Responsibilities of Applicants & Indemnifiers

Responsibilities of Applicants

Providing true and complete information
- During the course of vetting your current application, the SFO will, if necessary, make reference to your submitted application form(s) / information of the previous academic year(s) and ask you to clarify, explain or provide additional information. You have the responsibility to fill in each and every item of information in full details, accurately and truthfully and attach all documentary proof at the time of application. Ensure that your course data, your personal data and those of your family members are correct and notify the SFO immediately in case of discrepancies. Misrepresentations or omissions or improperly filling in of information, intentional obstruction to our staff in the course of their verification, concealment of information or failure to provide the information/clarification as required will result in serious consequences. Read More
  - Please read the Importance of Providing True and Complete Information for details.
  - The SFO will assess on the information and documentary proof provided in your FASP application and the application(s) from your parents / sibling(s) under FASP or other student financial assistance schemes, if any, to determine your eligibility and level of financial assistance under different Scheme(s).
  - During the course of vetting your current year application, the SFO will, if necessary, make reference to your submitted application form(s) / information of the previous academic year(s) and ask you to clarify or provide additional information / explanation on the application form(s) / information submitted in the / these academic year(s).
  - Any misrepresentation or omission or improperly filling in information in the application form in any one application may lead to rejection and / or full recovery of financial assistance already offered to you and / or your parents / sibling(s) and court proceedings.
  - If you submit the financial assistance application by using the Simplified Version of Application Form for CSSA family, the SFO will assess your application on reliance of the documentary proof provided by you showing you or your family was in receipt of CSSA at the time of the submission of your application or received CSSA throughout the relevant assessment period (“CSSA status”). If it comes to the knowledge of the SFO that you or your family was obtaining / obtained CSSA by misrepresentation or provision of false information or omission of information or withholding any information or deceptive means or that your documentary proof contained inaccurate particulars to show you or your family’s CSSA status, your application may be rejected. You will be required to refund all student financial assistance you have received. You and your family may also be liable to prosecution.
  - You are reminded that it is an offence to obtain property or pecuniary advantage by deception. Any person who does so commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction upon indictment to imprisonment for 10 years under the Theft Ordinance (Chapter 210 of the Laws of Hong Kong).
  - You are also reminded that if any person being required or authorised by law to make any statement on oath for any purpose and being lawfully sworn (otherwise than in a judicial proceeding) wilfully makes a statement which is material for that purpose and which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction upon indictment to imprisonment for 7 years and to a fine under the Crimes Ordinance (Chapter 200 of the Laws of Hong Kong).
  - Please note that if you fail to provide the required information with necessary supporting documents at the time of application, and the information/supporting documents are provided only upon the SFO’s enquiry, these will be taken as misrepresentations or omissions of information. You have the responsibility to complete the Application Form in full details and submit all supporting documents. If there is a misrepresentation or omission in the application, the SFO has the right to reject your application.
  - Check the personal data and course data contained in the acknowledgement of receipt and the notification of result which will be issued to you upon receipt of your application and upon completion of the assessment of your application respectively. Should there be any discrepancies in the institution / programme of study, tuition fees paid / payable in the 2019/20 academic year, correspondence address or the bank account number to which the financial assistance is to be credited, you should notify the SFO immediately by using Form FASP/C/1A (applicable for change of Personal Data) or FASP/C/1B (applicable for change of Institutions/ Course Data). These forms can be downloaded from the SFO webpage. Late notification will result in delay in processing your application and payment of financial assistance.
  - Applicants and their family members are requested to keep all related application documents submitted in current and previous academic years and to cooperate with our staff during the course of vetting / authentication. Intentional obstruction to our staff in the course of their verification, concealment of information or failure to provide the information / clarification as required may lead to full recovery of the financial assistance already awarded and even court proceedings.
  - You are obliged to provide all the required information in the application, including your personal data and those of your family members.
  - In accordance with Section 3.2.1.2 of the Code of Practice on Identity Card Number and other Personal Identifiers issued by the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, you are requested to furnish the SFO with copies of your indemnifier(s)’, your witness(es)’ and your own Hong Kong Identity Card and that of your parents (or spouse) and other family members.
Declaring financial status of Applicants and Indemnifiers
- You are required to notify the SFO immediately if there are changes in your / your indemnifier’s financial, legal and residential status. If your indemnifier becomes incapable of fulfilling the obligations required under the Deed of Indemnity, you are required to procure an alternative indemnifier. The alternative indemnifier shall act in substitution and shall execute similar Deed of Indemnity. Read More
  - You are obliged to notify the SFO in writing immediately if you:
    - have been declared bankrupt;
    - have applied for Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA);
    - aware that legal proceeding(s) has / have been started (or are pending or being threatened) against your bankruptcy or for the appointment of a receiver, administrator, administrative receiver, trustee or similar officer over any or all of your assets); or
    - intend to leave Hong Kong for a period longer than three months or to emigrate. Upon receipt of such notification, unless the SFO has otherwise come to an agreement with you concerning the repayment schedule of the loan or unless the SFO is satisfied that you shall be able to continue to repay the loan based on the original repayment schedule, the SFO could demand your immediate repayment of all outstanding balance of the loan, interest and surcharge (if any).
  - After the indemnifier (for your accepted loan) signs the Deed of Indemnity, you should notify the SFO in writing immediately if:
    - for any reason your indemnifier becomes incapable of fulfilling the obligations required under the Deed;
    - your indemnifier was deceased;
    - you are aware that a bankruptcy petition is filed by your indemnifier or presented against him/her or a bankruptcy order is made against him/her;
    - your indemnifier applies for an IVA;
    - you are aware that a receiver, administrator, administrative receiver, trustee or similar officer has been appointed over any or all of your indemnifier’s assets;
    - your indemnifier is a party to any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings (whether inside or outside Hong Kong);
    - there is any claim (whether inside or outside Hong Kong) against your indemnifier or any of his/her assets after he/she signs the Deed; or
    - your indemnifier intends to leave or has already left Hong Kong for a period longer than 3 months or to emigrate or has already emigrated.
    - You are required to procure immediately an alternative Indemnifier located in Hong Kong and acceptable to the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Government) to execute the Indemnity in favour of the Government in light of the occurrence of any of the above circumstances, failing which the SFO has the power to demand you to repay all outstanding balance of the loan, interest and surcharge (if any).
Notifying change of study information
- You must notify the SFO in writing immediately when there are changes in your study information. Read More
  - Under the following circumstances, you must notify the SFO in writing immediately for follow-up action(s), including but not limited to withhold the payment of financial assistance:
    cease to be a registered full-time student;
    
