Taiwan to extend paid marriage leave to 14 days, including some foreign workers

Taipei, Sept. 17 (CNA) Taiwan will extend paid marriage leave for workers from eight to 14 days starting Oct. 1, with foreign workers covered by the Labor Standards Act also eligible, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Thursday.

The change was proposed Thursday through amendments to the Regulations of Leave-Taking of Workers, which will undergo a seven-day public notice period, Huang Chi-ya (黃琦雅), head of MOL's Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, told a news conference in Taipei.

"For the additional days, from the ninth to the 14th day, employers are still required by law to pay wages," Huang said. "But after making the payments, they can apply to the government for subsidies."

The new rules are expected to take effect Oct. 1 after the public notice period, with details of the wage subsidy to be announced at the same time, she said.

Huang said the expanded leave would apply equally to Taiwanese and foreign nationals as long as they are covered by the Labor Standards Act.

That means foreign nationals working in Taiwan, including white-collar workers and migrant workers in sectors such as manufacturing who are covered by the act, would also be entitled to the 14 days of paid marriage leave.

Migrant domestic helpers and live-in caregivers would not be eligible because they are not covered by the Labor Standards Act.

Asked after the news conference why foreign workers were included in a policy introduced as part of the government's efforts to address Taiwan's low birth rate, Huang said the ministry also had to take "basic human rights principles" into account.

"Although our policy goal is to address the low birth rate, we won't create discriminatory differences in labor laws between local and foreign workers because of that," Huang said.

The measure is part of the government's broader family-support policy announced in May, which also includes plans to extend maternity and paternity leave.

Data from the Ministry of the Interior showed that Taiwan's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime, fell to 0.695 in 2025, among the lowest in the world.

The number of births also fell for a 10th consecutive year to a record-low 107,812.

According to the MOL, workers can take paid marriage leave in the 10 days before they register their marriage if they provide "relevant supporting documents," such as a wedding invitation.

All 14 days of leave must be taken within two months and 20 days of registering a marriage, although this can be extended to a year at an employer's discretion.

Workers who registered their marriage before Oct. 1 may also qualify for the expanded leave if their eligible leave period extends beyond that date and they have not used all eight days of their existing entitlement, Huang said.