The number of people moving from Hong Kong and Macau to Taiwan and registering residency here increased 15 percent last year to 11,009, with many of them settling in Taipei or New Taipei City, property brokers said on Tuesday.
Citing Ministry of the Interior statistics, Great Home Realty Co (大家房屋) lead researcher Mandy Lang (郎美囡) said that 2,774 of them live in New Taipei City and 2,418 in Taipei.
The region has similar languages and cultural backgrounds, as well as shared eating habits, making such relocations easier, Lang said.
People have come from Hong Kong and Macau to study and work for many years, and pro-democracy activities in Hong Kong last year have added to the trend, she said.
New Taipei City topped the list of areas to settle in, followed by Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Tainan, likely due to the local job market, Lang said.
Average home prices are NT$315,000 per ping (3.3m2) in New Taipei City, lower than Taipei’s NT$597,000 per ping, but higher than the national average of NT$247,000 per ping, a brokers’ tally showed.
Average home prices are NT$174,000 in Taoyuan, NT$181,000 in Taichung, NT$132,000 in Tainan and NT$167,000 in Kaohsiung, the brokers’ data showed.
The National Health Insurance’s coverage is another draw factor, Lang said.
Taiwan has lower immigration thresholds for people from Hong Kong and Macau than for people from other nations, H&B Realty Co (住商不動產) said.
Investment immigration requirements are NT$6 million for people from the two Chinese territories, much lower than NT$15 million for other nationalities, H&B said.
They can also seek to live in Taiwan as dependents of locals or as professionals, it said.
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