The National Development Council and Ministries of Labor and the Interior staged a briefing Jan. 13 in Taipei City to outline amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals.
According to the NDC, around 190 individuals took part in the event, including guests from foreign embassies, representative offices and business associations in Taiwan, as well as representatives from the local academic and business sectors.
NDC Deputy Minister Jan Fang-guan said that in addition to undergoing a major demographic shift, Taiwan requires a tremendous number of professionals to meet the growing needs of the domestic artificial intelligence and net-zero emission sectors.
Targeting high-caliber foreign professionals and international students who have obtained a degree in Taiwan, the amendments seek to ease regulations governing employment and residency while providing more social security protections, he added.
Under the amendments, which took effect Jan. 1, those with an associate degree or above can seek employment during an extended stay; those who graduated from one of the world’s top 1,500 universities are no longer required to have two years of work experience to seek employment; those with a degree from the world’s top 200 universities can apply for an open work permit; and qualified foreign professionals can apply for their spouses to also work in Taiwan.
At the same time, top-tier talent, such as individuals whose annual incomes exceed NT$6 million (US$189,537), can apply for permanent residency after living in Taiwan for one year. Foreign professionals without permanent residency can now enroll in Taiwan’s labor pension system, while those with permanent residency are eligible for unemployment benefits.
The event also featured a session on the International Talent Taiwan Office, which offers one-stop services for those interested in working in Taiwan. The NDC said it will continue to work with related agencies to promote bilingual banking services, rental arrangements and other services to attract professionals from around the world. (SFC-E)
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