Taiwan to lift entry ban on Vietnamese workers

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) of Taiwan’s National Health Command Center announced Monday that employers may bring in foreign workers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam starting Feb. 15, as the second phase of a special program that allows foreign workers to enter Taiwan after a period of Covid border closures.

As regulated, migrant workers must be fully vaccinated with two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine in the country of origin before entry into Taiwan.

After arriving in Taiwan, their employers can arrange for them to stay at a hotel to complete quarantine and self-health management; both foreign workers and employers must abide by related epidemic prevention rules and guidelines, according to the CECC.

Taiwan banned the entry of all foreign nationals without residency, including migrant workers, last May following a spike in Covid-19 cases.

As many as 134,482 of the 147,387 Vietnamese workers who went abroad in 2019 were hired in Japan and Taiwan, according to the Overseas Labor Department.

It revealed Japan remained the largest market for Vietnamese labor with more than 80,000 going in 2019, followed by Taiwan with 54,480 workers.