Beginning midnight on Wednesday, all foreigners without a residency card will be banned from entering Taiwan. The restrictions will last for one month and apply to everyone who doesn’t hold a valid Alien Residence Certificate issued by the Taiwanese government.
The Ministry of Labor says the new ban also includes skilled foreign workers invited by Taiwanese employers. It says last month, over 7,200 people entered Taiwan for work. The ministry expects a similar number will be affected by the new entry restrictions.
Previously, foreign workers could enter the country using an official invitation document from a Taiwanese employer. Those documents are valid for six months. In order to avoid a backlog of reapplications, the ministry says it is automatically granting a three-month extension to anyone whose document expires between May 19 and June 30.
There are currently more than 260,000 migrant workers working in Taiwan as carers for the elderly. As for concerns of a shortage, the labor ministry says that the Ministry of Health and Welfare is implementing its Long-term Care Plan 2.0. It says disabled people in need of help can call the 1966 long-term care hotline or contact local government authorities.