Information page on the Retention of Foreign Intermediate Skilled Workforce Program

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For solving the problem of labor shortage in the domestic industrial sector, and keeping migrant workers with technical skills after working in Taiwan for certain period of time, and the foreign and overseas Chinese students educated in the schools of higher education in Taiwan conferred with associate bachelor degree and higher , the Executive Yuan has approved the “Keeping foreign mid-level technical workers scheme” (hereinafter, “Keeping good quality migrant workers for long-term employment” program)  on February 17 2022 thereby employers may apply for qualified migrant workers and foreign and overseas Chinese students for employment of technical works pursuant to subparagraph 11 of paragraph 1 under Article 46 of the Employment  Service Act, that “due to the specific nature of work that no qualified personnel is available in the country, which make it necessary to employ foreigners for performing this type of work, and at the special approval of the central competent authority”, on condition that the right of employment and salary conditions of the local population remained unaffected. 

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Employers can file an application if foreign nationals meet any of the following conditions: 

1. Foreign nationals (hereinafter, “foreign workers”) who have been employed to engage in work detailed in Subparagraphs 8-10, Paragraph 1, Article 46 of the Employment Service Act and worked for 6 consecutive years or more, or those who have worked for the same employer for an accumulated six years or more.
2. Migrant workers currently employed in Taiwan, who previously worked for 6 years or more in the country, left, returned and have accumulated a total of 11 years and 6 months or more working in Taiwan.
3. Migrant workers who have worked for a total of 11 years and 6 months or more in Taiwan but have left the country.
4. Foreign students, overseas Chinese students, and other ethnic Chinese students who graduated from schools of higher education in Taiwan and earned an associate bachelor degree or higher qualification.

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1. Employers can apply for foreign workers to be upgraded to intermediate skilled foreign worker status when the worker previously worked in Taiwan but left the country and has since returned and accumulated 6 consecutive years of work, has worked for the same employer for an accumulated 6 years, or has worked for an accumulated total of 11 years and 6 months or more in Taiwan.
2. In addition, only former employers of foreign workers who worked in Taiwan for a total of 11 years and 6 months or more but have since left the country, can apply for them to return to work in Taiwan as intermediate skilled foreign workers. However, when a foreign worker is engaged in live-in care work, employers, relatives of care recipients within three degrees of kinship and care recipients with no relatives in Taiwan, who meet the conditions detailed in Paragraph 5, Article 43 of the Regulations on the Permission and Administration of the Employment of Foreign Workers can also apply.

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Only a few categories of work are opened to foreign intermediate skilled workers like ocean fishing work, manufacturing work, slaughterhouse work, construction work (including public construction projects, major private sector construction projects and general construction work) outreach agricultural work, agricultural work (including food, forestry, animal husbandry, aquaculture and fisheries work), institutional care work and live-in care work.

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On October 15, 2023, the Ministry of Labor revised the intermediate skilled work law to open up intermediate skilled general construction work, intermediate skilled forestry, animal husbandry, aquaculture and fisheries work. In the future, if another key industry is designated by the central competent authority for the target industry and agreement reached with the Ministry of Labor, there will be ongoing discussion about designating it an industry open to intermediate skilled work.

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1. If a migrant worker returned to his home country to visit family during the period for which the employment permit is valid and was forced to remain overseas for a period due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic or other reason, but returns to Taiwan later, or in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 1, Article 59 of the Employment Service Act, and with the agreement of the MOL, transfers employer or work and is waiting for the transfer, the period for which the worker is employed to work in Taiwan will still be viewed as having been continuous and therefore allow an application to engage in intermediate skilled work.
2. Foreign workers who have worked for the same employer for an accumulated 6 years or longer are also eligible to apply, the six years do not have to be consecutive.

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No time limit in years.According to Article 52 of the Employment Service Act, employers may employ mid-level technical workers for up to 3 years. If the employers meet the condition, they may apply for renewal of the employment at the expiration of the previous term of employment. There is no limitation of how long this type of workers may work in Taiwan.

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According to Article 53 and Article 59 of the Employment Service Act, foreign mid-level technical workers may switch to another employer or job within the validity of the current employment permit for reasons that the foreign workers should not be held responsible. The procedure for mid-level technical workers in switching employer shall be the same as migrant workers switching employers currently in effect.