Date: 2009-09-29
Amended June 22, 2006
Article 1
This regulation is promulgated according to Article 25 of the Universities Act, Article 26 of the Junior College Act, Article 4-1 of the Vocational Schools Act, Article 3-1 of the Senior High School Act, and Article 6 Paragraph 3 of the National Education Act.
Article 2
An international student, as provided in this regulation, shall be confined to as an individual whose nationality is not from the Republic of China as described in Article 2, of the Nationality Act and also without overseas Chinese student status. Individuals with Republic of China nationality, having ceased to hold the nationality, are not qualified to apply for admission to a senior high school or university/college , if the period of the renunciation of the nationality is less than 8 years since the date, on which a revocation was issued from the Ministry of the Interior.
According to the Cultural Exchange Agreement, a foreign national who was selected by a foreign government, organization, school, or educational/cultural group to study in Taiwan, is not subject to the limitation as prescribed in the preceding paragraph.
The eight year period as prescribed in the first paragraph shall be calculated from the date of when the semester begins as set by each individual school.
Article 3
Upon completion of the course of study, at a school in Taiwan, to which an international student applied, the student's admission to higher academic levels shall be handled in a manner identical to the procedures of admission for local students, except that an application for master's degree or higher level of graduate studies can be processed under the rules of each individual school.
Article 4
For international students enrolled in universities, two-year junior colleges ("universities and colleges"), five-year junior colleges, and colleges, senior high schools, and subsidiary technical colleges of universities, the number of students admitted shall be in addition to the total number of ROC citizens admitted in any given academic year and should be limited to ten percent of that number. Total enrollments of international students shall be submitted to education administration authorities for approval by November 30th each year.
Where the preceding paragraph refers to the number of international students recruited, the figure shall not include non-degree international students.
Article 5
Universities/colleges are responsible for establishing international student recruitment regulations upon the approval of the Ministry, and creating a set of entrance rules according to the regulations that outline the degree programs offered, quotas for the admission, qualifications and requirements, means of reviewing or screening and other related information.
Article 6
International students applying for admission to universities and colleges shall submit their applications by the deadline given by the prospective university or college and those passing the review or screening test will be granted admission. The following documents should be submitted in the application.
1. Admission application form.
2. Certificate of highest degree or equivalent academic attainment and transcripts issued by an overseas educational institution and duly notarized by an overseas representative office of the R.O.C. (For documents prepared in languages other than Chinese or English, a Chinese or English translation should be enclosed.)
3. Financial statement duly notarized by an overseas representative office of the R.O.C. showing sufficient funds for staying in Taiwan.
4. Other documents as required by universities and colleges. In the event that the Certificate of the highest degree or equivalent academic attainment issued by an overseas educational institution mentioned in Subparagraph 2 of the preceding paragraph is not issued by an overseas Taiwanese educational institution, the MOE "Regulations Regarding the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Academic Credentials for Institutions of Higher Education" shall be followed.
Article 7
An international student who has completed a bachelor's degree or higher degree in Taiwan and who applies for a master program shall be exempt from the rules listed in Article 6, first paragraph, item 2, provided that a graduation certification and transcript for each consecutive semester issued from the institutions in Taiwan shall be enclosed.
International students who have graduated from schools that enroll foreign residents in Taiwan, or from bilingual programs affiliated with local high schools must submit graduation certificates and transcripts for each academic semester to apply for admission under Article 6, and are exempt from the rules listed in Article 3 and Article 6,paragraph1, items 2.
Article 8
Universities/colleges shall prepare a roster of admitted and registered international students, and shall submit it to the MOE for acknowledgement by November 30th of each year. The roster shall include the student's name, nationality, class standing, field/department, or graduate school to which they belong. In addition, the roster should also identify the recipient of the Taiwan Scholarship and or other scholarships sponsored by the Ministry.
