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FAQ - Work and Education History, Status, Nationality

  • Q1: What are the education and/or work experience requirements for foreigners hired to work in Taiwan?

    Foreigners hired to perform specialized or technical jobs shall meet one of the following requirements: 
    1. Being a certificate holder or licensed practitioner as stipulated in the Professional and Technical Examinations Act.
    2. Possessing a credentials of master’s degree or above or a bachelor's degree in a related field and having at least 2 years of relevant work experience.
    3. Having at least one year of experience serving in a transnational company and is appointed to work in the Republic of China.
    4. Being professionally trained or self-taught with at least 5 years of relevant experience and has innovative views and special performance.

     

  • Q2: Are foreigners with a bachelor degree required to have at least two years of relevant work experience?

    I. Currently, only foreigners who engage in the specialized or technical jobs specified under Article 46.1.1 of the Employment Services Act are required to have at least two years of relevant work experience and a bachelor’s degree (foreigners with a master’s degree are exempted from work experience requirements). As for those who engaged in jobs specified under Articles 46.1.2 to 46.1.6, work experience is not required.

     

    II.Foreigners holding a bachelor's degree or above and engaging in professional or specialized work, may be exempted from the work experience requirement if they meet one of the following qualifications: 
    1. Students who have graduated from a university or college in the Republic of China with an associate degree in subjects related to manufacturing, construction, agriculture, long-term care, or e-commerce.
    2. Approved by Article 6 of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals. A foreigner who has obtained a master’s or higher degree from a domestic or foreign university, or who has obtained a bachelor’s or higher degree from one of the world’s top universities as announced by the Ministry of Education, need not have a specified period of work experience as a prerequisite for being employed in the State to engage in specialized or technical work as referred to in Article 46 .1.1 of the Employment Service Act, provided that they have obtained the requisite qualifications for engaging in such work, comply with the specified methods and conditions for engaging in such work, and comply with relevant laws and regulations prescribed by the central competent authority of the industry concerned.
    3.Approved by the Consultation mechanism: Approved by the qualification of III or project consultation
    Project Consultation :Employers who hire foreign professionals, he/she is required to submit applicable evidence. The employer is also expected to elaborate on why the skills of the foreign talent(s) are hard to acquire in Taiwan. The MOL will file the papers or call for a meeting by the relevant departments to hold the conference. After a meeting or having gathered feedback from relevant departments, the MOL will evaluate if the foreign professional(s) meets the conditions as specified in #3 of the above-mentioned "Conditions required to hold a conference" for the purpose of assisting the business in recruiting international talents to undertake specialized or technical work and being exempted from the working experience requirement.


    III. To cope with the needs of businesses, a foreigner with a  bachelor’s degree who is hired to perform specialized or technical jobs as specified under Article 46.1.1 of the Employment Services Act in the Republic of China may be exempted from the work experience requirement if the employer meets one of the following requirements:
    1. The employer has a Letter of Certification for Business Scope of Headquarters or a Letter of Approval for Domestic and Foreign Enterprises to Establish R&D Centers in R.O.C. ,or a certificate of IPO award with one year validity starting from the  date  after the receipt of an award issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, or works for one of the 11 technical services enterprises listed in Table 10 under Article 5.1 of the Regulations for Encouraging Manufacturing Enterprises and Technical Service Enterprises in Newly Emerging, Important, and Strategic Industries.
    2. The business is located in a science park and the foreigner to be hired will provide designs needed to produce goods or labor, improve industry technology or research development, perform management tasks and related studies, or promote business and conduct market surveys in other foreign regions that use special languages.
    3. Business entities that comply with the definition of "startup with innovation capability".
    4. Public national secondary schools or public national primary schools employ foreigners to work as English teaching assistants.

  • Q3: Can work experience obtained while in school be applied to meet the work experience requirement in an employment permit application?

    Bachelor’s degrees require more than two years of work experience in a specific field work experience shall be  accumulated from work performed after graduation.

  • Q4: Are foreigners with dual nationalities (Republic of China and one other citizenship) required to apply for a work permit?

    According to Article 79 of the Employment Services Act, a citizen of the Republic of China who has obtained citizenship of another country and does not have a household registration in the Republic of China shall be subject to the same rules for foreigners and required to apply for a work permit.

