The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Thursday said it had approved the visas of 19 Ukrainians wishing to visit relatives in Taiwan under a special waiver program launched in March.

Taiwan launched the program offering certain Ukrainian nationals visas of between 30 days and six months on March 11 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to the latest figures from the United Nations, the invasion has already created 4.5 million refugees.

As of Thursday, the ministry has granted visa applications to 19 Ukrainians who have relatives in Taiwan who were either Taiwan nationals or held local residency, Chou Chung-hsiung (???), deputy director-general of MOFA’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, told CNA.

These applications were made at Taiwan’s representative offices in Poland, Latvia, Turkey, and other countries near Ukraine, he added.

Aside from the 19 who were granted short-term stays in Taiwan under the special scheme, another 47 Ukrainians have also been recently granted business visas, he added.

Currently, there are over 200 Ukrainians with residency in Taiwan.

Taiwan’s government also announced last month that it was considering allowing Ukrainian students and scholars to come to Taiwan for temporary stays.

In line with government policy, Taiwan’s top research institute, Academia Sinica, launched a scholarship program for Ukrainian students and scholars in mid-March.

As of April 16, Academia Sinica has already approved the scholarship applications of 12 Ukrainians from 165 applicants to study for undergraduate, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in Taiwan.

According to Academia Sinica, some of the students have already arrived in Taiwan while others will be arriving in batches soon.

Academia Sinica is also in the process of selecting 15 scholars from among 42 applicants to come to Taiwan under the same program, it added.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel