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Financial Assistance, Settlement in Mainland Programme, Subsidy for Senior Citizens
Executive Department
Social Service Centres under Department of Family and Community Service located in different districts
Application Venue
Social Service Centre in the neighbourhood where the residence of the applicant is located
Address/Telephone/Fax
Please refer to the annexed list about Social Service Centres
Opening Hours
Monday to Thursday	9:00 am to 1:00 pm ; 2:30 pm to 5:45 pm
Friday	9:00 am to 1:00 pm ; 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Financial Assistance
Objective
Through the provision of social assistance to individuals and families who are economically impoverished due to social circumstances, health problems and other special reasons requiring special assistance, the basic necessities and other special needs in daily life are ensured.
Type
Financial assistance is further divided into general subsidy, non-regular subsidy and special subsidy.
General Subsidy
General subsidy is one type of financial assistance provided to those who are in severe impoverishment economically. (refer to Administrative Regulation No. 6/2007 – published in “Macao SAR Official Bulletin” No. 14 (I), 02/04/2007 )
Non-regular Subsidy
Non-regular subsidy is provided to individuals and families who are financially impoverished or suffering from deteriorating financial conditions due to the occurrence of sudden incidents or encounter of specific needs. These sudden incidents or special needs specifically refer to circumstances, like having to settle burial expenses, being victims of public disasters, looking after minors who are in crisis, being institutionalized in social service facilities, other situations in need of emergent assistance, etc. (refer to Administrative Regulation No. 6/2007 – published in “Macao SAR Official Bulletin” No. 14 (I), 02/04/2007 )
Special Subsidy (Special Assistance for Vulnerable Families)
Special subsidy is provided to individuals and families with specific needs. The allocated special subsidy will not be counted in the total income of individuals and families. According to present legislation, the type, allocation criteria, methods of distribution and respective amounts of special subsidy are authorized by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture and published in “Macao SAR Official Bulletin”. (refer to Authorization No. 18/2003 of Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture – published in “Macao SAR Official Bulletin”, No. 10 (I), 10/03/2003 ) According to the policy address of the financial year of 2003 of Macao Special Administrative Region, MSAR Government continues to provide additional special assistance to 3 types of vulnerable families, namely, single-parent families, families with disabled family members and families with patients of chronic illness, for the sake of helping them to overcome times of difficulties. Social Welfare Bureau, aside form providing monthly general subsidy (regular allocation) to individuals or families who are economically impoverished, will also attribute special subsidy to those families with specific needs. Types of special assistance include: Supplementary Study/Learning Grant, Supplementary Nursing Care Grant and Supplementary Grant for the Disabled.

Application

² Eligible Criteria for Application (General Subsidy and Non-regular Subsidy)

l holder of Macao SAR Resident Identity Card;

l living in Macao SAR continuously in the past 18 months;

l those verified and confirmed by Social Welfare Bureau to be in severe impoverishment economically (refer to Minimum Subsistence Index);

l those who do not possess other fixed assets aside from present family residence; and

l the total amount of bank deposit and cash in possession not exceeding the numeric value stipulated (refer to the formula for computing the upper limit of bank deposit and cash).

n Notes

Ø After the applicant has submitted all relevant documents, Social Welfare Bureau will make response within 30 days;

Ø The longest time duration for distributing subsidy is 12 months and it can be renewed with the same or different time duration;

Ø When the subsidy distribution period expires, Social Service Centres will contact respective beneficiaries and request them to proceed with necessary formalities in order to verify their eligibility for renewal of subsidy;

Ø If beneficiaries are proven to have made false declaration and submitted forged documents, they will have their eligibility removed and their subsidy terminated immediately. They will only be eligible for re-applying for subsidy one year later, starting from the day of cancellation. Social Welfare Bureau reserves its legal rights of recovery;

Ø A family refers to a husband-wife relationship or people leading a life similar to conjugal relationship, with lineal blood ascendants and descendants relatives by affinity, relatives by marriage, stepfather or stepmother. For lineal blood descendants under 24 years of age who are staying in places outside Macao attending higher level of education programme or in pursuit of a bachelor degree, and are financially dependent on the family, they are considered as family members as well;

Ø Beneficiaries who are unemployed during the period of receiving subsidy must have registered for job-seeking at Labour Affairs Bureau;

Ø Being unemployed, beneficiaries must take up jobs being referred to them or participate in activities or special programmes organized by Social Welfare Bureau and have to comply with the relevant rules and regulations;

Ø Beneficiaries must cooperate with Social Welfare Bureau, particularly in the presentation or provision of necessary information for assessing their financially impoverished situations;

Ø Beneficiaries have to provide the requested documents or information to Social Welfare Bureau within 45 days, starting from the day of receipt of notification from Social welfare Bureau;

Ø When beneficiaries’ familial situation and conditions have undergone changes, they must inform Social Welfare Bureau immediately (for instance, change of family’s residential address; birth, death, move-in or move-out of family members; change regarding situations of unemployment, employment, income, school attendance of family members);

Ø If the beneficiary leaves the subsidy uncollected for 3 consecutive months and/or is verified to be out of Macao Special Administrative Region for 90 days consecutively or for 120 days interruptedly in the year when subsidy is attributed, it may result in the cancellation of subsidy (except those who are incorporated in “Settlement in Mainland Programme”).

