Student Financial Assistance Agency - Financial Assistance Schemes

Non-means-tested Loan Scheme
(for eligible students who are not covered under the TSFS and FASP)

Disclaimer/Important Notice

Aim

Eligibility

Maximum Level of Loan Amount

Interest and Administrative Fee

How to Apply

Notification of Result

Payment of NLS Loan

Application for Additional NLS Loan

Cancellation of NLS Loan

Withdrawal from/Cessation/Suspension/Deferment of Studies/Change of Programme or Institution

Loan Repayment

Quarterly Repayment Calculator

Deferment of Repayment

Tips on Selecting Courses

Disclaimer/Important Notice

Pursuant to the decision of the Finance Committee (FC) of the Legislative Council made on 23 June 2000, the Controller, Student Financial Assistance Agency ("C,SFAA") is responsible for establishing, compiling and keeping the Register of Eligible Course Providers and Courses ("Register"), which shows the eligible course providers/courses covered by the Non-means-tested Loan Scheme. The eligibility of most of the course providers/courses on the Register is based on the status of the course providers (e.g. the Open University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Shue Yan University) or the registration under Ordinances [e.g. courses registered under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Chapter 493)]. Only a few course providers/courses are included in the Register upon the approval of the C, SFAA in accordance with the criteria laid down by the FC [for details of the criteria, please visit FCR(2000-01)39]. Please note that the assessing criteria make no reference to the quality of the course providers/courses. You should understand that the mere fact that the Register shows eligible course providers/courses does not imply or suggest the quality of the course providers/courses has been assessed.

It is in your best interests to prudently select a suitable course provider/course. Once your loan application under the Non-means-tested Loan Scheme ("NLS") is approved and the loan is drawn down, you are liable for repayment of the loan and the interest accrued thereon. Such liability shall not be limited or reduced in any event, including but not limited to the occurrence of any dispute arising in relation to the teaching quality, your cessation of being a student or withdrawal from/suspension/deferment of your studies, your failure to complete the course for whatever reason, and the course provider's failure to provide the course for whatever reason.

Notes to Applicant of the Continuing Education Fund

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the Government) may apply any reimbursement granted to you under the Continuing Education Fund (CEF) for attending a reimbursable course (CEF Course) to set off any amount payable by you to the Government in accordance with the terms and conditions of the NLS loan. The CEF Course must be a course in the programme of studies under which the NLS loan is being granted to you. For details, please refer to paragraphs 6 and 12.1 of Part I of the NLS Application Guidance Notes (SFAA 140).

Aim

The Non-means-tested Loan Scheme (NLS) was extended to provide financial assistance in the form of loan to eligible students who are not covered under the TSFS and FASP to meet their tuition fees.

For students who are eligible under the Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes (TSFS), please click here to view the details of the Non-means-tested Loan Scheme.

For students who are eligible under the Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students (FASP), please click here to view the details of the Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Post-secondary Students.

Eligibility

Applicants may apply for the NLS loan in the 2011/12 academic year, if they are:-

students of the Open University of Hong Kong;
students of Hong Kong Shue Yan University;
students pursuing part-time publicly-funded programmes or self-financing, local award-bearing programmes (i.e. programmes of study leading to the award of local academic qualifications) or training or development courses at the post-secondary level offered by publicly-funded institutions (including their Schools of Professional and Continuing Education);
students pursuing programmes offered under the "Project Yi Jin";
students of registered courses and exempted courses under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Cap. 493);
students of post-secondary courses, adult education courses, continuing and professional education courses offered by a school registered under section 13(a) or exempted from registration under section 9(1) of the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279);
students of courses offered by a Post Secondary College registered under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320);
students pursuing training or development courses provided or funded by statutory bodies; and
students pursuing continuing and professional education courses offered by any institution approved by the C, SFAA in accordance with the criteria concerned [please press "(Criteria to be Adopted)" on the right hand side] (Criteria to be Adopted)

Applicants should have the right of abode in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("Hong Kong") (an alphabet “A” should be shown on the front side of your Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card) or have resided or have had their homes in Hong Kong continuously for three complete years immediately prior to the commencement of the programme/course. This does not cover students studying in Hong Kong holding student visas.

