Taipei, May 23 (CNA) The Ministry of Education announced Tuesday that it will lift restrictions on dual nationality exchange students in August by excluding any time they spend in exchange programs from their annual maximum stay of 120 days.
The new amendments, introduced to the Act Governing International Students' Study in Taiwan, will allow any time spent studying in Taiwan by students with dual nationality to be excluded from the 120 days annual maximum for such individuals.
Under the current regulations, students with dual nationality who are holders of Taiwanese passports must leave the country after 120 days.
Students with dual nationality are defined as holders of both Taiwanese and foreign passports who have lived abroad continuously for over six years and do not have household registration in Taiwan, said an official with the ministry's Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations.
These students might have a Taiwanese parent but have lived abroad for most of their lives, the official added.
A person with household registry in Taiwan is considered to be a citizen. The new rule was introduced to prevent children who reside in Taiwan but who hold foreign passports to apply for further study under the act, the official added.
Other changes introduced include permitting Chinese students who have never applied for household registration, and Hong Kong or Macau citizens who are holders of foreign passports, to study in Taiwan as exchange students.
Hong Kong and Macau exchange students who hold foreign passports are not allowed to study in Taiwan under current regulations.
The Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations said the changes will encourage more foreign students, including those from Hong Kong and Macau, to study in Taiwan and will enable them to pursue higher education in Taiwan.
The changes are being implemented as part of a government plan to promote the internationalization of higher education and expand the acceptance of foreign students.
(By Hsu Chih-wei and C.J. Lin)
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