Application Procedures

An eligible applicant is

A person who meets the following eligibility criteria can apply for CEF:

A Hong Kong resident who has the right of abode or the right to land or to remain in Hong Kong without restriction, or a holder of one-way permit from Mainland China;
aged from 18 to 70 (i.e. before reaching the age of 71) both at the time when the CEF course commences and submitting the respective reimbursement application;
has successfully completed a CEF course and attended no less than 70% of the contactable hours of the course or such higher attendance requirement as prescribed for the course (whichever is higher), and attained the overall mark of either 50% or such higher percentage of assessment(s) as prescribed for the course (whichever is higher);
at the time of application, and on seeking reimbursement of the tuition fee has paid the tuition fee for a CEF course;
has not obtained any other publicly-funded financial assistance for the same course, module or unit of study credits

How to apply

Applicants do not need to submit any document before class commencement. They must submit the completed CEF Application Form [SFO313 (2020)] together with the required institutional certification and supporting documents to the Office of the Continuing Education Fund (OCEF) within one year upon successful completion of a CEF Course and before reaching the age of 71. Late applications will not be accepted by the Government.

How to obtain the CEF Application Form

The CEF Application Form [SFO313 (2020)] can be obtained from any HKU SPACE Learning Centres, District Offices, the OCEF, or downloaded from here.

The properly filled in Application Form must first be certified by HKU SPACE after course completion by following the procedure stated below.

Enquiries

General enquiries about the CEF Scheme should be addressed to the OCEF (Tel: 3142 2277, a 24-hour manned enquiry hotline handled by staff of “1823”; email: cef_sfo@wfsfaa.gov.hk; website: www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/cef).

For more specific enquiries, such as course admission criteria and schedules, please use the enquiry number listed under individual course descriptions in the Prospectus that bear the CEF logo [

] or refer to the School website containing the list of CEF reimbursable courses.

Applicants can check the usable balance of subsidy by logging in the CEF website and use the subsidy calculator to estimate the eligible subsidy.

HKU SPACE Learning Centres where completed CEF Application Forms are accepted for certification

HKU SPACE Learning Centres designated to accept completed CEF Application Forms for certification:

3/F, T. T. Tsui Building, HKU Campus
Admiralty Learning Centre
HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Community College (HPSHCC) Campus
Island East Campus
Fortress Tower Learning Centre
Kowloon East Campus

How to pursue application

Applicants must submit the completed CEF Application Form [SFO 313 (2020)] together with the required HKU SPACE institutional certification and supporting documents to the Office of the Continuing Education Fund (OCEF) within one year upon successful completion of a CEF Course and before reaching the age of 71. Late applications will not be accepted by the Government.

Successful completion of a CEF course” means that the applicant must have attended no less than 70% of the contactable hours of the course or such higher attendance requirement as prescribed for the course (whichever is higher), and attained an overall mark of either 50% or such higher percentage of assessment(s) as prescribed for the course (whichever is higher);
The CEF Application Form [SFO313 (2020)] is available at designated HKU SPACE Learning Centres, district offices, and the Office of the Continuing Education Fund (OCEF). The application form can also be downloaded from here.
Please refer to the Guidance Notes for Application [SFO 312_E (2020)] when completing the application form.

Remark: the CEF Institutional Code of HKU SPACE is "100".
Complete the CEF Application Form

The following information should be filled by referring to the “CEF Course Completion Information” document issued by the Programme Team:
       (i)   CEF Course Code
       (ii)  CEF Course Title
       (iii) Commencement Date
       (iv) Course Completion Date
       (v)  Date of 1st Instalment of Tuition Fee Paid
       (vi) Actual Amount of Tuition Fee Paid
Enclose the documents set out at paragraph (6) in an A4 size envelope and forward the envelope to any of the HKU SPACE Learning Centres listed below:
       (i)   3/F, T. T.  Tsui Building, HKU Campus
       (ii)  Admiralty Learning Centre
       (iii) HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Community College  (HPSHCC) Campus
       (iv) Island East Campus
       (v)  Fortress Tower Learning Centre
       (vi) Kowloon East Campus
Inside the A4 size envelope should include following items:
(i) A returned self-addressed A5 size envelope with adequate postage paid (Please affix postage stamp(s) of not less than HK$5 in value); and
(ii) The duly completed CEF Application Form.

7. HKU SPACE will return the institution certified CEF Application Form and the Letter of Certification (LOC) to the applicant within twenty (20)* working days by post.

*(Due to the latest mandatory work-from-home arrangement imposed on School and Government employees by the surge of COVID-19 cases since January 2022, there will be unavoidable delays in the processing of CEF applications and fee reimbursement until further notice. Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience thus caused.)

8. The completed and institution certified CEF Application form^, together with a copy of the following documents

       (i)   Hong Kong Smart Identity Card;
       (ii) One-way permit (if applicable);
       (iii) The Letter of Certification (LOC)
       (iv) Benchmark test result (only applicable to applicants who have studied designated language courses); and
       (v) Front page of a bank passbook/statement showing the applicant’s name, account number and bank name/ bank code.

should be submitted by post or in person within one year upon succession completion of the CEF Course(s) and before the applicant’s 71st birthday to:

The Office of the Continuing Education Fund (OCEF)

Units 07-11, 25/F., CDW Building

388 Castle Peak Road

Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong

Applicants may also place their applications in the drop-in box on 12/F or G/F., Cheung Shan Wan Government Offices. Late applications will not be accepted by the Government.

^Scanned or faxed copies of the completed CEF Application Form are not acceptable.

For applications containing complete information, application results will normally be released by the OCEF not more than eight (8) weeks from the date of receipt of applications.