NSFAS Online Application – How To Apply For NSFAS

NSFAS online application

NSFAS is the National Student Financial Aid Scheme which is a government loan and bursary fund for students who can apply for NSFAS funding. For students, the NSFAS online application and registration period commences in the latter part of the year, with the NSFAS closure date often occurring in the next calendar year.

What is NSFAS?

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a government loan and bursary fund that provides financial support to students through the NSFAS bursary scheme. The NSFAS online application and registration process commences in the latter part of the year for students, with the NSFAS closing date often occurring in the following calendar year.

What Funding NSFAS Provides

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) offers bursaries and financial help to students from low-income and working-class families that extends beyond tuition payments. They will also pay for your higher education expenses, such as registration, housing, transportation, and books, through NSFAS’s different allowances, which are described on the NSFAS website.

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Funding is offered for students pursuing higher education at public universities, technological institutions, or TVET colleges.

So, what are the requirements for submitting a NSFAS application?

The most crucial condition for your NSFAS financial aid application form is a combined total household income of R350 000 or less per year. This means that if you add up everyone’s salaries in your house for the year and it comes to over R350 000, you won’t qualify. You have to be South African citizens to qualify for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme NSFAS funding.

Typically, current and potential students begin the NSFAS online application process by making an online application for NSFAS bursaries using the myNSFAS Student Portal. This is also where you check your Nsfas status. Your application must be submitted before the closing date.

Knowledge Applied has everything you need to know about the NSFAS bursary, NSFAS online application and NSFAS allowances. We also provide a guide on how to submit your online application.

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How To Apply For NSFAS

When you decide to apply for financial aid through the NSFAS, you must have internet connection to apply online. Before you apply online at NSFAS you will need to first create a myNSFAS account, which you can do by clicking here. Once your account is up and running, proceed with the procedures below.

• Click the ‘APPLY’ button and fill out all of the required sections.
• You must provide your cellphone number and ID number.
• Upload required documents where applicable – usually in 2024 when you submit your application supporting documents aren’t needed.
• Sometimes you will be asked for your ID number, ID document, or birth certificate.
• And then you click submit. Make sure you complete your application before the closing date.
• Another option to apply is to download the NSFAS app from the App Store.

What Supporting Documents Are Needed For NSFAS Applications?

The good news for applications for funding in 2025 is that the NSFAS application process has been simplified so you don’t need as many documents as you used to. So these are all of the documents you may require; but, you may be fortunate enough not to require all of them.

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When you make your application supporting documents and information for your National Student Financial Aid Scheme NSFAS online application may include:

• Certified copies of your South African ID card or birth certificate.
• A working cellphone number/contact details
• Other documents might include a statement providing proof of your financial eligibility (proof of income).
• Your current email address
• Your spouse’s ID (if applicable)
• Your SARS permission form is one of the additional documents that are occasionally required.

Once you’ve finished all of these processes, your NSFAS online application will be officially filed. You must, of course, submit your NSFAS application and accompanying documentation before the application deadline.

The NSFAS application period and the application period for the university or college that you want to study at usually don’t align. So, before applying for NSFAS, we recommend that students apply to the institution or college where they plan to study.

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Look for the closing date, which will be extensively advertised, and submit all of your paperwork by that day. Once you’ve successfully submitted to your institution or university, you’ll be ready to apply for NSFAS.

What Does NSFAS Do?

NSFAS offers bursaries to prospective students from low-income and working-class backgrounds that go beyond simply paying tuition. The financial support will also cover your registration, lodging, transportation, and books via NSFAS allowances. The majority of courses at public TVET colleges are supported by NSFAS. You can make an online application via the website as long as its before the closing date.

NSFAS Funding Requirements

So what are the requirements for NSFAS if you require assistance and apply online? NSFAS determines eligible students based on the information you supply about you Matric results and your family’s income for the year.

The most crucial qualification for NSFAS is a combined total household income of R350 000 or less per year. This means that if you add up everyone’s salaries in your house for the year and it comes to over R350 000, you won’t qualify.

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If you are a student with a handicap, the sum increases to R600,000 since NSFAS promotes access to higher education for individuals with impairments.

It is critical not to mislead about the financial qualifying criteria since NSFAS will verify with entities such as SARS. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme each year retracts funding from students who lied about their families’ financial status.

The government has said that it intends to assist all working-class students who meet the requirements to continue their education. Sassa grant recipients are automatically approved for NSFAS bursary funding so it’s easier when you make a NSFAS application.

How to Send a Request for Financial Aid to NSFAS

Usually, students and future students will submit their NSFAS online application for NSFAS financial assistance using their myNSFAS account, which is the NSFAS official website and student portal. You can also check the status of your NSFAS financial aid application using the MyNsfas online application page. We advise applicants to apply early, as well as to apply to the institution or college of their choice before the NSFAS application window opens.

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What Are The Nsfas Contact Details?

If you are unable to follow the financing process of your financial aid application online, you can call NSFAS at their toll-free number (08 000 67327), and they can provide you with your NSFAS application status. You must authenticate your identification before they may certify your NSFAS status.

When Should You Apply For NSFAS Funding?

The easiest way is to apply online. When you decide to study at a public university or one of the TVET institutions, you should fill out the Nsfas online application form and submit your supporting papers through the NSFAS portal. The yearly application season normally begins in November and closes early in the calendar year. The exact dates will be widely publicised.

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Don’t wait until you have been accepted into university or college, as that will be too late to go through the NSFAS bursary funding process. NSFAS will pay registration, tuition, and an allowance.

Is NSFAS A Loan Or A Bursary?

Although you may have heard from others that they have student loan obligations to NSFAS, this has changed. In past years, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme granted student loans, which had to be repaid after the student graduated and began earning.

Nowadays, all payments and financial help to NSFAS beneficiaries are bursaries that do not require repayment.

What is the total amount of financial help provided by NSFAS?

In August 2023, NSFAS management stated that more than R608 000 000 in NSFAS allowances had been paid to about 358 000 students at South African institutions under the new NSFAS direct payment system.

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On July 31, 2023, approximately 360 000 university students got more than R600,000,000, while over 98 000 TVET College students received more than R380,000,000 in student allowances on 25 July 2023.

NSFAS Online Applications – FAQs