Migrant workers from Indonesia could be granted entry to Taiwan as early as this week, a Ministry of Labor (MOL) official said Tuesday after a meeting between Taiwanese and Indonesian government authorities.
The meeting focused on COVID-19 prevention measures the MOL has asked the Indonesian government to implement before migrant workers from the Southeast Asian country can enter Taiwan, MOL Workforce Development Agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) told reporters.
These include reviewing disease prevention plans submitted by labor brokers and ensuring those plans are carried out, as well as providing a list of approved medical institutions that issue valid COVID-19 test results, Tsai said.
The MOL will compile a list of measures to be implemented by the Indonesian authorities and migrant workers from Indonesia will be granted entry as soon as the list is approved by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), which could be as soon as this week, Tsai said.
The MOL plans to use an app rolled out by the Indonesian government to verify whether incoming migrant workers are vaccinated, Tsai added.
Tsai did not mention when migrant workers from other countries would be allowed to enter Taiwan.
Taiwan first banned entry of migrant workers from Indonesia in December 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation in the Southeast Asian country.
Beginning May 19, Taiwan banned entry of all foreign nationals without residency, including migrant workers, following an unprecedented spike in domestic COVID-19 cases in Taiwan.
MOL officials previously said migrant workers will be granted entry to Taiwan in mid or late November at the latest, but entry of migrant workers is to be suspended again from Dec. 14 to Feb. 14 due to concern over quarantine space around the Lunar New Year holidays.
The MOL will adopt a points-based system for the entry of migrant workers, with points issued based on vaccination status and the COVID-19 situation in the workers’ home country; those with higher points will be given priority entering Taiwan.
According to MOL figures, as of the end of September 2021 there were 690,025 migrant workers in Taiwan, with the largest number coming from Indonesia with 245,365, followed by Vietnam 241,626, the Philippines 145,288, and Thailand 57,738.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel