Supplementary Stipends & Grants

Supplementary Stipends and Grants are additional monetary funds awarded to students facing certain circumstances of proven hardship or humanitaian situations

Supplementary Stipends and Grants are divided into two tiers:

a.      Supplementary Stipend Rates – These are credited to students found eligible for Supplementary Stipend paid every four weeks in addition to the normal stipend.

b.     The Supplementary Grant - This award is given once  as one amount to students who are found eligible for Supplementary entitlement and who are studying at MQF Levels 5 or 6.

Conditions

a.   Students applying for Supplementary by 31^st December 2024 will benefit for stipends and grants from the begining of the respective academic year. Those applying from January 2025 onwards will benefit from stipends and grants from the date of their application.

b.    Only stipend-eligible students can be considered for eligibility of Supplementary Stipends and Grants (if applicable).

c.   All documentation covering a request for Supplementary entitlement is to be uploaded to the online application for Stipends and Grants. Due to the sensitive nature of certain data, no documents are to be forwarded  via email or passed on to any Stipends’ Office officials.

d.   Applications and all uploaded documents undergo a rigorous vetting process, in line for consideration by the Students’ Maintenance Grants’ Board. This is required for the issuing of an official final decision.

e.   Students are duty bound to inform the Students’ Maintenance Grants’ Board via email by using the contact us button in the online application form, should there be any change in circumstance affecting their eligibility.

f.    Late Applications for Supplementary are only considered by the Students' Maintenance Grants’ Board if the circumstance affecting eligibility for this award occurs after the application closing date.

g.  Applications for Supplementary entilement lacking documentation or with incomplete documentation cannot be processed.

h.    The Students' Maintenance Grants’ Board reserves the right to decline applications left without the requested documents.

i.      There shall be no further processing of applications after the 30th June 2025.

j.       Applications for Supplementary entitlement, along with updated documents, are to be submitted by students for each academic year.

 The table below provides the list of mandatory documents for specific cases:​

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Students who possess a CRPD document 

Students who possess a document issued by the Commission for the Rights of Persons with a Disability (CRPD), are considered automatically eligible for Stipends and Grants including Supplementary stipends and grants (if applicable).  Students in possessionof such document are to upload a valid copy of it on the online application.  In such cases, documents showing financial income are not requested by the Students' Maintenance Grants’ Board. Expired CRPD card should not be considered.

Students living in Residential Care

Students who are residing in residential care  are considered automatically eligible for Stipends and Grants including Supplementary entitlement.  In the online application, students are to upload official documentary proof of their place of residence.  Documents showing financial income are not requested by the Students' Maintenance Grants’ Board.

How to apply

Students intending to apply for the Supplementary entitlement  are to login to the webpage https://studentgrants.gov.mt/login using their e-ID and password to access the application for Students' stipends and grants.  Students are to proceed to page 3 of the application.

By clicking Yes to the question regarding Supplementary entitlement, students are to click on the circumstance for which they are applying for Supplementary.  They may also write comments explaining their situation in the textbox provided.  In Page 4, electronic versions of all documents, including those for Supplementary, are to be uploaded.  Students are to ensure that all documents show correct information,  since applications with incomplete or incorrect information may be declined or kept pending till the student uploads documents which clarify his/her situation.

Means Test

The Students' Maintenance Grants’ Board determines the eligibility for Supplementary by utilising a means test based on total household income, based on one calendar year.

Below are the updated thresholds which are being implemented in the assessment of applications for Supplementary Allowances.  The revised thresholds emanate from the Electoral Manifesto Proposal, EMP 262 – “Inwessgħu l-eliġibita` għall-għajnuna Supplimentari” to students studying at Post-Secondary, Vocational or Tertiary level of education and who are stipend eligible.

This is the first time that Supplementary rates are being revised since 2017.

Due consideration shall also be given to the number of persons in the same household who are still pursuing their education. It is pertinent to note that means testing is performed on the income of the parents/guardian.

Yearly Adjustment:

The above-mentioned means grid will be adjusted yearly with the amount agreed with the Ministry for Social Policy and Children’s Rights.

Important Notes:

a.   All Government forms are subject to monitoring and assessment by the Better Regulation Unit within OPM, to ensure the implementation of Better Regulation within the Public Sector.

b. The Students’ Maintenance Grants’ Board is hereby informing that it can make use, retain, and share information of personal and other data which students have submitted in their online application;

           i.  for the determination of future eligibility in line with lawful processing under the General Data Protection Regulation, Article 6 (b); and, 

           ii. for statistical purposes.    

 c. The Students’ Maintenance Grants' Board reserves the right to conduct checks with other authorities on the documents and the veracity of information supplied by applicants.

 d. Students who fail to inform the Board of any change of circumstances determining

     their eligibility, shall be liable to refund all the stipends and grants received.

Published on 30 September 2023

Last Updated on 27 February 2024

Last Updated on 1^st October 2024