The government is addressing the labor shortage for national development in Taiwan by recruiting workers from overseas, the National Development Council said, May 19.
According to the NDC, declining birth rates and an aging population are posing an unprecedented threat to labor resources. Coupled with increasingly fierce global competition for top professionals, the labor shortage and exodus of those of working age from Taiwan will continue to compound staff shortages in various industries if left unaddressed, the agency added.
A major initiative to tackle this challenge is the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals launched in 2018 to enhance national competitiveness. The legislation enacts laws and provisions to help recruit, relocate and retain foreign labor permanently in the country.
Following this legislation, the NDC set up the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office in Taipei in 2020 and Talent Taiwan in 2023 and its southern branch office the following year. These initiatives integrate public resources and provide one-stop services to foreign nationals wanting to work in Taiwan, such as visa applications and information on employment and tax issues.
Another program is the digital nomad visa launched in January this year that allows qualified digital professionals to stay in Taiwan for up to six months. The project’s initial stage attracted nearly 1,000 digital nomads to the southern city of Tainan and the southeastern county of Taitung, the NDC said, adding that the southern port city of Kaohsiung and central county of Chiayi will be included in the future.
The NDC said further legislative amendments are in the pipeline to make Taiwan an even more friendly working destination for people from around the world. These include allowing foreign professionals’ spouses to seek employment in Taiwan, extending the stay for digital nomads to two years, shortening the time for qualified foreign nationals to obtain permanent residency to one year and providing more social security protection. (SFC-E)
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