Non-means-tested Loan Scheme for Post-secondary Students (NLSPS)

For details regarding the eligibility criteria of the NLSPS, please refer to ‘Eligibility’.

For distance-learning students of the HKMU, please refer to the ‘Supplementary Guidance Notes for the FASP and the NLSPS for Students Taking Distance-learning Programmes’ for the relevant eligibility criteria and application procedures under the NLSPS.

For details regarding eligible courses covered by the NLSPS, please refer to ‘Eligible Courses’.

The combined life-time loan limit under the NLSFT and the NLSPS for the 2022/23 academic year is HK$390,900. Please refer to ‘Maximum Level of Loan Amount and Life-time Loan Limit’ for details.

Eligible students who apply for the NLSPS loans only, i.e. have not applied for assistance (i.e. grant and/or loan) under the Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students (FASP) or have failed to obtain assistance under the FASP, may receive loan up to the total annual tuition fees payable in the academic year. Please refer to ‘Maximum Level of Loan Amount and Life-time Loan Limit’ for details.

All applications for the 2022/23 academic year must be submitted to the Student Finance Office (SFO) on or before 31 March 2023. Please refer to ‘Application Deadline’ for details.

For the current NLSPS interest rate, please refer to the ‘NLSPS Admininstrative Fee and Interest Rate’.

Interest is accrued at the prevailing NLSPS interest rate upon loan drawdown and throughout the study period until the loan is repaid in full. Please refer to ‘Interest and Administrative Fee’ for details.

The current administrative fee for the NLSPS is HK$180. It is chargeable upon submission of the NLSPS application and annually thereafter until the NLSPS loan and interest accrued thereon are fully repaid. Please refer to ‘Interest and Administrative Fee’ for details.

An administrative fee, to cover the full costs of processing the application and administering the NLSPS loan, is chargeable for each application and each loan account. It is chargeable upon submission of application and annually thereafter until the NLSPS loan and interest accrued thereon are fully repaid. Please refer to ‘Interest and Administrative Fee’ for details.

Please pay the administrative fee through one of the following means -

• IN CASH to the bank account of the SFO (044-171635-001) at any branch of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and request for the original transaction advice/account deposit form; or
• transfer to the bank account of the SFO (044-171635-001) through ATM of HSBC and take the original transaction advice.

Please note that payment by cheque, online transfer, FPS or PPS is NOT acceptable. Please refer to ‘Interest and Administrative Fee’ for details.

The NLSPS application for the 2022/23 academic year is closed. Please refer to ‘Application Deadline’ for details.

The NLSPS application for the 2022/23 academic year is closed. Please refer to ‘Application Deadline’ for details.

If students apply for the NLSPS only and the information provided is complete, the SFO will normally issue the ‘NLSPS Notification of Result’ to the applicants within three weeks from the date of issuance of the ‘Acknowledgement of Receipt of Application’; or before mid-July when the life-time loan limits for the current academic year are determined, whichever is later. Please refer to ‘Application Procedures’ for details.

After receiving the ‘NLSPS Notification of Result’ or the ‘FASP Notification of Result’, applicants have to submit the duly completed ‘loan documents’ and other related supporting documents to the SFO on or before the deadline as specified in the respective Notification. Please refer to ‘Acceptance of Loan’ for details.

Please note that applicants should only submit the loan documents after the application is approved and the ‘NLSPS Notification of Result’ or the ‘FASP Notification of Result’ is received. Loan documents submitted before the issuance of the relevant Notification will not be accepted.

After the applicants return the full set of acceptable ‘loan documents’ and the required documentary proofs, the SFO will credit the NLSPS loan accepted directly to the bank account designated by the applicants by two instalments. Please refer to ‘Loan Payment Arrangements’ for details.

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. Persons who are not gainfully employed (e.g. retired persons, housewives, etc.), those without regular income and/or income proof (e.g. casual workers, etc.) and students are not acceptable; and
• able to produce the required documentary evidence.

For details, please refer to paragraphs 18-21 of the ‘Notice of Offer(SFO 160)’ enclosed in the loan documents.

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.

Please note that the applicant is not acceptable to act as the witness of his/her ‘Undertaking (SFO 161)’ and the corresponding ‘Deed of Indemnity (SFO 162)’. The Indemnifier is not acceptable to act as the witness of his / her ‘Deed of Indemnity (SFO 162)’ and the corresponding ‘Undertaking (SFO 161)’.

For details, please refer to paragraphs 22-24 of the ‘Notice of Offer (SFO 160)’ enclosed in the loan documents.