NSFAS has recently made some important announcements to all applicants to be aware of paying any fees to people in order to apply for funding. Application for the 2023 funding is free and an easy process to complete and get approved. Just follow through with the instructions carefully.

In addition, we have made a little collection of some frequently asked questions together with their answers to help applicants through the process. We suggest you go through these questions to enlighten you about how to go about the process easily.

I applied for funding last year but I did not receive the money nor was I approved, can I still send my application this year? Yes, you can send your application for funding for this year as long as you meet the requirements and conditions set out.

I created an account last year and I wasn’t approved for funding, do I still need to create a new one? No, you shouldn’t create a new account. Use the old account, and send in your application for 2023 funding. If you meet the requirements, you will be approved.

This funding was designed by the higher education and training department to help students in tertiary institutions receive funding and continue their education and training. The money is mostly gotten from the government budget and other wealthy benefactors from the country. In order to be self-sustaining, it was made into a partial loan during a certain time until the announcement from the President to make it a full bursary programme.

The Closing Date set for this year is set at the last day of January. This means the closing date is 31st January at 11:59pm local time. Once it’s midnight local time, all applications sent in won’t be considered and the portal will be closed. This means you don’t have a lot of time, make sure to send yours now as part of the early birds if you qualify.

Requirements and Criteria for 2023 Funding

There are other requirements that everyone must meet in order to be qualified for funding. This is the first stage. If you do not meet any of these requirements, then do not apply to nsfas for the academic year. IT will be best to try other bursary programmes to see if you may qualify. First among the requirements is to be a South African and have a valid South African ID number.

Secondly, it doesn’t matter if the student is a sassa grant recipient of any type. Whether it be a social grant or the R350 srd grant. As long as you are in the records of the agency that you are being paid within the last 3 months or are pending for future payments, then nsfas will approve your application. Another point that has been stressed quite a lot recently is that if after you are approved for funding by the scheme, you are found to have applied for the srd grant or any social grant, your funding will not cease and will not be cancelled.

Thirdly, a limit has been placed on the maximum household income that is acceptable according to the DHET rules. This limit is R350,000 per year in total for non disabled students and R600,000 for disabled students. Household income according to Wikipedia is a measure of the combined incomes of all people sharing a particular household or place of residence. It includes every form of income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, near cash government transfers like food stamps, and investment gains. This means all monies earned by both parents put together.

Finally, interested persons should make it a point to create an email which is free to make and have a cellphone number registered to themselves that they can use for filling the nsfas forms. Although its possible to use another persons cellphone number its best to get your own as you may not know if that phone number has been used for a sassa grant application which end up disqualifying your request for funding.

Therefore, those who happen to find themselves not meeting any of the criteria stated here are to stop and not submit their application to them.

Documents Required For the Completion of NSFAS Online Forms

All across the world, forms are an integral part of any online application process. These forms are often completed together with some documents to prove authenticity on the applicant’s part. The funding scheme also has similar requirements. All of these will be needed if it applies to you.

Firstly, you need ID’s copies to be scanned and submitted. These must include the ones belonging yourself and your parents, guardian or spouse if you’re married. This is needed to authenticate the information provided by the student. Often times people make mistakes and can use wrong details during the process. So the submitted ID’s help the person to be more mindful and fill in the correct details so the assistance is not given to the wrong person. People who qualify do end up not receiving assistance while those who don’t rather end up with the funding.

Another document that is crucial for the process is the proof of income. This is the summation of all monies earned by your parent(s), guardian or spouse for those married. Since getting funding from nsfas is not restricted by age and gender, it doesn’t matter how old you are or if you’re married. That will not be a ground for refusal. Working students need to submit a proof of income from their current employer or submit their 1 year’s IRP5 from SARS if they have one.

Parents that also have kids applying for funding need to submit their proof of income. Here, they need the parents proof of income. This will show how much they earn in a year. Interested students need to show that what both parents earn is less than R350,000 a year when combined. If they only live with one parent or only from single-parent homes then they need to show that the parent’s income is less than R350,000 a year. Disability students only need to show proof of income below R600,000.

SASSA grant beneficiaries need not show proof of income. They only need to show that they are sassa grant recipients.

Once you meet the eligibility requirements and you also meet the documents required, you can start the process to get approved. The process duration depends on you the applicant. Once you meet all the conditions and you send in the application, you may get a response within 48 hours at most. However, for those who do not complete the forms before submitting them, it takes a while. Those who are beneficiaries of the sassa grant will often get their response quicker since they are easy to verify with regards to proof of income documents as they will not need to submit one.

NSFAS Application: How to Apply Online

  1. Register online as a user on myNSFAS ( my.nsfas.org.za )or visit www.nsfas.org.za
  2. Click the Apply Online tab to be directed.
  3. Answer questions that appear on the screen.
  4. Upload required supporting documents.
  5. Click ‘Submit’.
  6. Your Application Reference number will appear on screen.
  7. A copy of your reference number will be sent to the cellphone and email address provided during the application.