Legal revisions targeted at attracting foreign talent take effect

Taipei, Oct. 25 (CNA) Revised regulations on work, residence and tax concessions designed to attract foreign professionals to live and work and Taiwan took effect Monday, according to the National Development Council (NDC).

The amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, passed in June 2021, in part expand the definition of professional fields and occupations eligible for the incentives.

Beyond the eight professional fields covered in the original act, it now includes national defense and other fields identified by competent authorities, and additional occupations include teachers for children of foreign professionals and experimental education.

In terms of benefits for foreign nationals working in Taiwan, the revisions will allow professionals in a specialized or technical field with a master's degree or above or who have graduated from a top college to no longer need two years of outside work experience to work in Taiwan, except where restricted by law.

The changes will also shorten the time foreign professionals need to get permanent residency to three years from the previous five years, and those three years can be further reduced if a person spends 1-2 years in Taiwan studying for a master's or Ph.D. degree.

In terms of optimizing social protections and tax concessions, the revisions allow tax deductions for foreign special professionals to be extended from three to five years.

It also allows professionals who are employers or business owners and their dependents to be covered immediately by Taiwan's national health insurance system and have the typical six-month waiting period waived.

Information related to the Act, its sub-laws and complementary measures are available on the following websites, https://foreigntalentact.ndc.gov.tw and https://goldcard.nat.gov.tw.