Quick answer
NSFAS considers South African citizens and permanent residents who are registering for an approved qualification at a public university or TVET college. Financial eligibility, academic eligibility and a complete application all have to be met. A household income under the published figure does not, by itself, mean the application will be funded.
What NSFAS is and who it supports
For the 2026 academic year, the NSFAS eligibility criteria say funding is for South African citizens and permanent residents with a valid South African identity number at a public higher education institution. The same criteria define an NSFAS-funded qualification as one offered by a public institution and approved for NSFAS, as communicated by the Department of Higher Education and Training.
A private college is not covered merely because it offers a similar course. A qualification at a public institution is not covered unless it is approved for NSFAS. The financial-aid office at the institution can tell you whether your programme is on the approved list for that year.
Bursary and loan
NSFAS's published frequently asked questions distinguish a bursary from a loan, and they give different household-income figures for each. For a bursary, the page says verified SASSA grant recipients automatically meet the financial requirement, non-SASSA applicants need a gross combined household income of R350,000 or less a year, and applicants with disabilities need R600,000 or less a year.
The same page describes a loan pathway for some applicants above the bursary income figure, including non-SASSA undergraduates between R350,000 and R600,000, and some postgraduate study at R600,000 or less. Read the current NSFAS explanation before you assume you are being offered a bursary rather than a loan. The conditions are not the same.
Financial eligibility
The 2026 criteria say household income, for applicants who are not SASSA recipients, is the gross income from all sources of the people the criteria name. For an unmarried applicant that is both biological or adoptive parents and the applicant. For an applicant under legal guardianship it is the guardian and the applicant. For a married applicant it is the spouse and the applicant.
The criteria say a verified SASSA recipient automatically meets the financial test and can receive a bursary if they are registered and academically eligible. The grants named are the Foster Care Grant, the Care Dependency Grant and the Child Support Grant. NSFAS also says it will use third-party data, not only the amount you declare, and that a complete signed consent form is required.
Applicants with disabilities are assessed at the higher household-income figure in those criteria. The disability annexure and any medical reports the form requests are part of that application. Income under R600,000 does not replace the academic rules.
What funding can cover
The 2026 criteria say NSFAS pays the tuition cost of the approved programme for a funded student, in line with the agreed sector increase, and that a student who has been confirmed as financially eligible should be allowed to register at a university without paying the initial registration fee. The registration fee is treated as part of tuition.
Allowances are separate from tuition. For universities, the criteria list learning materials, a living allowance, and either accommodation or transport, not both. TVET allowances are set out in the same document and are not identical. NSFAS says the rand amounts of allowances are published annually, so this guide does not treat last year's allowance as this year's amount.
Academic progression
Continuing students have to keep meeting academic rules. For the 2026 criteria, a university student who is not a first-time entering student must pass 50 percent of the modules registered in that year to be funded the next year. A TVET student who is not a first-time funded student must pass 70 percent of the modules or courses enrolled. There are further rules for moving from one NC(V) level or Report 191 level to the next.
The N+ rule limits how long NSFAS will fund a qualification. The 2026 criteria say N+1 applies generally, and that students with disabilities qualify for N+2. The extra period is applied once. Changing qualification can leave you with too little funded time to finish. These rules are easy to misunderstand, so read section 4.5 of the criteria for your own case or ask the financial-aid office.
The criteria also say NSFAS funds an approved university pathway from a certificate qualification to a first undergraduate qualification, and named TVET pathways. Completing one funded qualification does not automatically fund a second one.
Applying and checking status
- Apply on the official NSFAS portal for the academic year you want to study, using the names on your identity document.
- Submit the consent form and the household information the application asks for.
- Track admission with the university or TVET college separately. NSFAS does not admit you.
- Sign in to the same portal to check the status. Do not trust a status sent from an unofficial number.
- If you are rejected, use the NSFAS appeal route only if the criteria say your reason can be appealed, and only within the time they publish.
This guide does not print the opening and closing dates. NSFAS announces those for each application cycle. A date in a forwarded message is not an announcement.
Common mistakes
- Using a parent's or a friend's email address, then losing the status updates.
- Leaving the consent form unsigned.
- Declaring a household that does not match the parents or guardian the criteria define.
- Assuming a private college or an unapproved short course will be funded.
- Ignoring the pass requirement after the first year.
- Paying an agent to submit or to speed up NSFAS.
Checklist
- You are applying for a public university or public TVET college.
- The qualification is approved for NSFAS.
- You know whether you are being assessed as a SASSA recipient, a non-SASSA applicant, or an applicant with a disability.
- Consent and identity details match your identity document.
- You can sign in to check the status yourself.
- You have read the criteria for the academic year you are entering.
Information can change
Bursary rules, NSFAS thresholds and closing dates are set for a funding year and then updated. This guide uses NSFAS material published for the 2026 academic year and the NSFAS website as it stood when the guide was prepared. Read the current NSFAS or bursary page before you apply. Do not rely on a screenshot from a previous year.
Official sources
- NSFASApply and check a funding status on the official site.
- NSFAS frequently asked questionsThe NSFAS explanation of bursary and loan income thresholds.
- NSFAS 2026 eligibility criteriaAcademic rules, the N+ rule, tuition and allowances for the 2026 academic year.
- NSFAS how to applyNSFAS's application guidance, including documents for household income and disability.