Student Finance Office

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Household Application For

Student Financial Assistance Schemes

Student Finance Office

Working Family and Student

Financial Assistance Agency

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2  Eligibility Criteria

 Financial Assistance Schemes for Primary and Secondary Students

 The Means Test

 Level of Assistance

 Amount of Assistance

 Application Procedures

 How to complete Household Application Form

 Submission Deadline

 Enquiry

Household Application For

Student Financial Assistance Schemes

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3 Eligibility Criteria

Student-applicant

 must be unmarried Hong Kong Residents, with right of abode, right to land or valid permission to remain without any condition of stay in Hong Kong.

Applicant

 must be the parent or guardian of the student- applicant.

(Note: Families currently in receipt of the Comprehensive

Social Security Assistance should apply directly to the Social

Welfare Department for school-related assistance for their

children.)

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Financial Assistance Schemes for Primary and Secondary Students

Financial Assistance Scheme

Details of the scheme

School Textbook Assistance Scheme

(STAS)

• for needy Primary 1 to Secondary 6 students in government, aided, per caput grant schools and local schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme

• cover the costs of essential textbooks and miscellaneous school-related expenses

Student Travel Subsidy Scheme

(STSS)

• Home-school travel subsidy to needy primary and secondary students or students attending a full-time day course up to first degree level in an acceptable institution

• residing beyond 10 minutes walking distance from school and traveling to school by public transport

Subsidy Scheme for Internet Access

Charges (SIA)

• for needy families whose children are full-time students receiving primary or secondary education, or pursuing full-time Diploma Yi Jin (DYJ) programmes or equivalent courses of the Vocational Training Council (VTC)

• to meet the internet access charges for e-learning at home for their children (for example, the charges on broadband Internet service or SIM cards provided by operators of fixed or mobile telecommunications services).

• the subsidy is granted on a household basis

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5 The Means Test

 Gross annual income of the family includes the annual income of the applicant and his/her spouse; 30% of the annual income of unmarried child / children residing with the family if applicable; and the contribution from relatives / friends if applicable.

 The members of a family normally refer to the applicant, his/her spouse, unmarried child / children residing with the family and the dependent parent(s) who are supported by the applicant and/or his/her spouse.

 For single-parent families of 2 to 3 members, the ‘plus 1 factor’ in the divisor of the AFI formula will be increased to 2.

AFI = Gross annual income of the family

Number of family members + (1)

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6 Level of Assistance

 * AFI thresholds for full level of assistance for 3-member and 4-member families are $51,523 and $47,402 respectively in the 2022/23 school year. For 2-member single-parent families and 3-member single-parent families, they are regarded as 3-member families and 4-member families respectively for determining the AFI thresholds for full level of assistance and calculation of AFI.

 Please note that the AFI is not the average monthly income of a family.

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7 Amount of Assistance

School Textbook Assistance



For the 2021/22 school year, the TA grant rates for various class levels are listed as follows :



For the 2022/23 school year, the TA grant rates for various class levels will be announced later.

Primary 1-6 S1-S3 S4 S5 S6

Full Grant $5,586 $5,842 $5,932 $5,512 $3,468

Half Grant $2,793 $2,921 $2,966 $2,756 $1,734

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8 Amount of Assistance

Student Travel Subsidy

The subsidy is calculated on the basis of the average unit fare relevant to the districts in which the student studies and resides during term-time.

Subsidy for Internet Access Charges

Full rate of subsidy for Internet Access Charges in the 2022/23 school year is $1,600 per household while half rate subsidy is $800 per

household.

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9 Application Procedures

Pre-filled electronic Household Application Form / Pre-printed

Household Application Form

Means Test

Payment of Assistance + issue of notification

of results

From March

For applicants who have been disbursed with textbook assistance (TA) in previous school year

For applicants who have NOT been disbursed with TA in previous school year

Blank Household Application

Form

Means Test

Notification of results with

Eligibility Certificate(s)

Payment of assistance End July/ August

From May

From August From October

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10 How to complete

Household Application Form



“Household Application Form for Student Financial Assistance Schemes”

is a family-based application form which facilitates families with child(ren) attending primary and secondary school(s) or kindergarten(s) / child care centre(s) to apply for student financial assistance.



Applicants may submit the completed application form with copies of supporting documents to the SFO direct by post, or complete and submit the electronic application online. If applicants have submitted their electronic application

forms and copies of relevant supporting documents online, they need not submit

paper-based application forms and copies of relevant supporting documents

separately.

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11 How to complete

Household Application Form

Part I: Particulars of the Applicant

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(B) Student-applicant and Unmarried

children residing with the family

 otherwise, they will not be counted as ‘family members’ under the Adjusted Family Income (AFI) mechanism.

Part II: Particulars of Family members

(A) Spouse (if applicable)

How to complete

Household Application Form

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Part II (C):

-Subsidy for Internet Access Charges Put a “ √ ” if you do not need SIA

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Household Application Form

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Part II (D):

-Dependent Parent (parents of

applicant or spouse)

-Dependency status

How to complete

Household Application Form

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Part IV:

Breakdown of total Family Income

How to complete

Household Application Form

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16 Part VI:

Since the assistance (ie TA, STS, SIA, etc.) will be

disbursed to the eligible applicants through autopay to the bank account of the eligible applicants,

the applicant must provide a valid bank account and supporting proof to SFO.

How to complete

Household Application Form

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17 Submission Deadline

Financial Assistance

Scheme

Submission deadline (in 2022/23 school year)

School Textbook Assistance

Scheme (STAS)

Household Application Form for Student Financial Assistance Schemes on or before 31 October 2022

Student Travel Subsidy Scheme

(STSS)

Household Application Form for Student Financial Assistance Schemes is submitted on or after 1 November 2022 and can pass the means test, payment of STS (if applicable) may be effected from the date of receipt of application or the date of admission of the student-applicants to school, depending on the circumstances of individual cases.

Subsidy Scheme for Internet Access Charges

(SIA)

Household Application Form for Student Financial Assistance Schemes submitted at a date on or after 1 February 2023 (i.e. in the latter half of the 2022 / 23 school year), partial payment of SIA will be made to the successful applicants.

Important Note :

Under normal circumstances, the SFO will not accept any “Household Application for Student Financial Assistance Schemes” submitted on or after 1 March 2023.

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Hotline

Enquiry about application procedures ?

WFSFAA’s Website Counter

18 Leaflet on Household Application for Student Financial Assistance Schemes

Sample Form

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Applicant

(Hotline:2802 2345)

Answer general enquiry

(e.g. Where to get the form

How to submit the application)

Refer case-specific enquiry to SFO (e.g. Progress of application processing)

SFO

Answer

Case-specific enquiry

19  Press (4) for other languages,

 Then press (1) Bahasa Indonesia, (2) Hindi, (3) Nepali, (4) Punjabi, (5)

Tagalog, (6) Thai, (7) Urdu, (8) Vietnamese and (0) Other languages

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Room 1206, 12/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre

1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon

8:45am to 1:00pm 2:00pm to 5:45pm

SFO Counter Service

No service on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays

(Monday to Friday)

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 Telephone interpretation service through three-way telephone conference amongst the SFO staff member, the interpreter and the applicant can be arranged when necessary.

 You may also approach support services centres for people of diverse race for assistance in filling in the application form or interpretation services.

21 Support for People of Diverse Race

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www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo

Please visit WFSFAA’s website for application details WFSFAA’s Website

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WFSFAA’s Website

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Three publicity videos are available at our website to facilitate the public to have a better understanding of the application for student financial assistance.

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Leaflet on Household Application for

Student Financial Assistance Schemes

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