Article 9
International students may not apply for bachelor programs designed for returning education students, part-time, in-service courses of Master programs, or other programs, which are restricted to night classes and classes during holidays. International students who have received an Alien Residence Certificate, Permanent Residence Permit, or are enrolled in an international program, which is ratified by this Ministry, are exempted from this Article.
Article 10
For international students enrolled in universities, two-year junior colleges ("universities and colleges"), five-year junior colleges, and colleges, senior high schools, and subsidiary technical colleges of universities that arrive on campus before one-third of the first semester of the academic year has passed, they shall be considered enrolled for the semester. If they arrive at the campus after one-third of the first semester of the academic year has passed, they shall be considered as enrolled for the second semester.
Article 11
International students who drop out of or withdraw from university/ college after admission may not thereafter apply again for admission under this regulation.
The transfer of an international student to other schools shall be regulated and handled by rules of the individual institutions.
Article 12
Upon the condition that it will not interfere with their normal educational activities, universities/colleges may sign agreements for academic cooperation with foreign schools. This allows the schools to recruit and accept international students as exchange students or part-time, using the current international student enrollment procedures.
Article 13
Universities/colleges that plan to establish a special program for international students in response to An International Academic Cooperation Scheme or in dealing with other special needs must file an application to the Ministry for ratification.
Article 14
In order to grant support to outstanding international students at universities/colleges, the Ministry shall set up or subsidize the universities/college to set up international student scholarships.
Universities/colleges shall set up scholarships or assistant financial aid at their own expense to encourage international students studying in Taiwan.
Article 15
Universities/colleges shall designate units or personnel to take responsibility for handling international student applications, consultation, liaison, and other related matters. In addition, these units or personnel shall reinforce the arrangement of home stay for international students, and assist them to learn the language and culture in order to improve their knowledge of this country.
Universities/colleges shall host such activities as to foster international exchange, globalization on campus, or other events, which will be helpful to the interaction between foreign and local students from time to time, during each academic year.
Article 16
Junior high schools, senior high schools, 5-year colleges, and junior colleges affiliated with universities (hereinafter referred to as "secondary educational institutions" ) shall make proposals for admitting international students to study in Taiwan, except for the admission of those who hold legal residence status in Taiwan pursuant to Article 19. Such proposals shall be submitted with authorized government educational institutions by November 30th of each year; and only after approval, can admission be granted. The authorized government educational institutions within municipalities and counties /cities shall submit their individual school rosters which have been approved for granting student admission, to the MOE for filing by December 31st of each year.
The foregoing proposals shall include the establishment of International Student Affairs offices, the facilitation of Mandarin language and culture enrichment programs, and accommodation arrangements for international students.
The nationalities and the quotas for the admission of international students as stipulated in the first paragraph shall be specified, if necessary, by the Ministry of Education (MOE) after its consultation with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
Secondary educational institutions or elementary schools may admit international students for short-term study in Taiwan for less than one year, with the approval from the authorized government educational institutions.
Article 17
International students applying for admission to secondary educational institutions shall submit their applications by the deadline established by the prospective school unless it is otherwise stated in Article 19 and those passing the review or screening test will be granted admission. The following documents should be submitted in the application.
1. Admission application form.
2. Certificate of the highest degree or equivalent academic attainment and transcripts duly notarized by an overseas representative office of the R.O.C. (For documents in languages other than Chinese or English, a Chinese or English translation shall be enclosed.)
3. Proof of financial sufficiency of parents or any other legal representative equivalent to NT 500,000 dollars or more duly notarized by an overseas representative office of the R.O.C.
4. Documents showing qualifications of the Taiwan guardian.
5. Letter of authorization from the parents or other legal representatives issued to the guardian in Taiwan duly notarized by an overseas representative office of the R.O.C.
6. Letter of consent from the guardian in Taiwan authenticated by a notary public in our country.
7. Other documents as required by individual educational institutions.
In the event that the Certificate of the highest degree or equivalent academic attainment documents issued by an overseas educational institution mentioned in Subparagraph 2 of the preceding paragraph are not issued by an overseas Taiwanese educational institution, the MOE "Regulations Regarding the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Academic Credentials for Institutions of Higher Education" guidelines shall be followed.
