What are the eligibility criteria to claim reimbursement of course fee under Continuing Education Fund?

Applicants who fulfill the below eligibility criteria are required to submitted the application for both account opening and fee reimbursement after successful completion of a Continuing Education Fund (CEF) Reimbursable Course within one year upon the successful completion of the course.

Applicants will be eligible for reimbursement of course fees only if they meet all the following criteria:

1. Are Hong Kong residents who have the right of abode or the right to land or to remain in Hong Kong without restriction, or holders of One-way Permit from the Mainland China;
2. a) for course which commenced from 1 April 2019 to 31 July 2022:

aged between 18 and 70 both at the time when the CEF reimbursable course commences and at the time when a reimbursement application is      submitted (the applicant must submit the application to OCEF before reaching the age of 71. The date of receipt of the application by OCEF will be taken as the date of the application submitted),

b) for course which commences on or after 1 August 2022:  aged 18 or above at the time when the CEF reimbursable course commences

3. have successfully completed the whole"Reimbursable Course" . “Successful completion” of a CEF reimbursable course means that the applicant must have attended no less than 70% of the contactable hours of the CEF reimbursable course or such higher attendance requirement as prescribed for the CEF reimbursable course (whichever is higher) and attained an overall mark of either 50% or such higher percentage of assessment(s) as prescribed for the CEF reimbursable course (whichever is higher) as assessed by whichever method approved by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare (including any examination and assignment requirements with approved weighting). Documentary proof of successful completion of a CEF reimbursable course may include a certificate of completion, a letter or a transcript from the institution / course provider certifying that the applicant has passed the relevant course assessment and attendance requirements.
   Applicants studying language proficiency courses are required to pass a specified benchmark test (if applicable) at the specified (or higher) level to be eligible for fee reimbursement. Benchmark tests should be taken by the applicant after the course has commenced (Please visit the CEF website “Reimbursable Course Search Engine” for the required language benchmark examination pegged to the language course.);
4. a) for course which commenced from 1 April 2019 to 31 July 2022: have not obtained the maximum subsidy of HK$20,000,

     b) for course which commences on or after 1 August 2022: have not obtained the maximum subsidy of HK$25,000; and

5. must not have obtained any other public funds or assistance under any other publicly-funded financial assistance schemes for the same course (if loans for tuition fee payments obtained from the Extended Non-means-tested Loan Scheme administered by the Student Finance Office are borrowed to meet the payment of fees for a CEF reimbursable course, the fees may be eligible for reimbursement subject to other eligibility criteria being met).

If you fulfill the above criteria, please click here to read the reimbursement procedures, required documents and processing time for CEF.