Taiwan and South Korea have revised the age range in their bilateral working holiday agreement, allowing applications from people up to the age of 34, with effect from next year, a senior Taiwanese official said Thursday.
The decision was reached in August, and the required administrative changes were finalized late last month by the relative government agencies on both sides, Peter Lan (藍夏禮), head of the Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs in Taiwan's foreign ministry, said at a news briefing.
When the revision takes effect next year, the working holiday programs in each country will be expanded to include applicants 17-34 years old, raising the upper age limit from the current 30, Lan said.
The reciprocal working holiday agreement between Taiwan and South Korea was signed in 2010 and took effect in January the following year. It began with a visa quota of 400 per year on each side, but that has since increased to 800 due to high demand, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Currently, the program is open to Taiwanese and South Korean applicants aged 17-30 and is valid for 12 months, providing opportunities to work in a range of fields for up to 1,300 hours during the one-year period.
