5,000 International Mandarin Students to Enter Taiwan in March

Taiwan will reopen its borders to Mandarin students without scholarships as of March 2022, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has announced.

According to the ministry, the country will welcome around 5,000 international students who have enrolled to study Mandarin in Taiwanese universities or colleges but have not been granted Huayu Enrichment Scholarships.

The ministry has informed higher education institutions that non-scholarship students waiting to study Mandarin for at least six months are allowed to enter the country as the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) has approved their entry.

At the same time, it notified universities and colleges that they can start applications for their students from February 14, Erudera.com reports.

However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, while entering Taiwan, students will be required to provide a negative PCR test performed within three days of their departure and take a separate PCR test before completing the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

After completing quarantine, students will monitor their health for another seven days and perform antigen tests before returning to campus.

International students who visited a high-risk country within 14 days of their travel to Taiwan are required to isolate in a quarantine center, costs of which will be covered by the government.

Differently, international students who have not traveled to a high-risk country within the 14-day period will also have to stay at a quarantine center, but the latter will cover quarantine expenses themselves.

According to the ministry, Mandarin students who have not been offered a scholarship are allowed to enter only through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

Meanwhile, universities or colleges that want to arrange a charter flight for their incoming students must inform the Ministry of Education initially in order to arrange quarantine centers, airport guides, and more.

Back in August 2021, the Ministry of Education permitted a total of 13,000 students from across the world to enter the country, including students with a Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Taiwan Scholarship and Huayu Enrichment Scholarship, but not international students without scholarships aiming to study the Mandarin language.

In November, MOE notified that Taiwan will be closed to international students, not residents in Taiwan, between December 15, 2021, and February 11, 2022, and advised those who wanted to enter Taiwan over the period to do it on or before December 14 due to quarantine restrictions. 

Taiwan closed its borders on May 19, 2021, to all arrivals, including international students, except legal residents and citizens due to a rise in COVID -19 cases.