Can my / my spouse’s brothers, sisters or other relatives be counted as family members?

No. Only the applicant, his/her spouse, unmarried children residing with the family and dependent parents of the applicant or his/her spouse can be counted as family members.

1. have resided / been residing with the applicant’s family and supported by the applicant or his/her spouse; or
2. have taken up permanent residence at another premises owned or rented by the applicant or his/her spouse (i.e. Name of the applicant and / or his/her spouse should be shown on the relevant lease documents); or
3. have been living in his/her own premises, rented premises or residing in elderly homes and are totally supported by the applicant or his/her spouse.

Will my ex-spouse, divorced or separated, be counted as a family member?

No.  However, for single-parent family of two to three members, the “plus 1 factor” in the divisor of the AFI formula will be increased to 2 to ensure that students from such families will not receive less assistance under AFI.

Can married children residing with the family be counted as family members?

No. However, the contribution paid by married children residing with the family should be stated in the application form and will be taken as part of the family’s income.

Can new-born baby of the family be counted as family member even if the baby was born after the assessment period?

Applicants should report on the details of their family members present at the time when they submit their applications.

Do I have to declare the income of my ex-spouse, divorced or separated?

No. However, the alimony or maintenance paid by the ex-spouse to the applicant for the period from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 should be stated in the column “Any other yearly income” in the “FAMILY INCOME” item of the application form.

If my spouse only contributes part of his/her income to the family, can I report only the contribution as his/her “INCOME”?

No. All salary, allowances and other fringe benefits of both the husband and wife should be included in the family’s income.

If my spouse was employed during part of the assessment period, is it necessary for me to report his/her income during the period?

Yes. All salary earned by any member of the family during part of or the entire assessment period has to be reported in the application form.

If my spouse only took up part-time unsteady employment during the assessment period, is it necessary for me to report his/her income during the period?

Yes. All salary earned by any member of the family, including full-time and part-time employment, monthly or hourly paid, during the assessment period must be reported in the application form.

Is rent / mortgage repayment deductible from income?

No. SFAA will only take account of the gross annual income of the family in conducting the means test.

How should I report my income and working hours if I do not have fixed employers and my salary is paid in cash?

Applicant may consider providing copies of records of income as recorded in the bank passbook or fill out the ‘Self-declared Income Statement’ (SFAA 48), explaining why income proof cannot be produced and state the average working hours per month during the assessment period in case they are applying for whole-day fee remission for children receiving whole-day child care services (i.e. groups aged 0-2 and 2-3).

How should I report the income of unmarried children residing with the family?

The “social needs” assessment form should only be filled out if you are applying for whole-day fee remission for children receiving whole-day child care services (i.e. groups aged 0-2 and 2-3). The criteria for assessing ‘social needs’ are set out in the Appendix of the ‘Guidance Notes of KCFRS (2011/12)’. Some salient points are set out below for applicants’ attention:

a. Category 1
The period of employment should normally cover the entire assessment period from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011. However, SFAA will also consider cases whereby the parents of the student-applicants can only meet the 120/104 hours criteria for a period after the normal assessment period up to the time of application for KCFRS (at least one month or more prior to applications) and can provide proof, such as appointment letters or employment certifications with salaries and working hours, to support such claims. Based on the changes of the parents’ employment status of the applicant/applicant’s spouse, SFAA will consider assessing the applicant family’s ‘Adjusted Family Income’ and ‘Social Needs’ according to the applicant’s latest projected annual family income and situation. (SFAA will adopt the same assessment period in conducting overall assessment of the applicant’s AFI and social needs, having regard to his/her family’s latest circumstances.)

b. Category 3 (b)
Student-applicants of unmarried parents who were born out of wedlock or are not under the care of their parents would have met the “Social Needs” assessment Category 3 (b) upon the applicant’s production of the birth certificates of the children and self-declaration from unmarried parents that the children are not taken care of by them.

c. Category 3 (c)
Student-applicants who are orphans/semi-orphans under the care of relatives will have met the “Social Needs” assessment Category 3 (c) upon the applicant’s production of the death certificates of the children’s parents and a self-declaration from relatives that they have taken up the responsibility to look after the children.

d. Category 4 (e)
Student-applicants with a parent or guardian in prison or absent from home for other valid reason for long periods will have met the “Social Needs” assessment Category 4(e) upon production of relevant proofs. Apart from social worker’s recommendation, this Agency may consider applicants’ self-declaration and the relevant supporting documents such as copies of Two-way Exit Permit.

e. Category 5 (a)
Student-applicants who need whole-day care because of special conditions of other family members (e.g. physically or mentally handicapped, chronically ill, senile, aged (over 70), or incapable of self-care) will have met the “Social Needs” assessment Category 5 (a) upon the applicant’s production of the identity document(s) of the relevant family member(s), medical certification issued by hospital or medical practitioner, or documentary proofs for physically/mentally handicapped.


f. Category 6
Student-applicants from large families :
(a) Student-applicants with two or more siblings (at least two children aged below 6 must receive care at home, they would not qualify for ‘Social Needs’ assessment);
(b) Student-applicants from families with four or more children aged below 12 (at least three children must receive care at home, they would not qualify for ‘Social Needs’ assessment).

g. Category 7
Other cases recommended by social workers :
Any student-applicant referred and recommended by social workers will have met the “Social Needs” assessment Category 7.
In the circumstance where social worker’s recommendation is required, the applicant may seek assistance from his or her social worker / his or her family’s social worker (for example, social workers of integrated family service centres, integrated children & youth service centres, medical social service units, school social work services and district elderly community centres). If the applicant is not receiving service from any social worker, he/she may wish to, where appropriate, make enquiries to and seek assistance from the social workers of the subvented non-government organization operating the kindergarten/child care centre. Where the kindergarten/child care centre is not operated by a subvented non-government organization or the operator does not have social workers, the applicant may approach any of the integrated family service centres in the neighbourhood of his/her residence for assistance. Telephone numbers and addresses of integrated family service centres are available at the website of the Social Welfare Department http://www.swd.gov.hk.

Although the applicant and his/her spouse did not have full-time employment during the assessment period and could not pass the “social needs” test, they have both secured full-time employment lately. Can they apply for whole-day fee remission now and what should they note when applying for fee remission?