I’m coming to the end of my contract with the (international manufacturing) company I came to Taiwan with as an expat, the company wants me to continue to work in Taiwan however due to “company policy” my contract would be “local with appropriate benefits” rather than the expat perks I currently enjoy. Currently it’s up to me to propose what “appropriate benefits” are and how much. The benefits are based on what locals get but are denied to me as a non-citizen, based on my experience over the last couple of years and what I see on here, in no particular order, this is what I have so far.
Stimulus checks/tax returns ~ like the upcoming NT$6,000 handout, I’ve missed quite a few payments over the last couple of years, with a wife and children these add up!
“Cheap” housing, I’ve been looking at potentially buying a property however a lot of the villa style stuff that is in the hills etc. is on land which foreigners cannot own, therefore need to buy more expensive property or continue to rent.
Second income, my wife has no work permit therefore we miss the opportunity for a second income
Public Kindergarten, in New Taipei so basically denied a chance to enter draw for cheaper public kindergarten
Government payments at birth and monthly child benefit payments, don’t get these
Crazy NHI fees due mostly to 3. I pay over NT$11K a month as my wife and children are all under my NHI contribs, cannot split wife and kids to lower income due to 3.
Gogoro subsidy/car subsidy(?), household appliance subsidy, told cannot apply for any of those as a foreigner
Pension, couldn’t transfer my seniority from last country to the Taiwan system, wasn’t an issue for 2 year contract, potentially is for staying longer.
General spending on long term stuff such as furniture, electrical appliances, vehicle etc. Current contract has a ship home clause however this would be gone as a local so basically everything would be some level of loss on leaving and not being able to bring it with me or having to pay large moving fees.
Obvious significantly higher travel costs to visit family/friends.
Any other thoughts on how one loses out being on a local contract but not being a “local”?
I was a bit surprised I had to pay the foreigner price at the Palace Museum even though I have a residence card. Not sure how often there has been the unofficial foreigner price as well. But generally, going to have to pay more for stuff
im on local contract too, most painful financially are education costs and home visits, the rest are manageable .
for me personally, those two items are worth fighting for.
the things you listed arent that significant and you wont be eligible anyway as a foreigner with local contact.
if you put these on the list, they will gladly pay you 6,000 tax rebate instead of half a million for education costs
If the wife could get an ARC with work permit she could then apply for NHI through a trade union here and put your kids under it saving lots on NHI.
Are you applying for your full tax rebate supporting wife, kids, grandparents both sides?
Some foreigners can get public kindergarten I thought, though maybe I was wrong , maybe that’s only school access, dunno. Subsidies may depend on which county you reside in.
Most of this is small stuff it’s the flights and NHI and education costs that are big ones. Basically they will try not to give you anything substantial which is why they are locallsing your deal. Check your contract to see if they can do that?
Taiwan labour law is actually fairly strict, much stricter than the US,and big companies don’t want the headache of legal cases usually. If you move country they can change your contract, but you haven’t moved and you are already considered permanent here. Worth checking anyway.
Maybe time to apply for a role with your competitor. You had valuable skills two years ago, and inflation was a huge deal this year. Your skills are only more valuable now. I think you should consider exploring how to avoid bending over and grabbing your ankles.
i wouldnt say that is necessarily the case. I work for a MNC and our global policy is local contracts. only MD level executives get the full expat package. The rest get a nice package, but no guarenteed anything, your salary and your choice how to spend.
Yes indeed, I tried to go on a group tour thing colleagues were organizing to Vietnam but the foreigner price was different at the travel agents for some reason they could not clearly explain.
They’re significant to me! Local kindy and child subsidies equate to somewhere around 30K a month when considering two children. NHI is being “overpaid” by around 5K/month and wife has no income.
I tried this originally however as we are not prevented from using local elementary schools it is not an easy argument. Locals could also ask for international school fees if it was granted to me. It’s see as a choice rather than the only option.
Unfortunately completely impossible, we’ve tried! Even tried removing her and the kids from the NHI system to buy private insurance and it is not allowed.
Yes
In New Taipei you are absolutely bottom of list and have to wait for the local “lottery” to end before queuing for anything left. In Taipei city you can join the lottery as a local.
I can leave and go back to my home country, that part is not an issue however I’d prefer to stay, even on a lesser deal, as long as it is at least on par with locals. With lower taxes and better living conditions I’m prepared to stay here for a few more years.
If your children can attend a local school (i.e. they can manage speaking in Chinese) then this is indeed not an easy argument, but even if there is nothing stopping you from using the local school system, if your kids dont speak Chinese is it really an option? I am sure the company can understand that.
how can child and kindy subsidies reach 30K? i didnt know it was that high.
In any case, your goal is to get as much as possible from them, not to compromise on pay. to work hard for low pay you can do anywhere in the world… no need to insist on staying here.
NHI - its not insurance, its actually a tax… nothing much we can do about it.
