of documentary proof of successful completion of the course he/she is required to submit ?
6. How to get the reimbursement?
7. Can an applicant on special grounds receive subsidy in advance?
8. If the applicant has submitted the Reimbursement Claim Form, when can he/she receive the subsidy?
9. Can the bank account provided by the claimant be a joint account, a credit card account, a time deposit account or a foreign currency account?
10. What should an applicant do if he/she has lost the Reimbursement Claim Form?
11. If a claimant has submitted the Reimbursement Claim Form with sufficient supporting documents, but has not received any payment notification, what should he/she do?
12. How to get a replacement Reimbursement Claim Form (SFAA193/194/205) ?

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IX(a). Extension of Validity Period

1. The government extends the CEF validity period to 4 years, are there any measures to notify applicants?
2. Why is there such a decision to extend the validity period to 4 years?
3. What are the benefits of implementing 4-year validity period?
4. Are there any restrictions and tightening up of eligibility and vetting procedure for CEF applications after the implementation of 4-year validity period?
5. Does every single applicant enjoy the 4-year validity period?
6. After the implementation of 4-year validity period, can I still apply to OCEF for extension under special situation (such as suffering from illness with the production of valid medical certificates or successfully completed the course before the reimbursement deadline but waiting for the release of result)?
7. After the implementation of 4-year validity period, are there any forms to fill in?
8. As the new validity period will be implemented, do I need to fill in the application form SFAA192 if I am going to take a new course?
9. I have submitted a reimbursement claim before receipt of the extension letter. However, I have not yet received the payment notification from the OCEF, do I need to fill in the reimbursement claim form again?
10. My reimbursement deadline will expire on 20 December 2008. There is still HK$2,400 unclaimed balance in my CEF account but my second reimbursement has been made. Can I be granted the extra 2-year validity period and claim for the remaining balance in my account?
11. My validity period expired on 5 January 2006 and there was still HK$1,400 unclaimed balance in my CEF account. Can I be granted the extension of validity period and reimburse for the remaining balance in my account?
12. The 2-year validity period of my CEF account has expired. In my past claim, I studied two language courses but passed one benchmark test only. Thus only the fees of one course and one benchmark test were reimbursed from CEF. As now the validity period has been extended, can I retake a benchmark test and claim for the fees of the remaining one course?
13. The 2-year validity period of my CEF account has expired. In my past claim, I studied three courses but one of them was completed after the 2-year validity period. Thus, no fee in respect of this course was reimbursed from CEF. As now the validity period has been extended, can I reimburse for this course? What are the reimbursement procedures?
14. The 2-year validity period of my CEF account has expired. In my past claim, I successfully completed a language course but failed in the benchmark test. Thus, no course fee and benchmark test fee was reimbursed from CEF. As now the validity period has been extended, can I retake the benchmark test and claim for the course fee and benchmark test fee? What are the reimbursement procedures?
15. If I still have questions about the measures of the validity period extension, what should I do?

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X. Benchmark Tests / Examinations

1. What are the additional requirements for CEF applicants studying language courses ?
2. Which benchmark examination should be taken by the applicant ?
3. Where can applicants obtain information of benchmark tests / examinations ?
4. What should be submitted by a claimant to substantiate his/her claim for reimbursement of fees for English or Putonghua courses ?
5. Under what circumstances the benchmark test / examination fees cannot be reimbursed ?
6. Is the entry-test fee in connection with a language course (except written Chinese) reimbursable ?
7. Can a claimant only claim the benchmark test / examination fees ?
8. If an applicant has already passed or attained the minimum benchmark of the specified benchmark test / examination some time ago, can he/she be exempted from taking the same test / examination again ?
9. If an applicant has passed the internal examination organized by the institution / course provider but fails in the benchmark test / examination, can he/she claim for reimbursement ?
10. If the applicant has failed in the benchmark test / examination for a number of times, can he/she claim for reimbursement of all the test / examination fees ?
11. If an applicant takes more than one language courses and the courses are pegged to the same benchmark test / examination, can he/she take the test / examination once only?
12. For applicants taking English courses, do they need to attain the English level relevant to their respective job types ?

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XI. Others

1. Is there any requirement for the successful claimant to stay/work in Hong Kong?
2. How to contact the Office of the Continuing Education Fund?
3. What are the office hours of OCEF?
4. What is the website of the Continuing Education Fund?
5. What are the services offered by the hotline centre?

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