Under certain conditions, students attending a classic or general secondary-education school in Luxembourg may receive financial support from the Psychosocial and Scholastic Assistance Centre (Centre psycho-social et d’accompagnement scolaires - CePAS): the low-income household subsidy.

This subsidy is granted for the purpose of purchasing school supplies, and contributing to expenses for extracurricular activities and activities outside of school.

The amount of the subsidy is based on the household's net income and the number of dependent children.

Who is concerned

The following students are eligible for the subsidy granted by the CePAS:

• students in full-time schooling or in a concurrent education programme in the general or classic secondary-education system, in a Luxembourg public secondary education establishment, or in a contractual private education establishment applying the Luxembourg public education curriculum;
• those who come from a low-income family;
• those in receipt of family benefits.

The application for the subsidy must be filed by the person who is responsible for the student.

Prerequisites

To obtain the financial aid, the applicant must:

• be a natural person;
• be of legal age on the date the application is submitted;
• live with the student in question and hold parental authority over them;
• belong to a household living below the low-income threshold.

Deadlines

To apply for the aid, the application form must be duly completed and signed, and returned to the Psychosocial and Scholastic Assistance Department (Service psycho-social et d’accompagnement scolaires - SePAS) of the school where the student is enrolled no later than 31 October of the school year for which the subsidy is being requested.

How to proceed

Filing an application

Eligible students can collect the application form for financial support at their school’s Psychosocial and Scholastic Assistance Service (SePAS) at the beginning of the school year.

The form is a questionnaire that must be completed and accompanied by the following documents:

• certificate of affiliation (social security registration certificate) from the Joint Social Security Centre (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale - CCSS) for each calendar year prior to the submission of the application by the applicant and their spouse, or their registered partner or partner living with them in the same household;
• the applicant's income statements for the past 3 months (except for the month of August) and, where applicable, those of their spouse or (registered) partner and the student him/herself;
• a certificate of payment of family benefits or, failing that, a copy of the latest bank statement (the school benefit is not taken into account);
• farmers, winegrowers and all self-employed persons must attach the most recent certificate issued by their tax office, or a copy of the most recent CCSS statement showing the taxable income on which their social security contributions are based;
• if applicable, a social report or social enquiry from the SePAS or CePAS, regarding the student;
• the enrolment certificate issued by the student's school (the school's stamp on the application form, signed and dated, is accepted as proof);
• an enrolment certificate if another member of the household is enrolled at a university or a volunteer in the youth service.

The Psychosocial and Scholastic Assistance Centre (CePAS) or the Psychosocial and Scholastic Assistance Service (SePAS) may request any other additional information or supporting document. The applicant must provide all these elements for the application to be taken into consideration.

An application must be lodged with the SePAS for each dependent child in the household.

The CePAS will notify both the applicant and the SePAS with regard to its decision.

In the event of a refusal, the CePAS will communicate the reason for the refusal to the applicant.

Makeup of the financial assistance package

The financial aid is paid in one instalment, in April.

The conditions for granting the subsidy and its amount for low-income households are determined according to a social index, calculated on the basis of:

• the composition of the household in which the student lives;
• the household's net income (only the income of the applicant and of their spouse or (registered) partner and the student him/herself are taken into account).

For the calculation of the social index, the student is considered to be:

• a child, if they live with their mother or father or with any other natural person on whom they are dependent;
• an adult if they live alone or cohabit, with or without dependent children, and are not eligible for the stay-in-school subsidy.

Who to contact