Slow start to applications for help under eased live-in caregiver rules

Taipei, Aug. 20 (CNA) A total of 1,450 applicants have requested live-in migrant caregivers under relaxed eligibility rules that went into effect on Aug. 1, Labor Minister Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said Wednesday before attending a meeting at the Legislative Yuan.

There have been 1,450 applicants under the amendment as of Aug. 17, and the number of applicants during the second week of the month doubled from the first week, Hung said.

Before the new rules took effect, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) forecast an increase of 100,000 applications for domestic caregivers, but that rush has yet to materialize.

Asked about this, Hung said applications recorded during the second week indicated that "demand is growing."

"Which direction it will take remains to be seen. The MOL, as the governing agency, will have accompanying measures in place in light of a rise in demand," Hung said.

Opposition lawmakers from the Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) in December 2024 pushed through bills to relax rules on recruiting migrant caregivers, allowing people aged 80 and older to hire migrant live-in caregivers without passing a Barthel Index assessment.

Additionally, the legal revision allowed people aged 70-79 who have been diagnosed with stage two or later-stage cancer to hire a live-in caregiver without passing the assessment.

Previously, anybody who wanted to hire a migrant caregiver to provide full-time care had to pass a Barthel Index assessment to prove they had the need, but people aged under 80 needed a lower score (showing they were more seriously ill) than those aged over 80 to qualify.

Based on the MOL estimates of new caregiver demand under the new rules, there were concerns the changes would make it harder or more expensive for severely ill people to get live-in help as caregivers opted to work for clients who were easier to care for.

There were also predictions of caregiver shortages because of the difficulty of recruiting and training so many new migrant workers.

The MOL has continued to say, however, that it will prioritize applicants with critical care needs when reviewing applications.