Overseas students barred from Taiwan entry between Dec. 15 – Feb. 11

Non-resident international students will be banned from entering Taiwan between Dec. 15 and Feb. 11, with the Ministry of Education (MOE) urging those wishing to enter for the fall semester to do so on or before Dec. 14.

The temporary restrictions, which only apply to those students who do not already possess an Alien Residency Certificate (ARC), are being introduced due to concerns over quarantine space around the Lunar New Year holiday.

Students without a valid ARC wishing to enter after Dec. 15 must submit an application through their school to the MOE that outlines the reasons for the late entry, why substitute learning arrangements are insufficient, as well as details of quarantine plans.

The application will then be passed on to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), which will grant approvals depending on the amount of quarantine space available, the MOE said.

However, the MOE added that the CECC was not actively making arrangements to provide quarantine facilities for those granted special permission to enter Taiwan.

Students with plans to enter Taiwan for the spring semester that do not currently possess a valid ARC can only do so from Feb. 12, the MOE said.

With a large number of overseas Taiwanese expected to return for the Lunar New Year, the CECC has introduced a number of temporary restrictions to ensure sufficient space at government quarantine centers and quarantine hotels.

Following an unprecedented surge in domestic COVID-19 cases, Taiwan has banned the entry of all arrivals with the exception of citizens and legal residents since May 19.

International students who have been accepted to Taiwan schools for programs of one year or more are usually eligible to apply for an ARC. As a student can only apply for and obtain an ARC in Taiwan, the restrictions will mainly affect newly enrolled students who are currently still overseas.

Taiwan began to grant entry for international students without an ARC in late August, though only to those enrolled in degree programs at Taiwanese universities and those who have received the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Taiwan Scholarship or the MOE’s Huayu Enrichment Scholarship.

Non-scholarship Huayu students are still barred from entering Taiwan, regardless of the length of their program.