TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The government said Tuesday (Dec. 3) that it has raised the limit on the amount foreign migrant workers can remit per year.

The Financial Supervisory Commission said it has amended the Regulations Governing Small Amount Remittance Services for Foreign Migrant Workers to increase the amount migrant workers can remit to their home countries. Under the revised provisions, the annual limit for small remittances by foreign migrant workers will be increased from NT$400,000 (US$12,300) to NT$500,000, effective Friday. 

This adjustment applies to four remittance companies licensed by the FSC: Welldone Company, Eastern Union Interactive Corp., Digital Idea Multi-Media Co., and May-God Human Resource. Among these, Welldone and Eastern Union Interactive can remit funds to the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, while Digital Idea Multi-Media and May-God Human Resource can transfer money to Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

The FSC said, as of the end of September, 646,000 foreign migrant workers conducted 6.49 million remittance transactions, amounting to NT$60.7 billion. Meanwhile, data from the Ministry of Labor shows that as of the end of September, the number of foreign migrant workers in Taiwan was approximately 806,000.

The commission said the annual salary of foreign migrant workers is approximately NT$380,000, which is close to the original annual remittance limit of NT$400,000. However, to accommodate the remittance needs of an increasing number of mid-level skilled foreign workers, the FSC has raised the limit from NT$400,000 to NT$500,000.