Applications for CCF's one-off allowance for new arrivals from low-income families to close at end of December
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Applications for the Community Care Fund (CCF)'s One-off Allowance for New Arrivals from Low-income Families Programme will close on December 31 (Thursday). Eligible persons must submit their applications for the allowance on or before the deadline.
The Programme was launched on September 27. It aims to provide an allowance to eligible new arrivals to help them adapt into the community as soon as possible to better prepare themselves for permanent settlement in Hong Kong, and relieve their financial pressure. Each eligible person can get a $10,000 allowance. The Programme is administered by the CCF Task Force under the Commission on Poverty. The Task Force has engaged Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK) as the Agent Bank. The CCF Secretariat provides administrative support for the Programme.
Beneficiaries should be aged 18 or above and have settled in Hong Kong for less than seven years as at March 31, 2021, and should come from low-income families, i.e. they have passed the family/household-based means test establishing eligibility for assistance under one of the specified assistance schemes, including the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, Old Age Living Allowance, the Working Family Allowance Scheme, student financial assistance schemes and the Hospital Authority medical fee waiving mechanism, or their average monthly household income in the past three months does not exceed the specified income limit.
Applicants, no matter whether they choose to receive the allowance by way of bank transfer or an order cheque, may submit online applications through the BOCHK website or make paper-form applications. Applicants should upload the duplicate copies of required documentary proof when making online applications. If applications are made in paper form, applicants should place the completed application forms together with the duplicate copies of documentary proof into the drop-in boxes of the designated BOCHK branches in Hong Kong, or mail to GPO Box No. 9940. The deadline for application is December 31. Application forms and guidance notes are available for download at the CCF website and distribution at BOCHK branches, Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department in various districts, District Social Welfare Offices of the Social Welfare Department and the Support Service Centres for Ethnic Minorities.
The Agent Bank will check each of the applications and pass them to the Secretariat for vetting. The Secretariat will conduct data-matching with relevant government departments in order to ascertain the eligibility of applicants. In addition, the Secretariat or the Agent Bank will randomly select some applications for comprehensive income assessment. Notifications of results will be issued to applicants after vetting and the allowance will be disbursed to eligible applicants through bank transfer or order cheque.
As at December 16, the Secretariat had received more than 195 000 applications, and the Secretariat is handling such applications.
For details of the programme, please visit the CCF website (www.communitycarefund.hk) or call the designated enquiry hotline of the Programme operated by BOCHK on 3988 1810.
Ends/Friday, December 18, 2020
Issued at HKT 14:00
Issued at HKT 14:00
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