The South African government provides financial assistance to eligible students studying in public Universities or TVET colleges through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). The scheme allows the students to receive accommodation support, living allowance, new books support, and many other benefits to help them complete their studies.
In March 2025, the NSFAS released a statement on the 2025 student allowance caps and the payment date for the academic year starting in 2025. The upfront payment was rolled out for Universities in the third week of March, and the institutions were directed to pay the allowances by 7th March 2025.
With the 2025 cap announced, the NSFAS encouraged the institutions to provide the registration data to avoid any delay in payments. According to reports, around 800,000 students may have received approval to receive the allowances from the 2025 funding.
| Scheme | National Student Financial Aid Scheme |
| Benefits | Accomodation cost, living allowance, book materials, personal care allowance, and others |
| Who qualifies? | South African citizens who meet the household income limit are studying in approved Universities and TVET colleges |
| 2025 Max. Payout | Up to R24000 a year for Accomodation, depending on the allowances you qualify for |
| Upcoming Payout Date | 30 April 2025 |
| Status Check | myNSFAS portal |
| Portal Link | https://my.nsfas.org.za/ |
| Official Website | https://thensfas.com/ |
Payment Schedule
According to the NSFAS’s released statement, the students can expect the following timelines for the 2025 Academic cycle (annual & semester):
| Exclusions Cut-off Date | Payment Date |
| Upfront | 10 Jan 2025 |
| Upfront | 05 Mar 2025 |
| 14 Mar 2025 | 31 Mar 2025 |
| 16 Apr 2025 | 30 Apr 2025 |
| 15 May 2025 | 30 May 2025 |
| 13 June 2025 | 30 June 2025 |
| 15 July 2025 | 31 July 2025 |
| 15 Aug 2025 | 29 Aug 2025 |
| 15 Sep 2025 | 30 Sep 2025 |
| 15 Oct 2025 | 31 Oct 2025 |
| 14 Nov 2025 | 28 Nov 2025 |
Who can receive it?
Under the NSFAS scheme, the government offers education material costs, daily living allowance, travel costs, personal care allowance, assistive device costs, and home support. The government offers support to the students who meet the following conditions:
- Citizenship:
- Only the students living permanently and who have South African citizenship can apply for the NSFAS funding for higher education support.
- University conditions:
- Students must be pursuing higher education in the approved Universities, and this must be the first certificate qualification or a UG qualification.
- TVET conditions:
- Students can receive the funds for the tuition cost only for NC(V) programs, NSFAS-qualified qualifications, and NATED programs.
- Household Income:
- The household income to receive the aid should not be more than R350,000 annually. However, if the person has a disability, the income limit is around R600,000 a year.
- Special Cases:
- The Social Grant (SASSA) recipients’ children or orphans automatically become entitled to the NSFAS support and allowances.
- NSFAS students: The students who received the NSFAS support right now must meet the academic awards criteria to get the support from the NSFAS.
NSFAS Payment Amount
The NSFAS payment may vary from student to student based on their needs and the course they are pursuing; however, based on the guidelines, the students can expect the following maximum payment under the scheme:
| Allowances/ Support | University Students’ annual payout amount | TVET college students’ annual payout amount |
| Accomodation | As per the University charged cost | Urban area up to R24,000Per-Urban area R18,900 Rural area up to R15,750 |
| Transport | R7500 Up to 40 km from the institute | R7350 Up to 40 km from college Or R7000 |
| Living Allowance | R15,000 | – |
| Book Allowance | R5200 | – |
| Personal Care Allowance | R2900 | R2900 |
What to do if it is delayed?
The NSFAS payment delay generally depends on the institution’s registration data submission on time, as a student with valid registration data will only receive the payout.
So, if you find a delay in your NSFAS payout, you should take the following action to see what happened or receive the payment:
- You should first log in to the NSFAS portal and see if you have provided the right bank details for the payment, and see if the bank is active or not.
- You should once check with your university or TVET college, as to whether they have sent the registration date or not, to update the academic status.
- If you find that your payment is delayed, you can appeal to the authority to receive a follow-up on the payment. After the appeal, you have 30 days to send all the supporting documents related to your eligibility for the NSFAS payout. If the document submission is delayed, your funding may not reach you, and you may miss the payment.
- You can track your NSFAS application on the myNSFAS portal and track the payout distributions to see when the payment is coming.
The NSFAS allowances and support for the students will be disbursed monthly for the eligible students based on the institute registration data, hence, the students are advised to keep an eye on the payment on the scheduled payment date and take quick action to receive their payment if they miss it.