You are eligible to apply for a NLS loan to cover your tuition fees in the 2011/12 academic year if the programme(s)/course(s) pursued are eligible programme(s)/course(s) under the NLS. You can browse the Register of Eligible Course Providers and Courses. Programme(s)/course(s) not included in the Register will be considered by the C, SFAA on a case-by-case basis.

(The above list is for reference only and the C, SFAA reserves the right to amend, delete or alter the list without prior notice.)

Maximum Level of Loan Amount

The maximum amount you may borrow is the total tuition fee(s) payable to your institution or its operator/local agency (if applicable) in the 2011/12 academic year, in any case should not exceed an aggregate of 12 months' tuition fee(s) payable.

The level and conditions of loan to be borrowed for different categories of programmes are listed below:

Programme Structure Maximum Level and Conditions of Loan

(a) Structured programme (excluding those postgraduate research courses of which the tuition fees will be paid in more than two instalments in any period of 12 months) Your loan application must be for the full tuition fee for any one semester/instalment or any combination of semester(s)/instalment(s).

(b) Programme or course of which the tuition fees are chargeable on a modular or credit basis
Your loan application must be for the full tuition fee for all the credits/modules stipulated in the debit note at the time of submission of your application;

if you opt to add any course or credit which leads to additional tuition fees after you have submitted an application for the NLS loan for the same semester, you have to submit another application no matter whether your previous application has been approved if you want to apply for the NLS loan to cover the tuition fee of the additional course(s)/credit(s); and

if you opt to drop any course or credit which leads to reduced tuition fees after you have submitted an application for the NLS loan, you should notify the Agency in writing at least 10 working days before the original loan drawdown date(s) for adjustment of the loan amount. Otherwise you have to refund the difference to the Agency. Please note that interest will accrue for the approved NLS loan from the drawdown date if the Agency does not receive any notification of adjustment from you.

You must submit separate loan application(s) for each semester unless you can provide proof/confirmation from your institution or its operator/local agency (if applicable) for the number of credit(s)/module(s) you will pursue in the coming semesters within the same academic year.

(c) Postgraduate research courses (MPhil or PhD) of which

(i) the tuition fees will be paid in two or more instalments in any academic year; or

(ii) the tuition fees of the next and subsequent instalments have yet to be announced; or

(iii) the tuition fees payable are not in equal instalments.

You must submit a separate application for each instalment of your tuition fees unless you can provide proof/confirmation from your institution or its operator/local agency (if applicable) for the number of instalment(s) you will have to pay in the coming semesters within the same academic year; and

your loan application must be for the full tuition fee for the instalment for which the loan is to be applied.

(d) Summer Semester You must submit a separate application if it is not included in any of your previous application(s); and

your loan application must be for the full tuition fee(s) for all the subject(s) you have enrolled at the time of submission of your application.

(e) A combination of semester(s)/subject(s) covered by the same application Your loan application must be for the full tuition fee(s) for any one semester/instalment or any combination of semester(s)/instalment(s).

(f) Any programme or course which does not fall in any of the above-mentioned categories You must submit a separate application for each instalment of your tuition fee(s); and

your loan application must be for the full tuition fee of that particular instalment.

Interest and Administrative Fee

The NLS operates on a full-cost recovery basis. Interest is set at the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the Government)'s no-gain-no-loss rate which is currently set at 3.409% below the average best lending rate (BLR) of the note-issuing banks, plus a risk-adjusted factor which seeks to cover the Government's risk in disbursing unsecured loan. Interest is charged at the prevailing NLS interest rate once the loan is drawn down and throughout the repayment period until the NLS loan is fully repaid. The Director of Accounting Services will review the no-gain-no-loss interest rate by the end of each month according to any changes in the average BLR in the month and will adjust the rate with effect from the first day of the following month. Please refer to What's New for the prevailing NLS interest rate.

