Guide to Applicants

Applications should only be made by individuals. Applications from companies or organisations will not be accepted. For each application,

1. The applicant must be:
   1. a Hong Kong resident and lawfully employable in Hong Kong; AND either:
   2. a full-time in-service practitioner on the commencement date of the course attended, who is not required to be working in the field of asset and wealth management, employed under any of the following:
      1. a financial institution licensed with or registered by the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571); or
      2. a financial institution licensed with or registered by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”); or
      3. an insurer authorised or any insurance intermediaries licensed under the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41); or
      4. a firm or corporate practices registered with Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (“AFRC”); or
      5. a trust company registered under Part 8 of the Trustee Ordinance (Cap. 29) or any trustees approved by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (“MPFA”) under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485); or
      6. a trust or company service provider licensed by the Companies Registry under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615); or
      7. a recruitment agency engaged by any of the employers mentioned in clause 1.2.1 to 1.2.6 above to provide personnel with proof; or
      8. a member company of a group of which the relevant subsidiary is an eligible employer in clause 1.2.1 to 1.2.6 above; OR
   3. an individual who is not under full-time employment at the time of attending the courses but previously has been licensed and employed in the manner as below at any time during the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025:
      1. a licensed individual in full-time employment with a Financial Institution licensed by the SFC; or
      2. a licensed securities staff in full-time employment with an authorised institutions registered with the HKMA; or
      3. a licensed individual insurance agents / Technical Representatives (Agent) / Technical Representatives (Broker); or
      4. a certified public accountant registered with the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants ("HKICPA") and in full-time employment with a firm or corporate practice registered with the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council ("AFRC").
2. An exemption from the full-time employment requirement under clause 1.2.3 above will ONLY be granted to the following practitioners from 1 April 2020 onwards:
   
   - Licensed Individual Insurance Agents
   - Licensed Technical Representatives (Agent)
   - Licensed Technical Representatives (Broker)
   
   

   A qualified applicant has to be an insurance intermediary licensed by the Insurance Authority where the Principal is an insurer authorised or an insurance intermediary licensed under the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41).
   
   Additional information may be required to prove the contractual relationship between the applicant and the principal.

3. The applicant must have completed the eligible course to the course provider’s satisfaction.
4. The applicant must not have received any other form of subsidy or financial assistance for the 80% of the course fees to be reimbursed under the Scheme from any publicly-funded schemes and/or the applicant’s employer.
5. The applicants are required to switch the camera on throughout the class for live webinars.

Each successful applicant will be reimbursed 80% of their course fees, subject to a maximum of $15,000 per person throughout the period of 1 October 2016 to 31 March 2026. Each applicant can apply for reimbursement for more than one courses. Duplicated applications for the same course will not be accepted. 

Only the fees incurred for enrolling in eligible course(s) can be reimbursed.

Other charges such as registration fees, administration fees, examination fees, late charges or any other miscellaneous charges are not eligible for reimbursement.

All applications for reimbursement will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis, until the funding for the Scheme has been fully committed.

Applicants must submit a duly signed application form together with the FIVE classes of supporting documents to the HKSI Institute’s office before deadline.

1. Application form:
   1. complete the application form via the online application portal and receive a unique system-generated application number for reference;
   2. fill out all necessary information, including course, employment and personal details.  Print out the application form and sign on the form (Section C & Annex A), and
   3. submit the complete set of application form together with the FIVE documents by post / by courier / in person to the HKSI Institute’s office.
   
   ^{(Paper application form is available for download on the website.
   An applicant using paper application form must come in person to the HKSI Institute’s office to submit the application.
   Submission by post / by courier will NOT be accepted.
   For details of the application procedure with respect to paper application form, please refer to the “Application Procedures” section of the form.)}
2. FIVE supporting documents:
   1. a copy of the applicant’s Hong Kong Identity Card;
   2. a copy of the certificate issued by the course provider certifying that the applicant has completed the course to the satisfaction of the provider;
   3. the original receipt of the course fee payment issued by the course provider (with name of applicant, name of the course attended and course date);
   4. a documentation of the personal bank account for direct credit of reimbursement in the form of:
      
      - a copy of the front page of bank passbook; or
      - a copy of the bank account statement; or
      - a copy of a bank debit card; or
      - a copy of blank personal cheque.
      
      (Note: The copy must show clearly the name of the bank, the account number and the name of the account holder which must be identical to the name shown on the applicant’s Hong Kong Identity Card.)
   5. 1. for in-service practitioners currently under employment, an original company letter issued by or an employment certification form (“Form”) endorsed by the applicant’s employer, with an authorised signature duly signed and the employer’s company chop stamped, certifying that:
         1. the applicant is in full-time employment with the employer on the commencement date of the course attended; and
         2. the applicant has not received any form of subsidy or financial assistance for the 80% of the course fees to be reimbursed under the Scheme from the employer; or
         
         

         A sample company letter can be downloaded HERE.

      2. for financial service licensees in between jobs:
         1. an employment verification letter from the last employer; and
         2. the applicant’s licence / registration number given by the relevant authority (i.e. SFC, HKMA, Insurance Authority, MPFA or HKICPA).

Reminders:

• Applicants may be required to verify the information submitted and/or to provide additional information where necessary for further processing.
• All documents submitted are not returnable. Applicants are advised to retain copies for their own reference.
• For proper delivery of your mail items to the HKSI Institute, please ensure your mail items bear sufficient postage with return address before posting. The HKSI Institute will not accept underpaid mail items, which will be returned to the sender (with return address) or disposed of (without return address) by Hongkong Post. The HKSI Institute will NOT be responsible for any mail item lost in post.

Completed and duly signed online application form together with the required supporting documents must be submitted to the HKSI Institute’s office within FOUR months from the last day of the course attended. 

(Note: Different course providers may have different definitions of course end date.  Applicants are advised to check with the corresponding course provider(s) for clarification where necessary.)

The date of receipt of completed application form and all required supporting documents as stated in “Application Procedures” by the HKSI Institute will be regarded as the date of application.

If the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline will be extended to the next working day.

Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. 

Payment will be made to the successful applicant by direct credit to the local bank account^ nominated by the applicant.

^ Savings account or current account denominated in Hong Kong Dollar or accepts transactions in Hong Kong dollars