The Education Ministry offers various educational opportunities for foreign spouses and immigrants to support social integration and enhance career prospects. These include adult basic education programs, supplementary schools, and access to undergraduate studies at the National Open University (NOU).
Department of Lifelong Education’s Adult and Community Education Section head Tsai Chung-wu (蔡忠武) said the Education Ministry subsidizes local governments to run adult basic education programs aimed at improving literacy and math skills among school dropouts and foreign spouses.
Under Taiwan’s Nationality Act, foreign spouses must acquire basic legal knowledge and language proficiency to become naturalized citizens, and these requirements can be met through these programs.
Foreign spouses and immigrants may also obtain a primary education diploma by attending supplementary schools, which follow the same curriculum and use the same textbooks as regular primary schools. Taiwanese nationals and Alien Residency Card holders aged 15 and above are eligible to enroll.
For those seeking higher education, Tsai encourages enrollment at the NOU, which requires no entrance exam. The university offers flexible learning and affordable tuition: NT$300 (US$10) for registration per semester and NT$940 (US$31) per credit. A total of 128 credits is required for an undergraduate degree, with no time limit for graduation. As of the current academic year, more than 400 foreign nationals are enrolled at NOU.