An administrative fee, to cover the full costs of processing and administering the NLS loan(s), is chargeable for each application:

The administrative fee is chargeable as from the submission of the first application and annually thereafter until the NLS loan(s) and the interest accrued thereon are fully repaid.

The administrative fee will be charged on each loan account on an academic year basis. It is payable on 1 October each year. If there is any unsettled balance under the loan account on or after 1 October, the administrative fee for the coming academic year will be chargeable and will be demanded for payment in the demand note with due date falling on 1 January next year.

The administrative fee is a fixed fee and will not be charged on a pro-rata basis nor divided by instalments. Administrative fees paid are not refundable nor transferable.

Under normal circumstances, loan recipients will not receive any demand note before commencement of loan repayment. Thus, the administrative fee(s) charged during the study period will be demanded for settlement in the first demand note with due date falling on 1 January of the year following the commencement of loan repayment. In such circumstances, loan recipients are required to settle administrative fees for more than one year in the first demand note.

The fee payable on application will include the said administrative fee and a handling charge levied by and payable to your institution.

The administrative fee is subject to review regularly. Please refer to What's New for the current administrative fee.

Loan account will be created on a course-basis. The interest and administrative fee will be calculated separately for individual account. If an applicant obtains loans under the NLS as well as other loan scheme(s) administered by the Agency in respect of the same course, separate loan accounts will be created under the respective loan scheme(s).

Request for merging loan accounts will not be acceded to.

The administrative fees payable in the 2011/12 academic year by eligible students studying at the relevant Institutions are set out in the following table:

Students On each application Remarks

Students of :

University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded Institutions*

Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) (including Hong Kong Design Institute)

HK$260 The amount covers an administrative fee of HK$180 payable to the Government and a one-off handling charge of HK$80 payable to your Institution

Students of :

The Open University of Hong Kong (including Li Ka Shing Institute of Professional and Continuing Education)

Hong Kong Shue Yan University

The Prince Philip Dental Hospital (PPDH)

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

Schools of Professional and Continuing Education of UGC-funded Institutions

Continuing Professional Development Centre of the Vocational Training Council

Caritas Adult and Higher Education Service

Project Yi Jin

Other Eligible Institutions/Course Providers

HK$180

__

* UGC-funded Institutions include the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Baptist University, City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Lingnan University and the Hong Kong Institute of Education.

Please pay the administrative fee IN CASH at any branch of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (the Bank) by using the pre-printed bank pay-in slip provided (payment by cheque is NOT accepted); OR transfer the administrative fee to the Agency's account through automatic teller machines (ATM) of the Bank. Please follow the steps below:

choose the service "Transfer";

key in the Agency’s account number "044-171635-001", then the amount $260 or $180, as appropriate;

choose "Yes" for "Do you need to take a transaction advice?";

take the advice;

transaction ends and take the advice.

Please note that if you fail to produce the original transaction advice for your NLS application, you have to apply for a bank statement from the Bank showing the transaction concerned.

How to Apply

If you wish to apply for the NLS loans, you should complete the NLS application form (SFAA141) or (SFAA141C) and the relevant loan documents which are obtainable from the Student Financial Assistance Agency (the Agency), Student Affairs Office and/or Acadamic Registry of your institution ( if applicable ) and Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department. You may also download the application form from the Agency's website. Please note that you must submit the originals of the Undertaking (SFAA 142) and the Deed of Indemnity (SFAA 143).

You may submit your application together with the documents required by the following means:

in person to the Agency during office hours; or
authorise a person to submit the application to the Agency by completing the authorisation form.

