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FAQ - Health and Labor Insurance, Social Welfare

Q1: Can foreign workers employed by Taiwanese companies obtain labor insurance， labor occupational accident insurance， and health insurance as insured persons？

1. Labor insurance and Labor occupational accident insurance:
When ordinary companies employ foreign workers who meet the requirements of Article 6 of the Labor Insurance Act and Article 6 of the Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act, and the insured units are obliged to insure them. If a worker is employed by an insured unit under the provision of Article 8 of the Act, or if a domestic helper or care worker is employed by an individual employer, such an employee’s insurance plan shall be voluntarily agreed upon. If you have any questions, please contact the Bureau of Labor Insurance, Ministry of Labor, Executive Yuan. Telephone: +886-2-2396-1266.

2. Health insurance:

After the employer of a foreigner has applied for a work permit to the Ministry of Labor or the Ministry of Education, and the foreigner is approved for entering the country, the employer shall manage the insurance enrollment with the Divisions of National Health Administration. This will be along with an approval letter for a work permit and a residence permit. This is also applied to special foreign professionals with employment gold cards.
Q2: How are labor insurance premiums calculated in the case of foreign workers？

1. Labor insurance and labor occupational accident insurance:
There are two types of premium rates: ordinary and occupational accident. According to Articles 13 and 15 of the Labor Insurance Act, for a foreign worker who is employed by a fixed employer, 70% of the ordinary insurance premium is shared by the employer, 20% by the insured person and 10% by the government. For labor occupational accident insurance premium, the full premium is paid by the employer. When a foreign worker does not have a regular employer or is self-employed and affiliated with an occupational union, he/she will bear 60% of the premium for both labor insurance and labor occupational accident insurance, and the remaining 40% will be paid by the government. The labor insurance premium rate shall be calculated at 10.5% from 2021 to 2022, and at 11% from 2023 to 2024.The labor occupational accident insurance premium rates shall vary according to occupational risk.

2. Health insurance:

According to article 27 of the National Health Insurance Act, foreign workers with certain employers, the insured and their dependents should pay 30 % of the premium, group insurance applicants pay 60 %, and the remaining 10 % shall be subsidized by the central government.
Q3: How does an insured unit report the insured salary of foreign workers？

I. Labor Insurance and labor occupational accident insurance:
The total monthly salary refers to the wages （including wages, salaries and bonuses, allowances and any other regular payments regardless of the name which may be computed on an hourly, daily, monthly and piecework basis, whether payable in cash or in kind.） stipulated in Subparagraph 3 of Article 2 of the Labor Standards Act. For those without fixed or steady monthly income, it shall be set according to the average monthly incomes for the most recent three months.
The monthly insurance portion of the salary for Labor Insurance should be filed based on the total amount of the insured person's monthly salary according to the" Table of Grades of Labor Insurance Salary ". The current applicable rating scale was implemented on January 1, ,2022, with level 1 being NT $25,250（Further, from January 1, 2023, a rating scale will be implemented with level 1 being NT$26,400） and the top level being NT$45,800. The monthly insurance portion of the salary for labor occupational accident insurance should be filed based on the total amount of the insured person's monthly salary according to the " Table of Grades of Labor Occupational Accident Insurance Salary " with the top level being NT$72,800.

2. Health Insurance:

（1） According to article 20 of National Health Insurance Act, the insurance amount of an employee with a certain employer shall be the payroll.

（2） Meanwhile, according to article 21 of the same Act, in case the payroll is adjusted between February and July of the current year, the group insurance applicants shall notify the insurer of the adjusted insured payroll-related amount by the end of August of the same year. Or they shall notify the insurer by the end of February of the following year if the adjustment is made between August of the current year and January of the following year. This shall be effective on the first day of the following month after notification. The insurance amount shall not be lower than the monthly labor pension reserve deposit or the insured salary of other social insurance schemes to which the insured subscribes.
Q4: How long will foreigners eligible for the National Insurance Program？

The National Health Insurance Act stipulates that foreign nationals who with Valid Alien Resident Certificate or Resident certificate for the Taiwan area must enroll in the National Health Insurance program upon living in Taiwan for 6 months （6 months of continuous residence in Taiwan or with one trip abroad not exceeding 30 days when the actual residency period of 6 months is reached after the days abroad have been deducted）.
In accordance with the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign professional, foreign special professional, or foreign senior professional who meets one of the conditions listed below, and their spouse, children under the age of majority, and children over the age of majority who are unable to live independently due to physical or mental disability, having obtained documentary proof of residence, shall participate in National Health Insurance as insured persons, without being subject to the requirement of having completed six months of residence in the State as prescribed in Article 9 Subparagraph 1 of the National Health Insurance Act:
（1） They are hired to engage in professional work.
（2） They are foreign special professionals or foreign senior professionals who are qualified to be insured persons as employers or self-employed business owners under Article 10 of the National Health Insurance Act.
Q5: What are the labor insurance benefits and the labor occupational accident insurance benefits of foreign workers？

Foreign workers are insured under the Labor Insurance Act and Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act as insured persons, and upon the occurrence of a contingency covered by the insurance plan during the coverage period, they can apply for labor insurance benefits. Included in the ordinary insurance program are five different kinds of benefits which are maternity benefits, injury or sickness benefits, disability benefits, old-age benefits and survivors’ benefits. Labor Occupational Accident Insurance includes four kinds of benefits which are injury and sickness benefits, disability benefits, survivors’ benefits （including missing allowance） and medical-care benefits.
Q6: Are the APRC holders eligible for the National Health Insurance Program？

1.The National Health Insurance Act stipulates that foreign nationals who with Valid Alien Resident Certificate or Resident certificate for the Taiwan area must enroll in the National Health Insurance program upon living in Taiwan for 6 months （6 months of continuous residence in Taiwan or with one trip abroad not exceeding 30 days when the actual residency period of 6 months is reached after the days abroad have been deducted）.

2. In accordance with the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign professional, foreign special professional, or foreign senior professional who meets one of the conditions listed below, and their spouse, children under the age of majority, and children over the age of majority who are unable to live independently due to physical or mental disability, having obtained documentary proof of residence, shall participate in National Health Insurance as insured persons, without being subject to the requirement of having completed six months of residence in the State as prescribed in Article 9 Subparagraph 1 of the National Health Insurance Act:

（1） They are hired to engage in professional work.
（2） They are foreign special professionals or foreign senior professionals who are qualified to be insured persons as employers or self-employed business owners under Article 10 of the National Health Insurance Act.

For more information, please visit: National Health Insurance Administration - Enrollment
Q7: What medical services could the foreigner enjoy after the enrollment of national health insurance？

1. Business implementation agency: National Health Insurance Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare.

2. Governing laws: article 40, 43, 47, 51 of National Health Insurance Act

3. Qualification: all foreigners who have enrolled for national health insurance during the effective insurance period.

4. The medical benefits provided by NHI: in case the beneficiaries encounter illness, injury, or maternity, the contracted medical care institution shall provide outpatient or hospitalized treatment services, and the insured shall seek medical advice and pay a partial medical fee according to medical-related regulations.

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