The 2026 Taiwan Global Investment Forum was held in Taipei on October 20. The Ministry of Economic Affairs stated that this year, it has grasped 27 foreign investment cases with an investment amount of approximately 666 billion yuan, and signed investment letters of intent with 13 multinational companies. The industries cover semiconductor equipment, advanced materials, artificial intelligence, recycling and livelihood services. Executive President Zhuo Yongtai proposed at the forum that in addition to attracting investment, Taiwan will also further "recruit relatives" and hopes to attract more international talents to develop in Taiwan for the long term through the foreign professional talent system. This direction deserves attention. After a multinational company decides to set up a factory or an R&D center, it needs not only land, electricity and tax environment, but also engineers, researchers, management talents and their families who are willing to live locally.
The 2026 Taiwan Global Investment Forum was held in Taipei. This year, a total of 27 foreign investment cases were grasped. The picture shows the 2026 Taiwan Global Investment Forum. (Central News Agency file photo)
The gold card system integrates work permit, residence visa, alien residence permit and re-entry permit, which can indeed reduce the administrative barriers for high-level talents to work in Taiwan. However, obtaining a visa only means that a person can come to Taiwan to work; whether he decides to stay for 5 or 10 years, or even let his family settle in Taiwan, is affected by more living conditions. Children's education, spouse's job, renting and buying a house, medical services, English public information, bank account opening, taxation and permanent residence procedures may all affect the talent's final choice.
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It may be easy for an engineer to work in English at a technology company, but he still needs a lot of Chinese proficiency or company human resources assistance after get off work to deal with renting a house, filing taxes, insurance, driver's license, medical care, and enrolling his children in school. The government has currently set up Talent Taiwan International Talent Service and Recruitment Center to provide one-stop consultation. The next step can be to make this service more localized. In areas densely populated with international talents such as Hsinchu, Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung and Kaohsiung, establish fixed life service windows for foreign talents to integrate residence, taxation, education, medical care and local administration. Important livelihood services on central and local government websites can also gradually provide complete English processes. Companies are willing to pay high salaries to attract talents, and cities need to provide an environment where families of talents can live independently. The two work together to make it easier to form long-term settlements.
The government has set up Talent Taiwan International Talent Service and Recruitment Center to provide one-stop consultation on life services for foreign talents. The picture shows the opening of Talent Taiwan’s international talent service and recruitment center in 2023. (File photo)
For many international talents, whether to accept a job overseas is often a family decision. If it is difficult for the spouse to continue his or her original career in Taiwan or cannot find a suitable educational environment for the children, the family may still choose to leave after a few years even if the working conditions are favorable. The government can establish employment matching, career consulting and professional qualification certification services for spouses of foreign talents, and can also encourage companies to form cross-company talent networks so that accompanying spouses can obtain more job information. In terms of education, in addition to international schools, general public and private schools should also improve their language and tutoring capabilities for accepting foreign students. Not every foreign family needs expensive international education. Some families want their children to truly live in Taiwan. If local schools can provide appropriate Chinese language assistance, English communication windows and transfer guidance, international families will have more choices for living areas.
The foreign investment fields of this year's Global Investment Forum have extended from semiconductors to AI, materials, circular economy and people's livelihood services. The talents needed in the future will naturally become more diverse. The government can regularly take stock of the majors that are lacking in the next five to 10 years, such as AI software, advanced process equipment, materials science, energy management, information security, financial technology, biomedicine and international operations, and then design more active recruitment and talent retention programs for these fields. When foreign companies set up R&D centers in Taiwan, they can also encourage international talents to cooperate with local universities, research institutions and new start-ups, so that knowledge and technology can gradually enter Taiwan's industrial ecosystem.
The gold card system integrates work permit, residence visa, alien residence permit and re-entry permit to reduce administrative barriers for high-level talents to work in Taiwan. The picture shows the digital gold card. (File photo)
Future investment results reports can increase indicators such as the international talent retention rate, the number of foreign talent families settling in, spouse employment rates, children's education usage, and corporate R&D manpower growth. Cities can also join the global competition for talent through improvements in housing, transportation, international education and public services. It can take years for companies to invest in a factory, and it often takes even longer for talent to decide in which country to build a life. When international professionals not only regard Taiwan as a stop for work experience, but are willing to work, start a family, start a business and even retire here, the funds brought by investment will be further transformed into deeper and more lasting connections between industry and society.
(The author is engaged in the information industry)
