Allright, so I was in class and my teacher told us that law in Taiwan has changed. He said now foreigners can apply for a working permit as individuals and that we could get it for one year without questions of where we are going to work and apply to any company like that. He said also that afterwards we have to apply the normal way if the company still want to keep us after a year. Now does anybody heard something similar or knows something about it? or I have being tricked here??
What he may have been referring to is the law that allows a foreigner to set up a company here (with fairly modest requirements for capital etc) and apply for his own ARC.
AFAIK there is no open work permit such as you describe. I just renewed mine last month and it was the standard procedure. Certainly nothing was mentioned about changes to the law.
No, your teacher is wrong or you misunderstood.
The government is studying a proposal to relax the two year experience rule to get a work permit and also to reduce the minimum salary of c. NT$48K. The Ministry of Labor Affairs opposes this proposal. It sounds like a compromise might be reached whereby foreign students who graduate from Taiwanese university with a BA may be exempt from the 2 year requirement. I’m not sure about the salary requirement.
Once the government thrashes this out, it will draft a bill and the Legislature may change it before it enacts it into law. Then it will take many more months for them to issue the regulations to implement these changes.
So the law may change in a couple of years for some foreigners. Maybe.
I think the teacher is referring to the working holiday visa, which actually does offer an open work permit for one year.
What Feiren said. There will be changes in interships, giving students more advantages and flexibility, but that is way down the line. She might have read about it and thought it was a given, but it is still under discussion.
No he is not misinformed, according to the Ministry of Education, the 2 year restriction and salery restriction will soon be lifted, fastest by June or July this year. This is good news for me, I have read from the newspaper China Times.
大名校生 來台工作不再受限
《聯合報》記者陳幸萱／聯合新聞網提供 (2012.05.01 09:47)
勞委會主委王如玄日前接受媒體專訪時表示，將放寬外籍僑生留在台灣工作的限制，未來不再需要有兩年工作經驗，薪資也會從現在四萬七千多元的規定，放寬至接近一般大學畢業生的標準。另外，若是「世界百大」名校畢業生想來台工作，不受任何限制。
勞委會表示，本案將在五月九日的「跨國勞動力諮詢政策小組」中討論，若獲共識，就著手修改規定，最快六至七月上路。
日前新加坡副總理尚達曼在一場演講中指出，台灣人才流失但又阻止外來人才進入，新加坡需以「台灣故事」為鑑。這番談話在台灣社會引起震撼，紛紛要求政府正視人才問題；行政院長陳冲日前也指示應人才鬆綁。
依現行規定，外國白領勞工若至台灣從事專業工作，大學畢業生需有兩年工作經驗，且月薪須達四萬七千九百七十一元。即使外籍僑生在台灣念大學，畢業後仍受此限。勞委會表示，將取消兩年工作經驗的限制，薪資規定也將放寬至一般大學畢業生的標準，但具體金額仍待討論。
另外，世界前一百大名校大學畢業生，則可不受限制，至於何謂世界百大，勞委會指出，將以三個百大評等系統為標準，即英國泰晤士報、國際高等教育研究機構（QS）及上海交大。
王如玄在專訪中提到，之前限制外籍人才要有兩年工作經驗，是因為大學畢業生入社會後需要一段培訓過程，但優秀人才在外工作兩年後早就被挖走了，我國規定可能過時。不過，「台灣沒有足夠的工作機會和薪資條件」，也許才是人才危機的根本。
來源=台灣《聯合晚報》| 更多精彩內容，詳見《聯合新聞網》
They are still talking about it, but it is looking like there will be some changes.
At first they were talking about lifting the two year rule for everyone. Now it is only for students who studied in Taiwan and graduates of the world’s top 100 universities (however that will be determined).
It still sounds to me like that CLA is reluctant to do this but is under pressure from more powerful; departments. Don’t be surprised if this is watered down further.
Still, it’s a step in the right direction. Singapore has finally contributed something to Taiwan. And we thought they were only good at cupping China’s LP!
Problem is that there is talk also of reducing the minimum salary. That ain’t gonna be good.
And it will take time.
Icon, reducing the minimum salary of 47k is already pretty crap compared to any developed country, it doesn’t really make a difference if they reduce it.
Well, it would mean that companies could hire foreigners who want to work for less than NT$48K. That prevents companies from hiring foreigners for entry-level positions. But you are right that it will probably lead to lower salaries for many foreigners working in office as general-purpose editors or in marketing departments. But if that happens, even fewer English speaking foreigners will leave the more lucrative and less time consuming world of English teachers.
I am thinking about those of us who are not Native English speakers and hence do not have the option of teaching English legally. In that case, maybe more office positions will open up, but also the salaries will be lower all across the board.
This sounds like a bad idea for everyone, including Taiwanese who will be paid lower salaries, or denied raises, because the company can hire a foreigner for that amount of money–so why would most Taiwanese boses pay more to the “cheap” labor?
Maybe some office jobs will open up, but who’s going to be lining up to work in a Taiwanese office for 45 large–or less? I’m sure there is a small segment of us out there for whom this might be okay, but not many.
And once a foreigner’s starting salary is lowered in one industry, why not in another?
It’s just going to get worse out there.
The problem would be how the cost of living is increasing while salaries are getting lower and lower for locals/foreigners and unemployment/partial employment adds pressure all around. Wonder what will happen then…
Just don’t work for them then. Low initial salaries would be like doing an internship , just get some experience and then off you go.
If they won’t pay more money than the already pitiful wages take it as impetus to do something else or go somewhere else, you won’t be missing much work-wise anyway.
Then we would have to leave the Island for… rats, we’re trapped!
Yes thats it, if you are not willing to leave Taiwan you have to suck it up.
Latest word is that foreign graduates of Taiwanese universities will be exempt from the two-year experience requirement but employers will have to pay them at least NT$37K. Graduates of foreign universities will still be subject, in general, to the two-year requirement unless employed by a Science Park employer. You can apply on a case by case basis claiming special circumstances for exemption from the two year requirement (graduating from a top university will probably help).
I think the mentality of Taiwanese officialdom is really changing though and more substantive liberalization is on the horizon. With the exception of the CLA (and to a much lesser extent the MOFA), all the agencies are on board with the idea that Taiwan would benefit from more first world foreign employees.
Stay tuned.
Tell Moaner Mike that be can work in Taiwan now.
But this news story says that graduates of top 100 universities will be permitted to work in Taiwan without experience and without any minimum salary. There is some confusion since my earlier post was what I heard from a CLA rep.
We’ll see.
外勞聘僱 7月可望鬆綁【經濟日報】2012-5-9 12:50
為因應台灣人才流失，勞委會今（9）日將召開會議，討論優秀僑生與外籍生、世界百大畢業生，及高齡者看護外勞聘僱門檻，會中若獲得共識，最快可望 於今年7月實施。至於產業界關注的重點產業聘僱門檻鬆綁，將待第3季再處理。
行政院上月指示，研議放寬白領外勞聘僱門檻。勞委會表示，今天送到跨國勞動力政策協商諮詢小組的正式提案，包括在台受教育的優秀僑生與外籍 生，規劃免除2年工作經驗，並下修薪資門檻，不低於初任專業人員經常及非經常性薪資水準，估算約3.5萬元。
其次，將開放世界百大名校畢業生，不用任何限制就可來台工作。
針對百大畢業生不設限的主張，勞委會主委王如玄認為，只是要凸顯台灣人才困境的關鍵，不在條件限制，而是沒有足夠的工作機會與薪資待遇，將借這次 的鬆綁來證明勞委會「不是障礙」。