You should submit your completed application to the Agency before the deadline. Your application should include the documents listed below. If the required documents submitted are not in order, your application will not be accepted.

duly completed Application Form;

photocopies of the Hong Kong Identity (HKID) Cards of yourself, your Indemnifier(s), and your Witness(es). The photocopies should be signed on the face and certified as true copies by the respective cardholders. The signatures should be the same as those shown on the Undertaking and the Deed of Indemnity, as appropriate. Please make each photocopy of the HKID Card on a separate A4 size white paper which is blank on both sides. Computer scanned copies, photocopies made by facsimile machine, enlarged or reduced photocopies, duplicates of the photocopies, unclear or incomplete photocopies of the respective HKID Cards are not acceptable. Please be reminded that if you/your Indemnifier(s)/Witness(es) mark(s) "COPY" in the photocopies of the HKID Cards submitted, the "COPY" mark should be made across the whole image of the HKID Cards and the names in Chinese (if applicable) and English, HKID Card Numbers, Dates of Birth and resident status symbols printed on the HKID Cards should be legible and not obliterated from sight;

a photocopy of your Student Identity Card and/or admission letter if you are a new student, together with any document showing your course of study in the 2011/12 academic year if your Student Identity Card does not contain such information. You should also bring along your original Student Identity Card and/or admission letter for verification;

(i) if you have already paid the tuition fee(s), please provide the original receipt(s). Computer generated receipt should be authenticated by the institution and bear the institution chop. Alternatively, the applicant may produce the original bank statement to authenticate the transaction of tuition fee payment. The receipt or bank statement must clearly state the payment date and paid amount of the tuition fee(s), name of institution, name of student/Student Identity Card number, name of programme/course and year/term of study. Otherwise, the applicant should submit other documents to authenticate the above information or provide a receipt or bank statement authenticated by the institution and bearing the institution chop;
(ii) if you have not paid the tuition fee(s), please submit the original and photocopy of debit note or payment schedule issued by your institution or its operator/local agency (if applicable) which clearly states the exact amount and payment due date(s) of tuition fee(s) payable;
(iii) if the application involves paid and unpaid part of your tuition fee(s), you should submit relevant documents as stipulated in (i) and (ii) above;

the original copy of bank exchange memo/bank receipt showing the exchange rate in Hong Kong dollars if your tuition fee(s) was/were paid in foreign currencies;

duly completed and signed Undertaking;

duly completed and signed Deed of Indemnity;

documentary evidence in originals showing your residential address in Hong Kong within the recent 3 months. The address shown on the documentary evidence should be issued by e.g. government bureaux/departments, public organizations/utilities or commercial organizations, etc.;

documentary evidence showing your Indemnifier’s employment status and income, residential address and office/employer’s business address (Note: For details please refer to paragraph 5.9(d) to (f) of the NLS Application Guidance Notes (SFAA 140));

be able to provide documentary evidence showing your employer's business address if you are under employment upon request;

the customer copy of the bank pay-in slip/original ATM transaction advice for the administrative fee paid (Note: For details please refer to the paragraph 5.5(e) of the NLS Application Guidance Notes (SFAA 140)); and

if you have already paid all or part of your tuition fee(s), you should submit a photocopy of the relevant page of your bank passbook or account statement showing your name and account number for our arrangement to reimburse all or that part of the tuition fee(s) paid by direct crediting to your bank account.

(Note: The Agency reserves the right to request you to re-submit any of the above photocopies of supporting documents or provide the original copy for verification, if necessary.)

You should provide a qualified Indemnifier for your application. To be acceptable as an Indemnifier, a person must be a Hong Kong resident holding a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card; at or over 21 years of age; gainfully employed in Hong Kong and financially sound; able to submit documentary evidence showing the current employment status and income in Hong Kong; able to submit documentary evidence in originals showing his/her residential address in Hong Kong within the recent 3 months; able to submit documentary evidence showing his/her office/employer's business address in Hong Kong; and able to produce documentary evidence showing his/her financial position upon request by the C, SFAA.

(Note: For details about the requirements of a qualified Indemnifier, please refer to the paragraph 5.9 of the NLS Application Guidance Notes (SFAA 140))

You should provide a qualified Witness for your application. To be acceptable as a Witness, a person must be a Hong Kong resident holding a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card; and at or over 18 years of age.

