The ROC government has amended several regulations relating to foreign residents in an attempt to make Taiwan a more inviting place for talented foreign individuals, Minister without Portfolio Cyrus C.Y. Chu said Dec. 12.
According to Chu, the changes were made in response to an Aug. 14 statement issued by Academia Sinica, one of Taiwan’s premier research institutions, warning that Taiwan is unable to retain talented foreign individuals because of stiff regulations and institutional inflexibility.
Among the changes introduced is a clause that increases the salary cap on foreign specialists working at government-funded organizations such as the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the National Health Research Institutes.
Universities will also be encouraged to increase the percentage of flexible pay for assistant professors or under from the current 17.6 percent to 50 percent, to attract more young foreign talent to teach in Taiwan, according to Chu.
The expiration dates on driver’s licenses, credit cards and bank cards issued to foreign residents would no longer be limited to the period of time they are authorized to stay in Taiwan, he added.
The new driver’s license rules took effect Nov. 19 and will benefit around 20,000 foreign drivers in Taiwan, who will now be able to apply for the same six-year driver’s licenses that ROC nationals enjoy, Chu said.
In another deregulation, foreign investors will not have to apply for permission in advance each time they reinvest dividends in the same company, as long as their shareholding percentage remains the same, according to Chu. They can file the applications all together afterwards, he added.
According to Chu, the changes introduced make up the first in a two-stage process to make Taiwan more appealing to talented foreigners. During the next stage, private schools will be asked to include foreign teachers and researchers in their retirement pension schemes, he said.
