Issuance of Employment Gold Cards Tops 100!
Card Recipients Gather for Reception at NDC
The Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (the “Foreign Professionals Act” in short) entered into effect on February 8 this year, and has already exhibited considerable results, including the approval of 122 people to be issued with Employment Gold Cards. Today, the National Development Council (NDC) is specially holding the Employment Gold Card Issuance Ceremony and Reception for more than 80 guests from foreign chambers of commerce, representative offices and foreign special professionals representing all fields of work together with other government representatives. NDC Minister Chen Mei-ling issued Employment Gold Cards to new awardees, for all to co-witness the shining results of the Act’s implementation and the milestone of the number of cards issued topping 100. The attending professionals shared their thoughts on and experiences of coming to Taiwan to start businesses and enter into work.

To strengthen inducements for foreign professional talent to come and develop in Taiwan, the Foreign Professionals Act eases regulations relating to their visas, work and residency, and also enhances insurance, tax, retirement and other aspects of their treatment. In the eight months since the Act went into effect, the outside world has predominantly given it a positive response, approving our government’s active motion and commitment toward recruiting and retaining talent. The Employment Gold Card has proven to be a particularly eye-catching feature of the Act, offering privileged treatment to boost the recruitment of foreign special professionals.

The Employment Gold Card is designed for the kinds of international top talent needed by our industries, including those with special accomplishments or unique abilities in the domains of science & technology, the economy, education, culture, the arts, sports, finance, law, and architectural design, all of whom our government is actively striving to attract to Taiwan. The Employment Gold Card makes it convenient for such people to seek and change employment. It also offers the benefit of a 3-year exemption from income tax on half of the portion of salary above NT$3 million for newcomers to Taiwan. These advantages are all aimed at attracting such talent to come to work and live in Taiwan.
Since the Act went into effect, there has been a lively level of interest in applying for the Employment Gold Card. As of the end of September, the Foreign Professionals online Application platform set up by the Ministry of the Interior had received applications for the card from 217 foreign special professionals, and had already approved the issuance of more than 100 cards. Those approved to receive the cards include 40 in the domain of science & technology, 39 in the domain of the economy, 13 in the domain of education, 22 in the domain of culture and the arts, and 8 in the domain of finance.

The Employment Gold Card holders and awardees attending this reception are all highly accomplished and outstanding talents whose recruitment is vied for internationally. Besides their exceptional academic backgrounds, they all possess special expertise needed for upgrading Taiwan’s industries. They include: John Chen, a rising star in the realm of tech startups; Tom Fifield, a designer and consultant of OpenStack free and open-source software for cloud computing; Kok Yew Chong, an up-and-coming photographer who has already won many awards; and Adrien Gillès, an expert in combining blockchain and AI technologies, who has come all the way from Belgium. At today’s gathering, these specially talented foreign professionals will share their thoughts and experience pertaining to coming to Taiwan to start businesses and take up work.

As expressed by Minister Chen, the Foreign Professionals Act is an important milestone in institutionalizing Taiwan’s talent recruitment and retention, while the Employment Gold Card is an achievement of concretizing Taiwan’s active talent recruitment and retention objectives, and should surely be a substantial attraction in recruiting international talent to Taiwan. It is hoped that this reception will draw wider attention to the benefits on offer under the Act, speeding up the attraction of international talent to Taiwan, and promoting the development and transformation of Taiwan’s industries. In the future, the NDC will continue to carry out active talent recruitment policies, aiming to maximize synergies for Taiwan’s internationalization and globalization, and making Taiwan a prime home for foreign talent to pursue their work and life dreams.

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