Residency Requirements for Foreign Professionals eased by Legislative Yuan

Aiming to bolster the scope of recruitment for overseas talents, the legislative yuan(行政院) has recently green lit the amendment to the “Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals” after the third reading. The Ministry of Education (MOE/教育部) announced that graduates of world’s top 500 universities would not require 2 years of industry experience in order to hold specialized or technical positions within Taiwan. Additionally, National Security has been added to the preexisting list of specialized expertise for foreign specialist personnel. Moreover, the amendment has eased the conditions required for permanent residency, especially those that concerns dependents.

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The Act has explicitly stated that: foreign specialists who 1) are legally employed, 2) resided continuously for 5 years, 3) averaged 183 days of residency per annum, and 4) meets the four requirements, are applicable for permanent residency. The four  requirements include, but are not limited to, 1) of legal age, 2) of good behavior, 3) of no outstanding criminal charges, and 4) of appropriate skill or proof of property.

The Act has been amended to specify that: foreign professionals, foreign specialist personnel, and foreign upper-level professionals working in Taiwan, meeting either of the following conditions, are exempt from necessitating work permits. Such conditions include 1) consultants and researchers employed by any level of government and subsidiary research institutions, and 2) professors and researchers as employed by any public or private educational institutions, as approved by the MOE.

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Regarding family members, the amendment has also detailed that dependents of foreign professionals, foreign specialist personnel, and foreign upper-level professionals, with permanent residency, are legally allowed to work in Taiwan without a work visa.