Taiwan has lifted an entry ban on migrant workers from Thailand with immediate effect, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) announced Thursday.
Previously, all foreign nationals without residency -- including migrant workers -- were barred from entering Taiwan beginning in May following an unprecedented spike in domestic COVID-19 cases.
However, these border restrictions have now been waived for migrant workers from Thailand, with the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) agreeing to the move in light of Thailand's willingness to cooperate and adhere to Taiwan's COVID-19 rules, the MOL said in a statement.
Taiwan had previously lifted an entry ban on migrant workers from Indonesia on Nov. 11 for similar reasons. Indonesian migrant workers had initially been barred from coming to Taiwan in December 2020 due to a surge of COVID-19 cases imported from the Southeast Asian country.
The home countries of migrant workers now exempt from the ban are required to carry out a number of measures to facilitate entry.
These include reviewing disease prevention plans submitted by labor brokers, ensuring such plans are carried out, and compiling a list of no fewer than 50 medical institutions that are certified to issue valid COVID-19 test results.
In addition, migrant workers need to be tested for COVID-19 before they enter work training centers in their home countries and also need to test negative again three days before departing for Taiwan.
If they test negative, prospective migrant workers must then stay in quarantine for the remaining 72 hours leading up to their flight.
Discussions regarding the entry of migrant workers from the Philippines and Vietnam are still ongoing with the governments of the two countries.
Migrant workers who arrive in Taiwan on or before Feb. 14 will have to spend both the mandatory 14-day quarantine period and the subsequent seven-day self-health management period in government facilities -- effectively a 21-day quarantine.
The MOL reminded employers that, as part of the conditions of entry, workers must still be paid for the time they spend in a government quarantine facility during the seven-day self-health management period.
Hsueh Chien-chung (???), chief of the Workforce Development Agency's Cross-Border Workforce Management Division under the MOL, told CNA that employers could now log onto the "Entry and Departure of The Foreign Labor Airport Care Service" website to apply for bed space for migrant workers that need to undergo the 21-day quarantine.
Between Jan. 1 and Jan. 14, the CECC will provide 350 beds for migrant workers in quarantine facilities, and these are now available for booking on the website, Hsueh said, adding that certain workers will be given priority according to the government's points-based system.
The points-based system adopted by the MOL for the entry of migrant workers issues points based on vaccination status, the COVID-19 situation in a worker's home country, and the dormitories offered by their employers in Taiwan.
Those with higher points will be given priority when entering Taiwan.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel