VerifiedNSFAS-funded students who do not receive an accommodation allowance can receive a travel (transport) allowance instead. You can get one or the other, not both. This applies at TVET colleges and universities under NSFAS’s 2026 eligibility criteria.
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Who gets transport rather than accommodation
| Your situation | Allowance |
|---|---|
| You live at home or with relatives | Transport; students living with family cannot claim accommodation |
| You rent accredited accommodation or live in residence | Accommodation, not transport |
| You are a distance TVET student | Personal care allowance only |
| You are in an occupational programme | Allowances only in simulated training, not while on an employment contract with a stipend |
Claiming accommodation while living with family is treated by NSFAS as fraud.
The 40 km rule
DHET’s 2020 TVET bursary guidelines gave the travel allowance to students living less than 40 km from the college, and the accommodation allowance to those 40 km or more away who had a rental agreement. The 2026 NSFAS criteria do not repeat the distance, so ask your college financial aid office how it applies the rule now.
Amounts
NSFAS says it publishes allowance amounts each year. The 2026 amounts were not in the eligibility criteria, and older figures on unofficial websites often conflict, so rely on your college’s financial aid office for the current amount.
What colleges check
- Proof of your home address.
- That you are registered and attending; the 2020 guidelines linked allowances to at least 80% attendance.
- That you are not also receiving accommodation.
NSFAS named misclassification of transport-allowance recipients as a 2026 problem, so check your allowance type on myNSFAS early in the year. See when allowances are paid.