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    Information page on the Retention of Foreign Intermediate Skilled Workforce Program

Information page on the Retention of Foreign Intermediate Skilled Workforce Program

Transnational Technical Workforce Enhancement Program


To further strengthen the retention and recruitment of foreign technical personnel required by industries, the Ministry launched the "Transnational Technical Workforce Enhancement Program" on January 1, 2026. This program encompasses three major measures: "relaxing the ceiling on the retention of foreign technical personnel," "introducing foreign technical personnel for the hospitality and commercial port/wharf cargo handling and warehousing industries," and "enhancing government efficiency."


1. Relaxing the ceiling on the retention of foreign technical personnel: For migrant workers who qualify to transition into foreign technical personnel, employers may now apply to retain all of them, with the allocation ratio relaxed from 25% to 100%.


2. Introducing foreign technical personnel from overseas for specific industries: Employers in the hospitality and commercial port/wharf industries who raise the wages of local workers by NT$2,000 are permitted to recruit and employ foreign technical personnel from overseas who possess specified academic and work experience, language proficiency, and technical skills to work in Taiwan.


3. Enhancing government efficiency: Establishing overseas offices to handle the recruitment, skill testing, and entry assistance for foreign technical personnel, and collaborating with source country governments to jointly promote direct hiring and skills training initiatives.


To optimize workforce deployment and retain outstanding technical talent, the Ministry has promulgated the "Regulations Governing the Qualifications and Working Permits of Foreign Technical Workers," which will take effect on January 1, 2026. Applicable to industries currently employing migrant workers—including manufacturing, slaughtering, construction, agriculture, and long-term care—employers may apply to transition senior migrant workers who have worked in Taiwan for 6 years or more, or overseas Chinese and foreign students who have obtained an associate degree or higher in Taiwan, into foreign technical workers, provided they meet the required salary and technical skill qualifications. Foreign technical workers face no limit on their duration of stay in Taiwan, enjoy higher wages, refine their technical skills, and are exempt from paying employment stability fees. Furthermore, after working for an additional 5 years, they become eligible to transition into the permanent residence system.


Foreign technical workers continue to be covered by Labor Insurance and National Health Insurance. Those in industries covered by the Labor Standards Act are also eligible for the old labor pension scheme upon retirement in Taiwan. After employers successfully transition migrant workers into foreign technical workers, they can retain experienced talent tailored to their operational needs. The original migrant worker quotas freed up by this transition can then be used to apply for new migrant workers, thereby increasing overall foreign manpower and helping alleviate labor shortages.

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Detail ：

The regular monthly salary is higher than NT$33,000, or the total annual salary is more than NT$500,000. Regular monthly salary is higher than NT$30,000 for the initial employment of foreign students, overseas Compatriot students or other ethnic Chinese students who graduated from schools of higher education and earned the associate bachelor degrees in Taiwan, and the salary level resumed to NT$33,000 for renewed employment.

  • Release date ：2022/06/15
  • Update date ：2022/06/15

Detail ：

Satisfy any of the following requirements: 
1. Training programs: passed the fishing vessel managerial staff training program (2nd class chief engineer training for 80 hours) with the issuance of completion certificate. 
2. Confirmation of practical work: The employers shall present the document for proof of conforming to the requirement of mid-level technical skill of the migrant workers (including the certification documents and video showing the performance of work) and petition with the Council of Agriculture in conformity to requirements and review mechanisms recognized by the Council of Agriculture. 

Foreigners who earned regular salary of more than NT$35,000 are free from the technical skill requirements.

  • Release date ：2022/06/15
  • Update date ：2022/06/15

Detail ：

1. Foreign students, overseas Compatriot students, or other ethnic Chinese students who have graduated from the schools of higher education in Taiwan and earned the associate bachelor degrees, and meet the salary requirement and technical requirement of mid-level human resources. 
2. Those who have been employed in Taiwan for 6 consecutive years with no record of law violation, and meet the salary requirement and technical requirement of mid-level human resources. 
3. Migrant workers who have been working for more than 6 years cumulatively and departed, and then return to Taiwan for employment whose years of seniority meet the requirement of the duration of employment pursuant to Article 52 of the Employment and Service Act (14 years for home nursing care personnel, and 12 years for all other industries), and who meet the salary requirement and technical requirement of mid-level human resources. 
4. Migrant workers who have been working in Taiwan for more than 12 years cumulatively and have no record of law violation and then departed, but meet the salary requirement and technical requirement of mid-level human resources.

  • Release date ：2022/06/15
  • Update date ：2022/06/15

Detail ：

1. Fishing vessels: crew members are limited to the approved number as stated in the fishing license net of the minimum number of crew members for sailing (if the number of crew members in sailing is higher than the minimum number of crew members in sailing, give the number of crew members) and then multiplied by 25%. 
2. Net-pen cage fish culture: 1 employee for each 1/2 hectare on the basis of the fishing area approved in the fishery right license or fish culture certificate. With the addition of the number of persons as stated in subparagraphs 1, 8, and 11 of paragraph 1 under Article 46 of the Employment and Service Act, no more than 50% of the total number of employees of the employer. 

  • Release date ：2022/06/15
  • Update date ：2022/06/15

Detail ：

Employers shall meet any of the following requirements: 
1. Fisherman in possession of fishing vessel of at least 20 tons and with the issuance of fishing license by the competent authority administering the function. 
2. Fisherman in possession of powered fishing vessel of less than 20 tons and with the issuance of fishing license by the competent authority administering the function. 
3. Holders of fishing license issued by the competent authority administering the function for operation in net-pen cage fish culture zone, or the certificate for proof of proprietorship of the exclusive fishery right in net-pen cage fish culture.

  • Release date ：2022/06/15
  • Update date ：2022/06/15