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Introduction to the Long-term Retention of Skilled Foreign Workers Program


To supplement industrial manpower, the Ministry officially implemented the "Long-Term Retention of Skilled Migrant Workers Program" on April 30, 2022. This program applies to industries currently employing migrant workers, including manufacturing, slaughtering, construction, agriculture, and long-term care. Employers can apply to transition experienced 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 personnel, provided they meet the specified wage and technical criteria. Foreign technical personnel face no limit on their years of work in Taiwan, enjoy salary increases, can further refine their skills, and are exempt from paying the Employment Stabilization Fee. Furthermore, after working for another 5 years, they can transition into the permanent residency system.


Foreign technical personnel continue to be covered by Labor Insurance and National Health Insurance. Those working in industries subject to the Labor Standards Act will also be eligible for the old labor retirement pension system upon their retirement in Taiwan. After employers apply to transition migrant workers into foreign technical personnel, they can retain the skilled talents they need based on demand. Once a migrant worker transitions into foreign technical personnel, their original migrant worker quota becomes vacant, allowing the employer to apply to recruit a new migrant worker. This increases the employer's overall foreign workforce and helps alleviate manpower demands.


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.


Press release: https://www.wda.gov.tw/News_Content.aspx?n=7F220D7E656BE749&sms=E9F640ECE968A7E1&s=B55C7B2F38FFE80D

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Detail :

Answer: 
Regular monthly salaries shall refer to the wages for employees for employment on a monthly basis, including the housing allowance, traveling, meals, utilities, bonus, and attendance reward released on a monthly basis, but excluding the compensation for overtime duties.

  • Release date :2023/04/07
  • Update date :2023/04/07

Detail :

Answer:
(1) Yes. In accordance with the provisions of the Labor Standards Act, workers and employers can agree to benefits in kind, but the value of those benefits must be negotiated by the two sides and a reasonable evaluation reached.
(2) In accordance with the provisions of the Regulations on the Permission and Administration of the Employment of Foreign Workers, when an employer pays a worker other than with salary related certified documents must be provided, with a copy handed to the foreign worker for safekeeping. As such, the labor contract must clearly stipulate that the two parties agree to the provision of board and lodging as payment in kind for part of the salary, with the total value of such payments also clearly indicated.

  • Release date :2023/04/07
  • Update date :2023/04/07

Detail :

Answer: 

Total monthly salary refers to the regular monthly salary paid by the employer to employees (including salary and monthly allowances), overtime pay and other occasional payments (year-end bonus, festival bonuses, employee bonuses, performance bonus etc).

  • Release date :2023/04/07
  • Update date :2023/05/30

Detail :

Answer:

Yes, the employer (original employer and new employer) is required to apply to the ministry 2 to 4 months before the expiration of the current employment permit, requesting that a foreign worker who will have worked continuously for 6 years or more or one who will have worked an accumulated 6 years or more for the same employer, at the end of the employment period, be redesignated an intermediate skilled worker with an intermediate skilled work employment permit issued when the original employment period ends. Moreover, prior to the ministry issuing an intermediate skilled employment permit, the foreign worker is not permitted to engage in Category 3 work for foreign nationals..

  • Release date :2023/04/11
  • Update date :2025/08/15

Detail :

Answer:
The quota for intermediate skilled foreign workers is based on the labor insurance number. It is calculated based on the average number of workers hired the year preceding the two-month period before the month in which the employer submits an application.

  • Release date :2023/04/11
  • Update date :2023/04/11

Detail :

Answer: 

Based on the provisions of Article 43 of the Regulations on the Permission and Administration of the Employment of Foreign Workers, an application for a foreign worker who is currently overseas but previously worked in Taiwan for a total of 11 years and six months or longer to engage in intermediate skilled work can only be filed by the original or subsequent employer. However, when an employer or relative within three degrees of kinship of the care recipient hires an intermediate skilled care worker, or the care recipient has no relatives in Taiwan, they meet the conditions detailed in Paragraph 5, Article 43 of the Regulations on the Permission and Administration of the Employment of Foreign Workers and can also file an application.

  • Release date :2023/04/11
  • Update date :2024/11/01