Vietnamese Students in Taiwan: Work-Study Programs and What to Verify First

What industry-academia work-study programs are

Taiwan's New Southbound Policy International Programs of Industry-Academia Collaboration combine classroom study at a Taiwanese university or technical college with a paid internship at a partner company, often in manufacturing, electronics or the semiconductor supply chain. The pitch is straightforward: pay for part of your study through work, and graduate with both a degree and industry experience. For many Vietnamese students the program is exactly that. For others, it has not worked out that way.

What went wrong at some universities

Taiwan's Ministry of Education found that overseas students at three institutions, University of Kang Ning, Yu Da University of Science and Technology, and Chienkuo Technology University, were exploited under the labour of these work-study placements. The ministry banned all three from recruiting overseas students, placed two under direct surveillance, and referred evidence to prosecutors for possible human trafficking charges, according to the Ministry of Education's own statement on the cases .

A separate investigation by Taiwan's National Human Rights Commission, reported by Taiwan News , found that some schools worked with labor brokers to bring in students under conditions the commission described as disguised labor importation, including brokerage fees, passport confiscation and low-wage factory work in poor conditions. Students from Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Uganda were affected. The Control Yuan, Taiwan's government oversight body, found that at least one Vietnamese student on a New Southbound Policy work-study placement died during an internship, and that the education ministry had essentially no requirements in place for vetting off-campus internship placements at the time.

The safeguards now in place

Following these cases, the Ministry of Education tightened rules for all industry-academia programs. Combined internship and part-time work hours may not exceed 40 hours a week. Internship allowances and wages must go directly into the student's own bank account rather than being handled in cash by the school or employer. Companies are prohibited from withholding a student's tuition fees as a condition of employment. The ministry also runs regular on-site inspections of both the teaching and the workplace side of these programs, and operates the NISA (National Immigration Service Assistance) Inquiry Service, with a dedicated hotline at 0800-789-007, a webpage, email contact, and regional meetings connecting students directly with government agencies.

What to verify before you sign up

Before agreeing to any industry-academia work-study offer, check the following:

• Confirm the university is not currently under an overseas recruitment ban or ministry surveillance, which the Ministry of Education publishes when action is taken.

• Get the internship contract in writing, in a language you fully understand, before you travel, and keep a copy.

• Confirm your combined class and work hours will not exceed 40 hours a week, and ask how the school monitors this.

• Confirm wages will be paid directly to your own bank account, not routed through the school, an agent or the employer.

• Never hand your passport to a school, agent or employer for safekeeping. Keep it yourself at all times.

• Save the NISA hotline number, 0800-789-007, before you leave Vietnam, along with the contact details for the Vietnamese representative office in Taiwan.

None of this means avoid work-study programs altogether. Most Vietnamese students on these programs complete their studies without incident, and a well-run placement genuinely does offset living costs while building work experience. The difference between a well-run program and an exploitative one usually shows up in the details above before you ever board a flight, which is why checking them in advance matters more than checking a university's reputation in general terms.