Article 18
The legal guardian in Taiwan who is addressed in the previous article, must be a national citizen of the Republic of China, and must submit a clean criminal record issued by the police department, as well as a tax report for the latest year, issued by the Revenue Service, indicating a total annual income of more than NT$900,000.
Those who meet the foregoing eligibility requirements may act as legal guardians; however, there is to be only one guardian for each international student.
Article 19
An international student who has legal residency status in Taiwan and wishes to apply for admission to senior high school, junior high school, or elementary school shall submit an application to a school near their domicile, accompanied by the documents listed below. After a screening test by the school and obtaining approval to register for admission, those international students shall be listed in a roster prepared by the school and sent it to the authorized government educational institutions for acknowledgement.
Required Documents:
1. Application form.
2. A photocopy of the student's Alien Residence Certificate or Permanent Residence Permit.
3. The highest-level certificate and transcript issued by an international education institution (these documents must be translated into Chinese or English), which must be authenticated by a Taiwan's overseas representative office. Applicants for the first grade, of the first semester, at elementary schools are not required to provide such documents, as mentioned above.
The certificate and the transcript issued by an international education institution as stipulated-above in Item 3, must be in accordance with the MOE-promulgated "Procedural Guidelines for Verification and Recognition of International Education Institutions," except for those issued by Taiwan's overseas educational institutions.
If an international student referred to in the first paragraph applies to a school that is unable to accept the application because of full enrollment, the student may apply to a authorized government educational institution for assignment to a school whose enrollment quota has yet to be reached.
According to the results from the screening process undergone by schools as referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article, These schools may allocate international students to either enroll or audit at an designated school. Auditing shall be limited to one year only. Students who are auditing and have passed their examinations will be granted enrollment status.
Article 20
International students admitted to educational institutions pursuant to Article 17, shall pay for their schooling fees in accordance with the standards specified by authorized government educational institutions, for tuition and miscellaneous fees, which are applicable for each individual level and program at private secondary educational institutions.
International students admitted to educational institutions pursuant to the previous article, shall pay for their schooling fees in accordance with the same standards that apply at their individual institutions.
Article 21
When registering with their intended institutions, new international students must attach medical and injury insurance policies, which they purchased in foreign countries, covering a valid period of no less than 4 months starting from the day when they entered Taiwan. Returning international students must attach policies regarding Taiwan national health insurance and other pertinent coverage plans.
The foregoing insurance policies purchased in foreign countries must be authenticated by a Taiwan's overseas representative office.
Article 22
In the event of suspension, expulsion, or change of status or dismissal of foreign students, the school should report to the office of the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Immigration Agency within the precincts the school is located and notify the Ministry of Education.
Article 23
Authorized government educational institutions may, if necessary, visit institutions that admit international students. If any public institutions are found in violation of the regulations herein, the presidents/schoolmasters and relevant staff shall be subject to penalty, pursuant to the pertinent laws and regulations. For those violating private institutions, authorized government educational institutions shall deal with this issue, pursuant to the Private School Act and relevant regulations.
Article 24
The application procedures, as well as scholarship, management and assistance, suspension, discontinuation, notification of a student's status change or revocation for international students who want to study language at the Mandarin training centers affiliated to universities/ colleges are applicable to Article 6 paragraph 1 item 1, item 3, item 4, Article 14, Article 15, Article 21 and Article 22.
Article 25
The document formats for Article 6 paragraph 1 item 1, Article 17 paragraph 1 item 1, and Article 19 paragraph 1 item 1 shall be set by the individual schools. The document formats for Article 17 paragraph 1 item 5 and item 6 shall be set by the Ministry .
Article 26
This Regulation shall be effective upon the date of promulgation.