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Breakthrough for British youths on working holiday visas

Taiwan and the United Kingdom have reached a reciprocal agreement allowing people from their countries on working holiday visas to change their visas to work or student visas without having to exit each other's respective borders. This represents a partial resolution of an issue listed in the 2022 Position Paper of the ECCT’s Education committee. While it resolves the issue for British nationals, youths of other nationalities do not yet have the same option. The committee’s recommendation does not specify nationality and therefore implies that it should apply to nationals on holiday visas from all countries.

 

Under the agreement Taiwanese nationals who are currently in the UK under the Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) can, starting from 10 March, apply with the Home Office to have their working holiday visa changed to a work or student one before it expires, according to a statement from Taiwan's representative office in the UK. The options of a work visa, it explained, are the Skilled Worker visa, the Health and Care Worker visa, and the Intra-company Transfer visa.

 

In reciprocity, British youths who are in Taiwan on a working holiday programme can also enjoy the same treatment, without the need to exit Taiwan’s borders. The UK waived visa requirements for Taiwan in 2009 and has granted Taiwanese nationals aged 18 to 30 the right to apply to live and work in the country for up to two years via the YMS partnership since 2011.