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E-Government

Taiwan govt to take migrant workers biometric data

By Pia Rufino | 1 April 2011

The Taiwan government is planning to impose biometrics requirement for migrant workers and foreigners applying for residence status in the country for national security purposes, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

“Since anti-terrorism has become a global trend, Taiwan will follow the lead of the United States, Japan, Canada and the European Union in imposing the biometrics requirement for foreign nationals entering the country,” the ministry said.

The requirement, which is yet to be approved by Executive Yuan, is part of a series of new measures in a proposed revision of rules governing foreign applicants for Taiwan resident visas.

Biometrics requirement will first be applied to migrant workers from Southeast Asian countries to prevent those with criminal records from entering the country using fake identities, MOFA stated.

There are 300,000 migrant workers in Taiwan at present.

Most of these workers are from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries in the region.

The revised rules aim to ease current restrictions on certain categories of visa applications to attract talented foreigners to work in the country. It also aim to offer convenience to people visiting Taiwan for emergency reasons such as people whose Taiwanese relatives die or are hospitalized.

The new requirement is scheduled to take effect at the end of the year.

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