TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan has expanded its online work permit application system to include English cram school teachers, artists, and adult children of foreign professionals with the applications generally only taking seven working days to process.
On Thursday (Dec. 29), the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) under the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said in a press release it would expand and promote the online application service for foreign professionals to apply for work permits. In addition, it will allow individual foreign professionals to apply for permits to work in art-related positions and will also open the system to adult children of work permit-holding foreign professionals.
In the case of cram school teachers, management will need to create an account on the EZ Work Permit website to be able to apply for and renew work permits for their foreign employees. As for artists and adult children of foreign professionals, they can create their personal accounts on the website to apply for the work permits by submitting their name, nationality, and passport number.
Based on MOL statistics, each year there are 6,800 work permit applications by foreigners for positions in cram schools, approximately 450 applications for art-related jobs, and about 70 to 80 applications for children of foreign professionals. Despite the COVID pandemic, the ministry said that there has not been a significant increase or decrease in work permit applications by these three categories.
The ministry said that prior to these additions, foreign nationals applying for specialized or technical positions, directors or managers of an approved business invested in or established by overseas compatriots or foreigners, school teachers, sports coaches or athletes, artists and performing artists, and foreign workers contracted by foreign legal persons were all eligible for the EZ Work Permit service.
The EZ Work Permit portal provides 24-hour access for work permit applicants to pay review fees and upload the required documents. According to MOL, foreigners who submit an application for a work permit through the website can shorten the review process to seven working days.
The ministry pointed out that in the event of power outages caused by natural disasters such as earthquakes or site maintenance issues, applications can still be submitted on paper to the WDA.
To start the process of applying for a Taiwan work permit online, visit the EZ Work Permit website.
