The government is planning “global elite” cards, which would provide more incentives than the Employment Gold Card, in another bid to attract high-skilled workers to Taiwan, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday.
Six years after the launch of the Gold Card, the NDC is planning to issue “global elite” cards, NDC Deputy Minister Kao Shien-quey (高仙桂) said at a Cabinet news conference.
The Gold Card serves as an open work permit, allowing eligible foreign professionals — those who earned more than NT$160,000 (US$5,010.65) per month in their previous job or who have a proven track record in designated fields — to work in Taiwan for up to three years.
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan
The planned “global elite” cards would be given to foreign professionals with an annual salary exceeding NT$6 million, Kao said.
Those with the planned cards would be eligible for permanent residency in Taiwan after one year and would be entitled to social benefits, such as long-term care and disability services, comparable to those available to Taiwanese, she said.
In addition, spouses of “global elite” cardholders would be allowed to work in Taiwan, and their parents and grandparents would be permitted “unlimited stay in Taiwan,” she said.
Under the proposal, the government also plans to issue one-year work permits to foreign graduates from top universities and “overseas Chinese students” who have recently graduated in Taiwan, allowing them to seek employment in the country, Kao said.
The term “overseas Chinese student” refers to a student of Chinese descent who is in Taiwan to study, and who was born and lived overseas until they arrived or who has been living overseas for six or more consecutive years immediately prior to arriving, and obtained permanent or long-term residency status overseas, the Ministry of Education said.
The term “overseas” refers to countries or regions other than China, Macau and Hong Kong, it said.
The NDC aims to finalize the student policy proposal soon and send it to the legislature for approval in the new session that commences today, Kao said.
The proposal is part of the NDC’s ongoing efforts to tackle brain drain and attract more foreign talent to Taiwan, she said.
It is estimated that by 2028, the nation would face a talent shortage of about 350,000 people.
The government has set a goal to attract 200,000 highly skilled and mid-level skilled workers to Taiwan by 2028, Kao said.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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