(Note: For details about the requirements of a qualified Witness, please refer to the paragraph 5.10 of the NLS Application Guidance Notes (SFAA 140))

If you and/or your Indemnifier(s) has/have any arrears of grant(s) and/or loan(s) under any financial assistance/loan scheme(s) administered by the Agency, the C, SFAA reserves the right to withhold processing of your application(s) or release of loan(s) to you.

Notification of Result

If the information you provide is complete and all the required documents submitted are in order and the programme(s)/course(s) pursued is/are already included in the Register, you may normally be notified of the result within 3 weeks by mail from the date of the Agency's acknowledge receipt of your application. If you do not receive the Approval Letter after 3 weeks from the date of the Agency's receipt of your application, please contact the Agency immediately. Please note that the Approval Letter will cover all the approved loan instalment(s). You should retain the Approval Letter and present it everytime when you collect the cheque(s) from the Agency. No further Approval Letter will be sent to you for each loan instalment.

If the information provided is incomplete or if there are discrepancies in the supporting documents provided, the Agency will require you to give an explanation or provide supplementary information, in which case the processing time will be longer.

For application involving an undischarged bankrupt, a subject person of an IVA or programmes/courses not covered in the Register, the C, SFAA will consider the application on a case-by-case basis. Under these circumstances, a longer processing time will be required.

Payment of NLS Loan

If your loan application is approved, the 1st instalment loan (for loan disbursed in Hong Kong dollars only) will normally be paid within 5 weeks upon the date of approval by the following methods:

Circumstance Payment Method(s)

(a) You have already paid all or part of the tuition fees covered in your application. i. That part of the loan covering the paid tuition fees will be credited to your designated bank account*; and/or

ii. that part of the loan covering the unpaid tuition fees will be made by instalment(s), where appropriate and made payable to your institution or its operator/local agency [applicable if you are pursuing a registered course or exempted course under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Cap. 493)] by cheque(s).

(b) You have not paid any part of your tuition fees. The loan will be made by instalment(s), where appropriate, and made payable to your institution or its operator/local agency (if applicable) by cheque(s).

* Please note that fixed deposit account, credit card account, foreign currency account, security/investment account will not be accepted for payment purpose. If you do not have a bank account, you are advised to open one before you submit your application. You must be the sole holder of the account. If the loan cannot be credited to your bank account because of incorrect bank account information provided by you; or the bank account has been cancelled or frozen, the Agency will not bear any responsibility for any loss or charge caused to you. You are also required to submit the updated bank account information in writing including the photocopy of the relevant page of your bank passbook or account statement showing your name and account number. The new drawdown date(s) will be determined by the Agency.

Application for Additional NLS Loan

You may apply for additional loan(s) to cover your tuition fees of subsequent semester(s)/instalment(s) if they were not covered in any previous application(s).

An administrative fee is payable for each application.

Application for additional NLS loan(s) should follow the same procedures as those for the first application.

Cancellation of NLS Loan

If you wish to cancel your NLS loan which has not yet been disbursed to you or the cheque(s) which has/have been disbursed to you, please refer to the paragraph 11.1 and 11.2 of the NLS Application Guidance Notes (SFAA 140) and return the respective duly completed form together with the cheque(s) (if applicable) to the Agency before the stipulated deadline(s). You are liable for repaying the interest accrued from the date(s) of drawdown until the date of loan(s) cancellation. If you do not collect the cheque(s) within 1 month from the loan drawdown date, or if you or your institution or its operator/local agency (if applicable) does not present the cheque(s) within 6 months from the date(s) printed on the cheque(s), they will be cancelled automatically, and you are liable for repaying the interest accrued from the date(s) of drawdown until the date of loan(s) cancellation. If you wish to apply for the concerned NLS loan again in the same academic year, you should submit a fresh application and pay the required administrative fee for that application. Please note that some of the foreign currency cheques may not be valid for 6 months, depending on the regulations set by different banks. Please refer to the paragraph 11 of the NLS Application Guidance Notes (SFAA 140) for details on cancellation of NLS loan.

