How to Apply for NSFAS Funding and Repay Your Loan

NSFAS (the National Student Financial Aid Scheme) pays for poor and working-class South Africans to study at public universities and TVET colleges. Before you start, one important correction to a common misunderstanding: most NSFAS funding is now a bursary, not a loan — students from households earning R350,000 or less a year do not repay it. The actual repayable NSFAS loans are the older pre-2018 student loans and the newer "missing middle" loan scheme for households earning between R350,000 and R600,000. This guide covers the full application step by step, the official place to apply, and exactly how repayment and interest work for those who do borrow.

Who qualifies

For the NSFAS bursary (not repayable):

  • South African citizen or permanent resident
  • Combined household income of R350,000 or less per year (R600,000 for students living with a disability)
  • Registered or accepted to study at a public university or TVET college (not private colleges)
  • SASSA grant recipients qualify automatically (subject to academic acceptance)

For the NSFAS loan (repayable):

  • "Missing middle" students: household income between R350,000 and R600,000 a year, studying towards an approved qualification at a public institution
  • Approved postgraduate students funded through linked schemes in priority fields

What NSFAS pays for

  • Tuition and registration fees (paid directly to the institution)
  • Accommodation, up to set caps depending on the area and institution
  • A living allowance, meal allowance and transport allowance (paid in monthly instalments)
  • Learning materials, and once-off a digital learning device for first-time students

How to apply, step by step

Step 1 — Gather your documents before the portal opens. You need your South African ID (or birth certificate), your parents' or guardians' IDs, proof of household income (recent payslips, an affidavit if unemployed, or a SASSA letter), the completed NSFAS consent form signed by everyone whose income is declared, and the disability annexure if applicable. Certified copies are safest.

Step 2 — Create a myNSFAS account. Go to the official website at www.nsfas.org.za and register on the myNSFAS portal with your ID number, email address and a working cellphone number. Guard these login details — NSFAS communicates everything through this portal.

Step 3 — Submit the application online. Log in to myNSFAS during the application window (it usually opens around September/October for the following academic year and closes in the new year — check the site for exact dates, as late applications are not accepted). Complete the form, upload your documents and submit. You will get a reference number immediately.

Step 4 — Track your status on myNSFAS. NSFAS verifies your household income with SARS, Home Affairs and SASSA. Statuses move through stages like "application submitted", "validation", "evaluation" and "awaiting academic results/admission". If NSFAS asks for extra documents, upload them quickly — most delays happen here.

Step 5 — Register at your institution. Once provisionally funded, register at the university or TVET college. The institution confirms your registration to NSFAS, and funding is activated. You sign a bursary agreement (or loan agreement form if you are a loan student) — read it before signing, because the loan agreement contains your repayment terms.

Step 6 — Keep your funding each year. You must pass and progress academically under NSFAS's N+ rule (your qualification's minimum years plus extra allowed years) and keep your institution updated. Allowances stop if you are deregistered.

Where to apply (official source only): applications are only accepted on the official NSFAS website — www.nsfas.org.za — through the myNSFAS portal. NSFAS does not use agents and never charges an application fee. Anyone charging to "help you apply" is a scammer.

How repayment works — and how much interest is charged

If you have a bursary (household income R350,000 or less)

You repay nothing. Since 2018, NSFAS funding for qualifying students is a full bursary. It only converts into a repayable amount in specific cases — for example if you received funding you were not entitled to, or failed to disclose income. Leaving your course early does not normally create a debt, but check the conditions in your bursary agreement.

If you have a "missing middle" loan (household income R350,000–R600,000)

  • The loan is interest-free while you are studying.
  • Interest starts accruing after you exit (graduate or leave), at a subsidised rate set by NSFAS that is below commercial lending rates. The exact percentage is reviewed from time to time and is stated in your loan agreement form — that document, not hearsay, is the source of your rate.
  • Repayment only starts once you are employed and earning above the set income threshold. If you are unemployed or earn below the threshold, repayments are deferred — but you must tell NSFAS; the account does not pause itself.
  • Repayments are made through your employer as a payroll deduction, by debit order, or by direct payment arranged with NSFAS. The amount is calculated as a percentage of your salary that rises as your income rises.
  • You can check your outstanding balance and statements by logging into your myNSFAS account, and you can settle early without penalty — doing so saves interest.

If you have an older pre-2018 NSFAS loan

The old loans follow the same pattern: interest accrues from the April after you finish studying, repayment begins once you earn above the threshold (historically R30,000 a year), and instalments run from roughly 3% of annual salary upward as income increases. Many old loans are still being collected — check your balance on myNSFAS rather than assuming the debt has lapsed, because unpaid NSFAS debt can affect your credit record.

Common mistakes that delay or sink applications

  • Applying after the closing date — NSFAS does not accept late applications
  • Income documents that contradict SARS records (undeclared income)
  • A cellphone number or email that stops working — you will miss verification requests
  • Applying while registered at a private college — NSFAS does not fund private institutions
  • Assuming you must re-apply every year: returning students who pass are continued automatically, but first-year entrants at a new institution should confirm their status
  • Paying anyone to apply on your behalf — it is free, and paid "agents" are scams