TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) on Monday (Nov. 15) announced that the first batch of Indonesian migrant workers can start entering Taiwan as soon as Wednesday (Nov. 17).

During a press briefing outside the Legislative Yuan on Monday morning, Hsu said that the first batch of 109 Indonesian migrant workers has logged into the system. A total of 96 have already been assigned quarantine rooms, and 11 will be able to enter Taiwan as early as Wednesday, she said.

Hsu said that all of them are applying to be caregivers and none have signed up for industrial jobs. She pointed out that only seven of these applicants are not vaccinated.

When asked if the unvaccinated migrant workers can be inoculated when they arrive in Taiwan, Hsu said that based on Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) regulations, migrant workers living in Taiwan can receive the same vaccines as citizens.

On Thursday (Nov. 11), the CECC announced that Taiwan would reopen its borders to migrant workers in two stages. During the first stage, which is set to run until Feb. 14, 2022, all foreign workers entering the country will be sent to a quarantine center to undergo quarantine for 14 days followed by seven days of self-health monitoring.

According to the Ministry of Labor, 1,700 rooms have been made available for the first batch of workers, and employers can log into the registration system to begin the process of bringing in foreign employees. This first group of 1,700 workers is to consist entirely of Indonesian nationals and the MOL estimates that 2,500 will enter the country before Dec. 15. 

As the government of Thailand has stated its willingness to cooperate with Taiwan's COVID restrictions, the Ministry of Labor is considering making it the next country from which foreign workers will be allowed entry.