TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The government is considering allowing relatives of migrant workers or new permanent immigrants to legally work in Taiwan on a temporary basis, in a scheme the Minister of Labor has described as similar to a working holiday program.

Minister Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) said on Friday (April 7) that Taiwan is facing a shortage of up to 12,000 agricultural workers, per CNA. He suggested this could be solved by signing bi-lateral agreements with certain countries that will allow the relatives of long-term migrant workers to  travel to Taiwan to work for between three and six months.

Legislator Frida Tsai (蔡培慧) said that the shortage of agricultural workers was most serious in Nantou, and because Taiwan’s agricultural work is seasonal, providing limited working visas for dependents of long term migrant workers could be a solution. Hsu said that the idea has been discussed with the Council of Agriculture, and both are willing to cooperate on conducting a trial implementation period.

Nearly 15,000 Vietnamese migrant workers entered Taiwan in the first two months of 2023, as Taiwan reopened its borders post-COVID.

However, despite consistently ranking as one of the best destinations in the world for “expats," issues of discrimination and poor working conditions for migrant workers in Taiwan are ongoing.