Withdrawal from/ Cessation/ Suspension/ Deferment of Studies/ Change of Programme or Institution

If you decide to withdraw from/cease/suspend/defer your studies or you transfer to another programme/institution or you cannot complete your programme(s)/course(s) of study for whatever reason(s) or your institution fails to provide the course under application to you for whatever reason(s), after the Agency has advanced/disbursed the loan to you or issued to you by cheque(s) made payable to your institution or its operator/local agency (if applicable), you must immediately notify the C, SFAA in writing. The total loan advanced/disbursed to you will be due for repayment and you will either settle the whole loan together with the interest accrued thereon in one lump sum, or repay by instalments with interest accrued thereon at the prevailing NLS interest rate, which shall be accrued once the NLS loan is drawn down. The length of the NLS loan repayment period and its commencement date shall be decided by the C, SFAA.

Loan Repayment

The NLS loan(s) borrowed by you and the interest accrued thereon are repayable in 40 equal quarterly instalments within ten years:

upon graduation; or
after you have completed the relevant programme(s)/course(s) of study; or
upon achievement of the requisite number of credits/modules for your programme of study; or
upon achievement of 160 credits for courses offered by the Open University of Hong Kong; or
lapse of 6 years from the first disbursement of the loan,

whichever is the earliest.

If you do not receive commencement of repayment letter and repayment schedule after your graduation, you should notify the Agency in writing immediately. If you cannot complete your studies by the tentative date of graduation, you should notify SFAA in writing with the supporting documents issued by your institution(s).

If you are entitled to obtain course fee reimbursement under CEF, the Agency will apply the amount of reimbursement to set off your NLS loan(s) immediately upon the disbursement of the reimbursement. The remaining balance of your NLS loan(s) (if any) and the interest accrued thereon should be repaid in the intervals as mentioned above. For details, please refer to paragraph 6 of the NLS Application Guidance Notes (SFAA 140).

Quarterly repayment instalments will normally fall due on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October each year.

If the settlement is delayed by 7 days or more, you will be required to settle with the Government the amount of the overdue instalment, any outstanding annual administrative fee(s) together with any interest loss and recovery costs incurred by the Government due to the late settlement(s) relating to the previous instalment(s).

You are required to pay an administrative fee annually until the NLS loan(s) and interest accrued thereon are fully repaid. The annual administrative fee is chargeable on each loan account on an academic year basis.

Repayment can be made :-

in cash;
by cheque, Cashier Order and Bank Draft;
by Payment-by-Phone services;
by Automated Teller Machines;
in a lump sum;
in a partial repayment; and
by e-Banking Services.

Deferment of Repayment

If you have difficulties in repaying the NLS loan(s) due to further studies on full-time courses, financial hardship or serious illness, you may apply for deferment of loan repayment. Application for deferment of loan repayment will be considered on its merits and should be submitted in writing to the Agency before the due date(s) of the instalment(s) under application. Relevant application forms are available at the Agency or your institution. You may also download the application form concerned from the Agency’s Homepage at http://www.sfaa.gov.hk/eng/public/index.htm#nls2. Application for deferment of loan repayment is only applicable to the total amount due for settlement, which may comprise administrative fee(s), if any, interest(s) and outstanding principal(s). Application for deferment of only a part of the amount to be settled will not be acceded to. Interest will accrue over the period of deferment. The deferred loan may be repaid on a revised schedule with fewer number of quarterly instalments and at a larger amount or on any other terms as decided by the C, SFAA. Interest accrued during the deferment period will be capitalized and form part of the outstanding principal for the calculation of the quarterly amount to be repaid in the remaining instalments. In addition, for deferment of more than 12 calendar months, the interest accrued during the deferment period will be capitalized once every 12 calendar months. Loan recipients who have been granted approval for deferment of the NLS loan repayment are still required to continue settling an administrative fee annually during the period of deferment.

Disclaimer /Important Notice

Notes to Applicant of the Continuing Education Fund

Disclaimer /
Important Notice