The National Youth Commission said yesterday that when Canada begins accepting work-holiday applications on July 1, young Taiwanese planning to travel to Canada would be able to apply for loans of up to NT$120,000 to help finance their trips.
“We only accept applicants going to New Zealand, Australia and Japan, but we will change the regulations to include Canada in the near future,” Alice Chang, section chief of the commission, told Central News Agency by telephone.
Canada inked a working-holiday agreement with Taiwan in April, permitting young people to travel and work in the two countries, she said. Taiwanese and Canadians aged between 18 and 35 who meet the requirements would be allowed to work while traveling in each other’s countries on multi-entry visas valid for up to one year.
“Canada became the fourth country to sign a working-holiday agreement with Taiwan, after Japan, New Zealand and Australia,” Chang said.
A unique aspect of the Taiwan-Canada arrangement is the age requirement, Chang said. The other three countries stipulate applicants be between 18 and 30.
In the early stages, however, Canada will only provide 200 such visas a year. Japan currently accepts up to 2,000 applications annually, while New Zealand’s quota is 600. Australia accepted more than 10,000 last year.
The commission held a seminar last week to inform young people of their options, inviting an official from the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei to explain the procedures to them.
“Many young people attended the seminar and they were happy to have an opportunity to enhance their views and experiences,” Chang said.
At the seminar, the official reminded applicants to present applications starting on July 1.
“The office will only accept applications postmarked July 1 or after,” Chang said, adding that detailed information could be found on the Canadian Trade Office Web site.
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