Canada immigration enters into deal with Taiwan

Canada, 18th April: The Canadian immigration has signed a working holiday deal with Taiwan.

Under this working holiday scheme between the two nations, those aged between 18 and 35 years will be allowed to live in other nation and to work on a temporary basis to pay for the costs involved in their trip. 

Other working holiday schemes permit only those aged 18-30 years to live and work in another nation.  

People from Taiwan will be allowed to live in Canada as per the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) on youth mobility signed between the two nations. They will also be able to get temporary Canadian work visa and work in Canada for short durations in selected industries in Canada. 

Similarly, youth from Canada in the age group between 18 and 35 years will be permitted to live in Taiwan under the same conditions. 

The MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) made the announcement at a press conference on 16th April saying Canada is the fourth nation in the Asia-Pacific region to have entered into a working holiday memorandum with Taiwan. Other countries having signed such agreements with Taiwan include Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. 

Official spokesman of MOFA, Henry Chen, said that the memorandum was signed in Ottawa, the capital of Canada by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada (TECO) and the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT). 

The aim of this MOU is to make the administrative process for those aged 18-35 from both Taiwan and Canada much easier and help them live and work in each other’s nation for a maximum period up to one year. 

The agreement will help Canadian and Taiwanese youth in gaining a rare work, travel and life experience overseas, thereby giving them a chance to gain an understanding of each other’s culture, stated Scott Fraser, Executive Director of CTOT during the press release. These exchanges of each other’s cultures and way of life will improve the longstanding relationship between Taiwan and Canada, Fraser added. 

Currently, the number of Taiwanese people coming to Canada has gone down to 61,893 in 2009 from 112,413 in 2004, Tourism Bureau of Taiwan informed. 

The MOU will come into effect from July1, 2010. 

Way back in 2004, Taiwan had entered into a similar working holiday agreement with both New Zealand and Australia which had enabled thousands of people from Taiwan to live and work in Australia.