New immigrants from Southeast Asia are one of the main groups living in Taiwan. To help them adapt to Taiwan's society, the Ministry of Education (MOE) not only provides abundant learning resources but works on simplifying the procedure of certificate recognition. Local governments are responsible for undertaking the recognition of elementary school certificates of completion so that new immigrants don't need to go back to their mother countries to apply for certificate recognition. The simplified procedure of certificate recognition also saves their time and raises their willingness to seek jobs or higher education.
According to the statistics done by the National Immigration Agency (NIA), around 86% of new immigrants are from Southeast Asia, and most of their education is at primary school and middle school levels. After coming to Taiwan, they were usually willing to seek further education; however, due to the then restrictions, they had to return to Taiwan's offices in their native countries to apply for certificate recognition. The time-consuming and costly procedure gradually decreased their willingness to apply for it.
Based on new immigrants' rights guaranteed by the government, the Ministry of Education invited local governments, experts, and relevant departments to discuss a relaxation of certificate recognition. Applicants only need to provide primary school certificates and affidavits for local governments to recognize. Also, the K-12 Education Administration of the MOE has commissioned the Department of Southeast Asian Studies of the National Chi Nan University to assist local governments' education departments to undertake new immigrants' certificate certification.
The K-12 Education Administration stated that new immigrants have continued to change Taiwan's population structure and challenged the education system. The simplified procedure makes it easy for new immigrants to apply for certificate certification and live and work in peace in Taiwan.