Ø Beneficiaries should not use subsidy for other purposes other than resolving difficulties in daily life due to lack of financial means.

² Eligible Criteria for Application (Special Subsidy - Special Assistance for Vulnerable Families)

Supplementary Study/Learning Grant:

l single-parent families;

l total family income below minimum subsistence index;

l those families who will be or are beneficiaries of general subsidy of our Bureau; and

l those families having children who are attending kindergarten, primary school, secondary school or university.

Supplementary Nursing Care Grant:

l total family income below minimum subsistence index;

l those who will be or are beneficiaries of general subsidy of our Bureau; and

l those proven as victims of chronic psychiatric illness, suffering from moderate to severe anemia (having 9 grams of hemoglobin or below), malignant tumors, diabetes and respective complications, malfunctioning of vital organs, disseminated lupus erythematosus, tuberculosis (undergoing treatment), need a liquid diet, in the phase of convalescence from ostomy surgery, permanently bed-bound due to illness and at the same time receive neither hospitalized care nor treatment in public or government-subsidized institutions or in medical institutions of Health Bureau.

Supplementary Grant for the Disabled:

l total family income below minimum subsistence index;

l those who will be or are beneficiaries of general subsidy of our Bureau; and

l those diagnosed as mentally handicapped, suffering from severe amblyopia (both eyes), severe auditory impairment, severe limb disability (for example, amputation, loss of the palm of the hand, sole of the foot or lower limbs, loss of hand or foot or severe loss of finger function, etc.), permanently bed-bound due to disabilities, paralyzed or semi-paralyzed, and at the same time receive neither hospitalized care nor treatment in public or government-subsidized institutions or in medical institutions of Health Bureau.

Notes

Ø Those who are attending school are being taken care of by families constituted of grandparents and grandchildren are eligible to receive Supplementary Study/Learning Grant in accordance with the stipulated regulation;

Ø Beneficiaries obtaining Supplementary Study/Learning Grant, Supplementary Nursing Care Grant or Supplementary Grant for the Disabled will not affect the receipt of subsidy of individuals and family members from Social Welfare Bureau;

Ø A person is not eligible to be a beneficiary of both the Nursing Care Grant and Grant for the Disabled at the same time. However, he/she is eligible to receive Supplementary Study/Learning Grant if he/she is just a beneficiary of either of the two aforementioned grants;

Ø The distribution of supplementary grant(s) will commence in the month following the approval of the application;

Ø When the beneficiaries or family members no longer meet the requirements for receiving special assistance, they should notify Social Welfare Bureau immediately and must stop receiving the respective grant(s) in the following month after the occurrence of this fact and reimburse the excess amount of grant(s) received.

Documents Required for Application

l a recent photo of the applicant;

l photocopies of Macao SAR Resident Identity Card of the applicant and his/her family members;

l salary declarations of the applicant and his/her family members;

l school attendance documents of the applicant and his/her family members;

l those suffering from illness and lack of working capability have to submit recent medical declaration issued by Health Bureau, Kiang Wu Hospital or Hospital of University of Science and Technology;

l those unemployed have to submit declaration for job-seeking issued by Labour Affairs Bureau;

l recent water or electricity bill of present residence, documents like housing rent / housing mortgage loans and other expenses;

l the applicant is required to fill in documents prepared by Social Welfare Bureau that are related to the applying service(s);

l the applicant gives consent to Social Welfare Bureau for requesting him/her to submit necessary documents for analyzing and evaluating his/her application.

Table of Minimum Subsistence Index

N.º of Family Members	Minimum Subsistence Index
1	$ 2,640.00
2	$ 4,580.00
3	$ 6,460.00
4	$ 7,970.00
5	$ 9,420.00
6	$ 10,490.00
7	$ 11,550.00
8 persons or above	$ 12,630.00

Formula for Computing the Upper Limit of Bank Deposit and Cash

Situation of Individuals and Family Members	Computing Formula
Common Families	RS X 6 = A
Persons under 65 years old and living alone	RS X 10 = A
Persons over 65 years old and living alone	RS X 12 = A

● RS: Minimum Subsistence Index

● A: Upper limit of bank deposit and cash

Attributed Amount

General Subsidy

Minimum Subsistence Index – Total Family Income = General Subsidy Amount

Non-regular Subsidy

Subsidy amount is stipulated according to actual expenses and real situation.

Special Subsidy - Special Assistance for Vulnerable Families

Supplementary Study/Learning Grant

l attending kindergarten or primary school	MOP 100.00 / person / month
l attending secondary school