    decide to withdraw from, suspend or defer your studies or apply for leave of absence for whatever reasons;
    
    change course / institution of study; or
    
    are not required to pay the full amount of tuition fees in the 2020/21 academic year.
  - The SFO will review the application and adjust your entitlements of financial assistance, if necessary.
  - Any overpayment of financial assistance made to you shall be refunded immediately upon demand.

Responsibilities of Indemnifiers

The indemnifier is required to notify the SFO immediately whenever there are any changes in his/her financial or legal status, or when he / she intends to leave / has left Hong Kong for more than three months, which procurement of an alternative indemnifier to execute the indemnity will be required. Read More
- In case of any breach of any of the terms and conditions of the loan or late repayment of any instalment due, the SFO has the power to demand the applicant and / or indemnifier immediate repayment of all outstanding balance of the loan, interest, overdue surcharge (if any), and any recovery costs (including legal costs and related expenses in the course of legal recovery actions). The SFO also has the power to withhold the consideration and processing of the applicant’s other financial assistance applications and / or various applications relating to loan repayment under different financial assistance schemes administered by the SFO; and to demand the applicant and / or indemnifier immediate repayment of all outstanding balance of loan(s), interest (if any), overdue surcharge (if any), and any recovery expenses in relation to other course(s) taken by the applicant notwithstanding that they have not become due under the terms of such loan(s).
- After signing the Deed of Indemnity, the indemnifier should notify the SFO in writing immediately if
  - for any reason he / she becomes incapable of fulfilling the obligations required under the Deed;
  - a bankruptcy petition is filed by him / her or presented against him / her or a bankruptcy order is made against him/her;
  - he / she applies for an IVA;
  - a receiver, administrator, administrative receiver, trustee or similar officer has been appointed over any or all of his/her assets;
  - he / she is a party to any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings (whether inside or outside Hong Kong) or
  - there is any claim (whether inside or outside Hong Kong) against the indemnifier or any of his / her assets after he / she signs the Deed. Under these circumstances, the SFO may require the applicant to procure immediately an alternative Indemnifier located in Hong Kong and acceptable to the Government to execute the Indemnity in favour of the Government in light of the occurrence of any of the above circumstances, failing which the SFO has the power to demand the applicant to repay all outstanding balance of the loan, interest and surcharge (if any). However, prior to the acceptance of an alternative Indemnifier, the original indemnifier would still be liable for all duties and obligations under the Deed.
- In accordance with Section 3.2.1.2 of the Code of Practice on Identity Card Number and other Personal Identifiers issued by the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, the indemnifier is requested to furnish the SFO with copies of his / her Hong Kong Identity Card.
- The indemnifier is required to notify the SFO in the event that he / she intends to leave or has already left Hong Kong for a period longer than 3 months or to emigrate or has already emigrated. Under such circumstance, the SFO may require the applicant to procure immediately or otherwise upon the first repayment notification of SFO an alternative Indemnifier located in Hong Kong and acceptable to the Government to execute the Indemnity in favour of the Government, failing which the SFO has the power to demand him / her immediate repayment of all outstanding balance of the loan, interest, and overdue surcharge (if any). However, prior to the acceptance of an alternative Indemnifier, the original indemnifier would still be liable for all duties and obligations under the Deed.

STEP 2 General Information

Level of Financial Assistance

STEP 2 General Information

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