Dependent Spouses Subject to Relaxed Work Authorization Requirements

Effective immediately, the Workforce Development Agency under the Ministry of Labor (MOL) has lowered the minimum salary required for foreign employees’ dependent spouses to an hourly amount of at least NTD 200 (approximately USD 6.60). Additionally, the work permit application no longer needs to include certain company-related factors.

Relaxed Company-Related Information Requirement

The dependent’s employer can now benefit from lesser prerequisite amounts in the below company-related factors when submitting the dependent’s work permit application:

• paid-up capital

• average turnover

• actual import and export revenue

• agency commission

• working capital in Taiwan

• total funding

• average operating expenditure

• number of members

Eligibility Requirements

As a reminder, dependents must apply for a work permit in their own right, and the following are the eligibility requirements for the dependent spouse:

1. Certificate or operational qualifications acquired through the process specified in the Examinations of Specific Profession and Technician Guidelines;

2. Master's or higher degree, or a Bachelor's degree with more than two years' work experiences in a relevant field. Applicants with a Bachelor's degree but who lack the required work experience may still be eligible if they are contracted to undertake specialized or technical work, subject to approval by the relevant authority;

3. Employment in a multinational company for more than one year; or

4. More than five years’ experience and the ability to demonstrate outstanding performance in their specific field. Those who worked as part of a startup with innovation capabilities, as to be determined by the MOL, are exempt from this work experience requirement.

The above criteria apply to full-time or part-time employment.

What This Means for Employers and Foreign Nationals

Dependent spouses and their employers should benefit from the more flexible eligibility criteria for work authorization. Specifically, dependents can now work part time as there is no restriction on the minimum number of hours of work under this relaxed scheme. 

This relaxed policy is not applicable to Chinese nationals’ dependents holding an Entry-Exit Permit (EEP) sponsored by their Chinese national spouse who holds either an intracompany or service performance EEP.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].