BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Residents of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are allowed to sign up and sit teaching qualification exams for primary and middle school teachers in the Chinese mainland, according to the website of the Ministry of Education (MOE) Thursday.

They are also allowed to apply for teaching qualifications of kindergarten or secondary vocational school teachers, said the website, quoting a circular jointly issued by the general office of the MOE as well as two departments under the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.

The circular said the applicants should meet the educational background requirements stipulated in the country's Teachers Law, and there are also requirements regarding their standard Mandarin Chinese proficiency.

Applicants from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are required to hold residence or travel permits to the mainland.

Other conditions, procedures and materials needed for primary and middle school teaching qualifications are the same as those for mainland applicants, it added.