The education ministry says it has verified the school diplomas of every new immigrant that applied last year. Officials say that’s thanks to a recent push to simplify the verification process.

So-called new immigrants are people who have immigrated and settled in Taiwan in the last few decades. Most of these immigrants come as spouses of Taiwanese citizens. In 2019, Taiwan was home to 570,000 new immigrants, making up 2.4% of the population.

To make it easier for new immigrants to get their primary and secondary school diplomas recognized, the education ministry began simplifying the process in 2016. Now, immigrants only need to bring their diplomas and write a sworn statement saying that the document is genuine. 

In the past, each diploma had to be verified by the Taiwanese representative office in the country where the applicant was born.

The education ministry says all of the 59 immigrants that applied in 2021 received certification. The ministry says that’s down to effective public messaging and a deep concern for the education of immigrants and their children.