Taiwan Recruitment

Thanks to cross-strait economic ties with Mainland China and a strong electronics sector where local companies like Acer and Asus enjoy a global footprint, Taiwan’s economy and the Taiwan recruitment market are robust.

The Taiwan Diaspora and Taiwanese Returnees

Estimating the size of the Taiwanese Diaspora is difficult given that many Taiwanese blend in within overseas Chinese communities. However and despite government restrictions on emigration during the early history of Taiwan, over 100,000 Taiwanese left to study abroad in the latter half of the 20th century while during the 1970s and 1980s, it’s estimated that 20% of Taiwanese college graduates studied abroad with few returning. However and in recent years, the return of Taiwanese who studied abroad has risen steadily to 33% with 50,000 Taiwanese returning from abroad between 1985 and 1990 alone.

Many of these Taiwanese returnees were instrumental in creating Taiwan’s high tech economy while those who stayed abroad have also contributed to the country’s economy by working for Taiwanese multinational companies in their adopted countries. Moreover, the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, which was created to look after overseas Chinese in general and on behalf of the government of Taiwan, also looks after the affairs of Taiwanese abroad while children of Taiwanese living abroad are eligible to receive resident permits or permanent stay visas when they return.

Otherwise and according to the latest Chinese census (2010), 170,283 Taiwan residents were living on the Chinese mainland and 68.4% of them were male. In addition, it’s estimated that there are over 100,000 Taiwanese Americans permanently residing in the USA.

The Taiwan Recruitment Market

Despite a move to offshore low-end production activities to Mainland China, the Taiwan recruitment market still suffers from labor shortages in the industrial and service sectors with companies blaming Taiwan’s secondary and tertiary schools for failing to provide enough qualified workers. Moreover, the Taiwan recruitment market suffers from a lack of fluent English speakers when compared with the former British colonies of Singapore or Hong Kong which are also said to have done much more to encourage other types of industries and foreign investment beyond just manufacturing to set up shop.

On the other hand and while another global downturn could slow Taiwan’s economy and the Taiwan recruitment market, large scale layoffs and work furloughs are not expected to occur in the manufacturing sector.

Working in Taiwan

Foreign expatriates intending to work in Taiwan will need to apply for a work permit from the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) which is usually a straight forward process as the CLA offers “one-stop licensing services for employment of foreign professionals where the application process will take approximately two weeks. The validity period of Taiwan work permits will usually be for up to 3 years. Once approved for a Taiwan work permit, foreign expatriates will also need to apply for an Alien Resident’s Certificate (ARC). For more information about Taiwan visas and Taiwan work permits, visit the website of the Taiwan Council Of Labor Affairs (CLA).

As for taxes, Taiwan income tax rates are progressive and up to 40% with nonresidents subject to withholding tax at a rate of 18% on wages and salaries and 20% on commissions, rental income, bank interest, royalties, fees for professional practices and prizes exceeding NTD 2,000. Individual income taxes in Taiwan will be levied on Taiwan-source income of both resident and nonresident individuals with an individual considered to be a resident of Taiwan for tax purposes if he or she is a Taiwan national or a foreign expatriate residing in Taiwan for at least 183 days in a calendar year. In addition, Taiwan tax residents with Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) taxable income of more than NTD 6 million may also be subject to a 20% AMT after deductions for income taxes payable and any foreign income tax credits. For further information about Taiwan tax rates or Taiwanese taxes in general, visit taxrates.cc, KPMG’s Taxation of International Executives page for Taiwan or the website of the Taipei National Tax Administration.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Taiwan salaries will generally be lower than those in the USA but foreign expatriates in Taiwan continue to enjoy excellent benefits. Moreover and as a Chinese country, employees can expect a Chinese New Year bonus ranging from one to as much as six months that is usually paid around January or February.

Taiwan Recruitment and Jobs Resources

For additional Taiwan recruitment resources, check out the Taiwan tagged posts from our Brain Drain to Brain Gain blog as well as our Taiwan jobs page.

  • RSS Taiwan Archives – Brain Gain Asia LLC

    • Taiwan’s COVID rules bar foreign workers from entering or leaving August 15, 2021
      The Nikkei Asia has an article noting how COVID and complicated visa rules have some foreigners both inside and outside Taiwan left in the lurch with no sign of when their situation will change, although an exemption was recently made … Continue reading → The post Taiwan’s COVID rules bar foreign workers from entering or […]
    • Taiwan to invest $300M in grad schools to stem chip brain drain July 17, 2021
      The Nikkei Asia has reported how Taiwanese authorities and major chipmakers are investing at least $300 million to create graduate programs for the semiconductor industry over the next decade. The move aims to protect the island’s chip economy as the … Continue reading → The post Taiwan to invest $300M in grad schools to stem […]
    • Taiwan bans recruitment for jobs in China to combat brain drain May 1, 2021
      The Nikkei Asia has reported that Taiwan has told staffing companies to remove all listings for jobs in China to prevent the outflow of vital tech talent to the mainland. More specifically, the Labor Ministry said that all Taiwanese and … Continue reading → The post Taiwan bans recruitment for jobs in China to combat […]
    • My parents moved to the U.S. for a better life, but I’m returning to Asia for job opportunities March 28, 2019
      Fast Company has profiled several Americans who, as summed by the title of the piece: “My parents moved to the U.S. for a better life, but I’m returning to Asia for job opportunities.” It was noted how for many Asian … Continue reading → The post My parents moved to the U.S. for a better […]
    • How Taiwan lost its roar and its young talents November 5, 2018
      CNA Insider recently did a segment about Taiwan’s brain drain of young talents with the summary being: Once one of the 4 Asian Tigers – Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong – Taiwan began losing its roar in the … Continue reading → The post How Taiwan lost its roar and its young talents […]
    • Survey: Employee (dis)engagement in Asia May 26, 2017
      The Asian Nikkei Review has noted a recent survey by Gallup conducted globally from 2014 through 2016 which found that workers in East Asia are much less engaged in their jobs than their counterparts in the rest of the world. … Continue reading → The post Survey: Employee (dis)engagement in Asia appeared first on Brain […]
    • Survey: Expats prefer Taiwan over Hong Kong September 5, 2016
      The South China Morning Post has reported that Hong Kong’s overall ranking in the Expat Insider survey, published by expatriate networking website InterNations, fell further than all but two of 66 other countries this year – from 26th to 44th … Continue reading → The post Survey: Expats prefer Taiwan over Hong Kong appeared first […]
    • The Human Capital Report 2015: Asia findings May 29, 2015
      The Human Capital Report 2015 (recently published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Mercer) showed Asia-Pacific, the world’s most populous region, scoring towards the middle of the range of the Human Capital Index results, with an overall average … Continue reading → The post The Human Capital Report 2015: Asia findings appeared first […]
    • A glass ceiling for Asian managers at Western employers? August 18, 2013
      The Wall Street Journal has a lengthy article about the lack of Asians in upper management or executive roles at western MNCs in Asia as the top slots are usually still filled with westerner expats. Traditionally when Western MNCs entered … Continue reading → The post A glass ceiling for Asian managers at Western employers? […]
    • Entrepreneurs create the “American dream” back home in Asia June 12, 2013
      CNBC has a lengthy article about Asians shunning the “American dream” to return home. The article began by profiling Thomas Woo who returned home after studying in the USA to become a co-founder and president of City Super – a … Continue reading → The post Entrepreneurs create the “American dream” back home in Asia […]

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