Vetting work of the third batch of applications under the Temporary Unemployment Relief Scheme has been completed and subsidies will be disbursed to more than 57,000 successful applicants.

Among the successful applicants, about 31,000 have accounts under the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) schemes and over 26,000 of them do not have MPF accounts.

Taking into account the batch of 57,000 successful applicants, the Government has approved more than 150,000 applications.

Noting that there are more applications than expected, the Government has increased manpower to expedite the processing of the applications.

Generally, subsidies can be disbursed to eligible applicants with MPF accounts about four weeks after the application is submitted.

As more than 40% of the applications do not have MPF accounts, the processing time of such applications would take longer.

The Government is processing the remaining applications in full swing with the aim to disburse subsidies to all eligible applicants within this month.

In addition, SMS messages or emails have been sent to nearly 30,000 ineligible applicants since last week to inform them of the outcome of their application.

Applicants may log into the scheme's dedicated website to check the application status.