TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Labor on Tuesday unveiled six major support measures to prioritize care for those with urgent needs.
This follows the Legislative Yuan passing an amendment to Article 46 of the Employment Service Act last year, allowing those aged 80 and over or aged 70–79 with stage-two cancer or higher to bypass medical assessments for hiring foreign caregivers, per CNA. After months of interagency meetings, th labor ministry and Ministry of Health and Welfare finalized the policy framework earlier this year.
Deputy Director-General of the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) Chen Shih-chang (陳世昌) said there are about 530,000 people aged 80 and older who are healthy or in suboptimal health, and 120,000 aged 70–79 with advanced cancer. Up to 100,000 may apply for caregivers, which could lead to salary hikes and increased competition.
Chen observed that some caregivers are already requesting higher pay or seeking easier placements, while agencies are advertising exemptions for those over 80. These trends suggest a growing preference for lighter care duties, potentially disadvantaging families with more serious needs.
Su Yu-kuo (蘇裕國), division chief at the WDA, said families of individuals with critical conditions may face difficulties securing caregivers — even with better pay. To prevent this, six major support measures are being implemented.
One such measure is a priority system for families caring for individuals with severe conditions, coordinated across ministries. Applications with valid documentation of serious disability will receive expedited processing, while standard applications will be reviewed in order.
Su said that currently, applicants must go through local long-term care centers, which can take time. Starting Friday, families of severely ill individuals can complete domestic caregiver matching and access long-term care resources within a day, compared to the usual minimum of seven days.
To reduce paperwork, valid medical documents will be accepted in place of a new Barthel Index evaluation, a clinical tool used to assess independence in daily self-care. Following expert consultations, three additional exemption categories were added: patients with stage-four cancer, completely bedridden individuals, and those who employed a caregiver within the past year.
Su said the quickest way to hire a caregiver is through domestic reassignment, and these families will receive top priority. They may also recruit across sectors, provided the caregiver completes 20 hours of supplemental training.
The labor ministry will support rapid domestic hiring through its regional service centers. These centers will offer expedited assistance in selecting workers to meet the needs of families caring for severely impaired individuals.
To address increased demand, the labor ministry has coordinated with the four main migrant worker source countries to ensure adequate supply and training standards. It will keep the current five-day verification timeline and instruct Taiwan’s overseas offices to prioritize visas for severe cases.
With an estimated 100,000 new applications, 188 administrative staff have been added to prevent delays in priority processing. Su emphasized that all eligible applications will be handled.
