Restrictions on hiring live-in caregivers from overseas are to be eased starting today, the Ministry of Labor said.
Some people who need full-time care would no longer have to undergo a functionality assessment using the Barthel Index to be eligible to hire foreign caregivers, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
The Barthel Index measures a person’s ability to complete daily activities and is an important threshold regarding whether a family can hire a foreign caregiver.
Photo: CNA
From today, people who have had long-term care for at least six months and those who have been diagnosed with mild dementia would be exempt from Barthel Index requirements for hiring a foreign caregiver, the ministry said.
Until now, elderly and severely ill people were required to undergo a Barthel Index assessment conducted by a hospital if their family wanted to hire a foreign caregiver, with the exception of those categorized as having “specific disabilities.”
The category of “specific disabilities,” which includes people with significant physical or mental limitations, would be expanded to include people with mild physical disabilities, as well as people dealing with rare diseases, severe respiratory disorders or a loss of swallowing function.
People aged 75 or older who hold a disability certificate that is valid for an unlimited period and have already hired a foreign caregiver would be exempt from undergoing a Barthel Index assessment if their caregiver’s contract expires and they need a new caregiver.
Meanwhile, the ministry said that it would also be easing the rules covering the eligibility of migrant workers in some sectors to apply for “intermediate skilled worker” status.
Paul Su (蘇裕國), head of the Cross-Border Work-force Management Division under the ministry’s Workforce Development Agency, said that the new rules for workers would also be implemented from today.
Migrant workers had been required to work for the same employer for six consecutive years to become eligible for the program.
The easing of rules would allow migrant workers to apply for “intermediate skilled worker” status after working for the same employer for six cumulative years, even if they are not consecutive, the ministry said.
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