On August 29, 2025, the Legislative Yuan passed amendments to the “Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals” (the “Act” ; the amendments hereinafter the “Amendment”). The Amendment extends the duration of digital nomad visas, relaxes permanent residency requirements, and enhances labor and social welfare protections for foreign professionals.

Employers are advised to take note of the following important changes:

1. According to Article 24 of the amended Act, foreign professionals who have not obtained permanent residency will be eligible for the Labor Pension Act system (the “New Labor Pension System”). Prior to the Amendment, foreign professionals are excluded from the New Labor Pension System unless they have obtained permanent residency from the National Immigration Agency and are working in Taiwan. In other words, these foreign professionals are only eligible for retirement benefits under the Labor Standards Act (the “Old Labor Pension System”), which creates disadvantages when they change employers in Taiwan. The Amendment aims to strengthen incentives for foreign professionals to stay in Taiwan long-term by expanding the scope of the New Labor Pension System coverage, under which employers will make monthly contributions to the employee’s individual pension account, thereby ensuring that foreign professionals’ retirement benefits remain unaffected when changing employment.
2. The Amendment further stipulates that foreign professionals who were employed and continue to serve the same employer prior to the effective date of the Amendment (as of the date of this article, the implementation date has not yet been announced) may elect to remain under the Old Labor Pension System by submitting a written declaration to their employer within six (6) months from the implementation date. If foreign professionals do not declare their intention to remain under the Old Labor Pension System within the prescribed period, employers shall register these employees with the Bureau of Labor Insurance, Ministry of Labor no later than fifteen (15) days from the day following the expiration of the six-month period.
3. Furthermore, Article 25 of the Amendment introduces new provisions extending the application of the Employment Insurance Act to foreign professionals who have obtained permanent residency approval from the National Immigration Agency.

Given that the Amendment will affect the pension system for foreign professionals as well as employers’ obligations regarding pension contributions and insurance enrollment requirements, employers hiring foreign professionals are advised to pay careful attention to these changes.

(Note: As of the publication date of this article, the Legislative Yuan has not yet released the final version of the Amendment to the “Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals.” For official provisions, please refer to the Legislative Yuan Laws and Regulations Database.)