  • Q5: If a citizen of Republic of China does not have a household registration in the Republic of China, is he/she still required to apply for a work permit?

    According to Article 79 of the Employment Services Act, citizens of the Republic of China who do not have a household in the Republic of China are not required to apply for work permits.

  • Q6: Can one who was born in Mainland China but has obtained citizenship of another country apply for a work permit when hired to work in Taiwan?

    A citizen of Mainland China who has obtained citizenship of another country and lived in a country outside Mainland China for 4 years or more shall apply for a work permit by following the same rules for foreigners.

  • Q7: How does one who was born in Mainland China but has been living in another country but has not obtained citizenship of this country apply for a work permit when hired to work in Taiwan?

    A citizen of Mainland China who has been living overseas but has not obtained citizenship of this other country is still a citizen of Mainland China and shall be subject to the Act Governing Relations Between The People Of The Taiwan Area And The Mainland Area. At present, citizens of Mainland China are not allowed to work in Taiwan.

  • Q8: Who are foreign professionals? Do they include residents of Mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau?

    1. Foreign professionals are foreigners employed for the following jobs:

    (1) Special Professions or Technical Assignments

    (2) The director or manager of an approved business invested or established by overseas Chinese or foreigner(s)

    (3) School teacher

    (4) Full-time Foreign Teacher in Cram School

    (5) Sports Coach or Athlete

    (6) Arts and Performing Arts

    (7) Crew member of a commerce ship, working ship or other specialized ships authorized by the Ministry of Transportation & Communications.

    2. At present, citizens of Mainland China are not allowed to work in Taiwan. As for citizens of Hong Kong or Macau, please refer to Q9 below.

  • Q9: How does a resident of Hong Kong or Macau apply for a work permit?

    1."Hong Kong Residents" refers to persons who qualify for permanent residency in Hong Kong and who do not hold a travel document other than a British (Overseas) passport or a Hong Kong passport.
    2."Macau Residents" refers to those who have the right of permanent residency in Macau and hold no travel documents other than the Macau passport; or those who do hold a Portuguese passport but obtained the document in Macau prior to the end of Portuguese rule.
    3. A Hong Kong or Macau resident working in the Republic of China shall be subject to the rules applicable for foreign workers.
    4.Hong Kong or Macau Residents who obtained the status of overseas Chinese prior to the end of British or Portuguese rule, as the case may be, and those of their spouses and children who meet the requirements for obtaining Republic of China nationality, may apply for work permits from the Ministry of Labor by following the Management and Approval Regulations for Hong Kong and Macau Residents with Overseas Chinese I.D..

  • Q10: Are overseas Chinese who return to the Republic of China to undertake employment required to apply for work permits?
    An overseas Chinese who has not obtained citizenship of the Republic of China is still a citizen of a foreign country and shall apply for a work permit by following the same rules for foreigners.
  • Q11: Who is qualified as someone that has at least one year of experience serving in a multi-national company and is appointed to work in the Republic of China?

    Ⅰ. Refer to an order issued by the Ministry of Labor on July 2, 2018. A multi-national company refers to a company that establishes subsidiaries or branches in two or more countries, which are under effective control and subject to overall strategies of the parent company or the company in order to conduct production or business activities across borders. The parent company or the company is located abroad, in Hong Kong or Macau, and has a subsidiary or branch in the Republic of China, or the parent company is located in the Republic of China and the economic entity meets one of the following requirements:

    1. Has at least US$2 billion in total global assets in the year prior to the application.
    2. Has a Letter of Certification for Business Scope of Headquarters issued by the Industrial Development Bureau, MOEA.
    3. Has at least 100 employees in the Republic of China and at least 50 of the employees have a college degree.
    4. Has at least NT$1 billion in annual net sales in the Republic of China.
    5. Has at least NT$1.5 billion in annual regional net sales.
    6. Other companies approved on a case-by-case basis by the central competent authority in collaboration with the respective central competent authorities.

    Ⅱ. A foreigner that has at least one year of experience serving in a multi-national company and is appointed to work in the Republic of China is required to have worked in another office of the multi-national company in another country outside the Republic of China for at least one year, and have been appointed by the multi-national company to work in the branch or subsidiary or parent company in the Republic of China.