The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday said it would lower the application thresholds for employment gold cards, in a bid to attract foreign professionals with top financial certifications, senior-level executives at financial companies or those who have worked in financial technology or e-commerce.
The employment gold card is a four-in-one work permit, residence visa, Alien Resident Certificate and re-entry permit, applicable to foreign professionals in eight fields: science and technology, economics, education, culture, arts, sports, finance and architecture, according to the National Immigration Agency.
The FSC, which is responsible for setting the qualifications for foreign professionals with financial expertise, said it would relax the Requirements and Determination Principles for Foreign Special Professionals with Financial Expertise (外國特定專業人才具有金融領域特殊專長之資格條件及認定原則) to attract more financial experts.
Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei Times
Foreigners who hold top financial certifications such as chartered financial analyst, certified financial planner or financial risk manager, and have served at managerial posts at local or overseas financial institutions for at least three years — instead of the current five — would be able to apply for the gold cards, the commission said in a statement.
Foreigners who have served in top-level positions, such as chairperson, president, board member or senior management at a local or foreign financial company for more than five years, instead of the previous requirement of 10 years, would be eligible, the commission said.
The former group refers to those who possess special expertise and serve at positions that are not easily replaceable, such as actuaries, so they do not need many years of experience to qualify as professionals, while it should not be difficult for people in the latter group, or heads of international companies, to accumulate five years of experience, an FSC official surnamed Huang (黃) said by telephone.
“With the nation’s capital market and financial industry becoming more international, it is important for us to encourage foreign special talent to join the team,” Huang said.
Foreigners who have never worked in the financial industry could also apply for a gold card if they have worked in the fields of fintech, e-commerce, digital economy, technology or renewable energy for more than three years, down from the current five-year requirement, the commission said.
They do not need to have worked in finance-related positions, but their work content or contribution should be relevant to finance, Huang said.
While the commission opened the channel in 2018, not many foreigners have applied for gold cards through it, he said.
However, with local financial firms focusing on fintech or collaboration with other industries, more experts in fintech, technology or e-commerce are expected to apply for gold cards, Huang said.
The draft amendments are to take effect by the end of this month at the earliest, it said.
A total of 69 foreign professionals with financial expertise received gold cards in the first 11 months of this year, up from 11 for the whole of 2018 and 34 for last year, it added.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
LEAP FORWARD: The new tanks are ‘decades more advanced than’ the army’s current fleet and would enable it to compete with China’s tanks, a source said A shipment of 38 US-made M1A2T Abrams tanks — part of a military procurement package from the US — arrived at the Port of Taipei early yesterday. The vehicles are the first batch of 108 tanks and other items that then-US president Donald Trump announced for Taiwan in 2019. The Ministry of National Defense at the time allocated NT$40.5 billion (US$1.25 billion) for the purchase. To accommodate the arrival of the tanks, the port suspended the use of all terminals and storage area machinery from 6pm last night until 7am this morning. The tanks are expected to be deployed at the army’s training
RSS