TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Incoming migrant workers must have a COVID health insurance plan provided by their employers starting Wednesday (Dec.1), or they will be denied entry.
On Monday (Nov. 29), the Ministry of Labor (MOL) released a statement announcing that in order to strengthen epidemic prevention, employers must provide COVID health insurance for their incoming migrant workers beginning Dec. 1. The plans will cost NT$1,200 (US$43) per person and are designed to cover hospital expenses if a worker contracts COVID within the first 30 days of entry.
If a worker is admitted into an isolation ward at a hospital for COVID treatment, the insurance firms will cover up to NT$500,000 in expenses. The insurance companies will send the money directly to the hospitals.
The MOL stated that the Insurance Bureau of the Financial Supervisory Commission has approved six companies to provide COVID insurance plans. These firms include Fubon Insurance, Cathay Century Insurance, Chung Kuo Insurance, Hotai Insurance, Taian Insurance, and Shinkong Insurance.
Effective Wednesday, employers must upload documentation to the "Entry and Departure of Foreign Labor Airport Care Service" website to prove that they have provided this insurance policy for their incoming workers. If employers do not provide this proof of COVID insurance coverage in advance, their foreign employees will not be allowed to enter Taiwan.
The MOL emphasized that in order to avoid an additional burden on the workers, the employer must cover the entire cost of the insurance premiums on their behalf. In addition, employers are not allowed to seek compensation from the workers for the cost of the premiums.
It warned that if employers charge their workers for the insurance premiums or dock them from employees' pay, they will face fines of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 for violating Article 43 of the Regulations on the Permission and Administration of the Employment of Foreign Workers (雇主聘僱外國人許可及管理辦法) and Articles 57 and 67 of the Employment Service Act (就業服務法). They also could see their hiring permits revoked and be barred from reapplying for two years.
