According to the council’s estimate, the official said, Taiwan will enter a period of negative population growth from 2019. With the domestic birth rate continuing its downward streak, the official said,the governmentmust act to usher in trainedforeign professionals and young talent to sustain the country’s economic development.

Acting on the Executive Yuan’s instruction, the Cabinet-level CEPD has conducted a feasibility study on attracting investment and skilled immigrants, the official said.

The CEPD also referred to the immigration regulations adopted by Singapore and Japan in coming up with an initial promotion program. Under the plan, the official said, foreign economic, financial and technological personnel under 40 years of age, particularly those from countries with a per capita national income lower than Taiwan’s, will be prime targets.

Noting that East European countries boast certain well-developed industries, the official said they could be a good source of talent supply. For instance, Ukraine has an advanced defense industry. Meanwhile,India is known for its software and biotechnology personnel.

According to the CEPD-drafted plan, Taiwan could take in up to 1 million skilled and investment immigrants by 2050. In the first category, corporate chief executives, fund managers, scientists, engineers, medical doctors, graduate students, skilled technicians and special professionals will be most welcome.

As for investment immigration, applicants must invest a specified amount of money in launching a new business, expanding their existing businesses or purchasing real estate; otherwise, they must deposit a large amount of cash in local banks.

According to the official, the immigration promotion plan now still focuses on theoretical model analysis and collection of information on relevant foreign regulations and systems.

The CEPD study shows that Britain has embraced 600,000 new immigrants since it adopted an open-door immigration policy in 2004, the official said, adding that the measure has already had a strong impact on British society, including its job market.

In Singapore, foreign-born residents account for 18 percent of the city-state’s population. The Singaporean government has tied investment to immigration, offering permanent residency to those who set up companies or launch investment projects in the city state.

The CEPD official said the government will carefully evaluate all the possible impacts on Taiwan’s national income, economy and job market once the new immigration policy is put into practice.

As to whether Chinese immigrants would be welcome, the official said the government would basically not close the door to qualified Chinese high-tech personnel. But given the special situation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the official added, the government must make a further review before embracing other Chinese immigrants.

According to statistics compiled by the National Immigration Agency, Taiwan now has 314,000-plus foreign laborers and 14,000-plus foreign white-collar workers. Of the latter group, more than 5,000 are teachers, 3,000-plus are business professionals and more than 2,000 are engineers.

The small number of foreign white-collar professionals, coupled with their excessive concentrationin just three professions, particularly teaching, indicates that incentives and job opportunities for foreigners remain limited in Taiwan, immigration officials said.

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