The Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Austria Republic completed the signing of a joint declaration on a youth working holiday program on 18 Nov. 2014. The program is formally launched on 26 Jan. 2015 .
Following in the footsteps of Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, Austria is the 8th European nation to implement a working holiday scheme with the Republic of China, and the 13th worldwide. These schemes have taken the form of an agreement, a memorandum, or a joint declaration. Under the terms of this scheme, Taiwan and Austria will each provide an annual quota of 75 visas for people between the ages of 18 and 30. For Republic of China citizens, Austrian working holiday visas allowing for stays of 1 year will be made available, while for Austrian citizens, working holiday visas for stays of 12 months will be granted. This will enable program participants to visit the partner country to study language through tourism, short-term employment, or privately funded short-term study, thus allowing them to build friendships as well as gain an in-depth understanding of the culture, customs, society, and lifestyle of the host country. The youth working holiday program is an ROC overseas cooperation project meant to boost international youth exchanges and help the nation’s young people foster an international perspective. The working holiday program will all further upgrade bilateral tourism, culture, and trade exchanges. Taiwan and Austria enjoy a friendly, close relationship. Bilateral exchanges on a variety of fronts are flourishing. The launch of the working holiday program mentioned above show that both sides have a consensus on and the willingness to strengthen bilateral cooperation on youth exchanges. Taiwan and Austria will continue to promote and strengthen various substantive exchanges and cooperation on the solid foundation that has been laid..
