Working in Taiwan: NT$29,500 a Month Minimum
Cross-agency · employment
Quick answer
Taiwan's statutory minimum wage is NT$196 an hour and NT$29,500 a month from 1 January 2026, set under the Minimum Wage Act. A wage agreed between worker and employer cannot be less than that. On the Philippine side Taiwan has a government placement route with a USD 50 processing fee.
Every figure on this page is from official published documents: Ministry of Labor, Republic of China (Taiwan) and Department of Migrant Workers.
Last verified 2 sources, listed below
Ministry of Labor, Republic of China (Taiwan) | Adjustment of Minimum Wage1 · Department of Migrant Workers | Overseas Employment Certificate fees2. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with any agency.
Taiwan is one of the largest destinations for Filipino factory workers, and the number that anchors everything is the statutory minimum wage: NT$196 an hour and NT$29,500 a month, from 1 January 2026.
The wage floor
| From 1 January 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Hourly | NT$196 |
| Monthly | NT$29,500 |
Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor states that the Executive Yuan approved this adjustment so that labour may share the outcome of economic growth.
The legal force comes from Article 5 of the Minimum Wage Act:
The wage agreed upon by a worker and an employer shall not be less than the minimum wage. If the agreed-upon wage is less than the minimum wage, the minimum wage stipulated in this Act shall be adopted as the wage amount.
So a contract that promises less does not simply breach a rule. The statutory figure replaces the agreed one.
How it moved
| Effective | Hourly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2022 | NT$168 | NT$25,250 |
| 1 January 2026 | NT$196 | NT$29,500 |
That is a rise of NT$4,250 a month across those two published points. The Ministry of Labor’s own English news page still carries the 2022 figure as a headline item, which is why a stale number circulates so widely. The 2026 figure above comes from the Ministry’s minimum wage page, last updated 1 January 2026.
Check the current rate before signing anything. A wage that was lawful in 2022 is below the floor now.
What the floor is not
The minimum wage is a legal minimum, not a market salary and not take-home pay. Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor does not publish a single figure for what a factory worker actually earns, so this page states none. Actual pay turns on the contract, overtime, shift premiums and lawful deductions, including for accommodation and food where the contract provides for them.
Anyone quoting you a precise “Taiwan factory worker salary” is quoting a market estimate, not a published government figure.
The Philippine side
Taiwan is one of the destinations DMW runs a government placement route to, alongside Saudi Arabia and Korea, and the Philippine government charges are published.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| DMW processing, government-to-government for KSA, Korea or Taiwan | USD 50, in peso equivalent |
| OWWA membership | USD 25 |
| Pag-IBIG | ₱600.00 |
Two Taiwan-specific notes DMW publishes: for workers bound for Japan, Germany and Taiwan all applicable fees are collected, and the OWWA membership fee for Korea, Israel and Taiwan is charged per airline.
The OEC guide covers the exit certificate and those fees in full, and the recruitment agencies guide covers the private agency route and how to check a licence.
Before you accept an offer
- Check the current minimum wage. It changed on 1 January 2026.
- Check the contract against it. Under Article 5 an agreed wage below the floor is replaced by the floor.
- Check what you are being charged. Charging above the allowable schedule is illegal recruitment under RA 10022, carrying 12 years and 1 day to 20 years and ₱1,000,000.00 to ₱2,000,000.00. The deployment bans and placement fees guide covers when no fee may be charged at all.
- Check the agency is licensed, or that the route is genuinely government-to-government.
- Take PEOS first. The PEOS guide covers the free seminar whose country information module exists for this decision.
What this page does not cover
Taiwan’s work permit and visa rules are the Taiwanese government’s, issued by its Ministry of Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and are not reproduced here. This page also does not state which categories of migrant work fall inside Labor Standards Act coverage, because the Ministry’s English pages on applied scope did not load; household-based work is treated differently from factory work in ways this page does not attempt to describe. Nor does it carry overtime rates, deduction limits, contract lengths, or the number of Filipino workers Taiwan admits in a year.
Related
The caregiver salary abroad comparison covers why no official caregiver wage figure is published for Taiwan, the recruitment agencies guide covers verifying an agency and the government fees on each route, the OEC guide covers the exit document, and the PEOS guide covers the free pre-employment seminar to take before applying anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
- How much is the minimum wage in Taiwan?
- NT$196 an hour and NT$29,500 a month, effective 1 January 2026, as approved by the Executive Yuan and published by Taiwan's Ministry of Labor. Those are gross statutory minimums, not take-home pay and not an average factory wage.
- Can an employer pay me less than that?
- No. Article 5 of the Minimum Wage Act provides that the wage agreed upon by a worker and an employer shall not be less than the minimum wage, and that where the agreed wage is lower, the minimum wage is adopted as the wage amount instead.
- Is that the same as what a factory worker actually earns?
- No. The minimum wage is a floor. Actual pay depends on the contract, overtime, shift arrangements and deductions, none of which Taiwan's Ministry of Labor publishes as a single figure, so none is stated here.
- What does the Philippine side cost?
- For a government-to-government placement to Taiwan, DMW's processing fee is USD 50 in peso equivalent, plus USD 25 for OWWA membership and ₱600.00 for Pag-IBIG. Those are Philippine government charges, separate from anything an agency may charge.
- Do I still need an OEC?
- Yes. Every departing worker needs an Overseas Employment Certificate. For workers bound for Japan, Germany and Taiwan, DMW states that all applicable fees are collected, and the OWWA membership fee for Korea, Israel and Taiwan is charged per airline.
- Is there a placement fee for Taiwan?
- That depends on the route and is not stated here. A placement fee is only lawful where the destination country's system permits one and only up to the allowable schedule. Charging more than the schedule is illegal recruitment under RA 10022.
- How often does the minimum wage change?
- It is adjusted by the Executive Yuan under the Minimum Wage Act. The rate rose to NT$196 an hour and NT$29,500 a month on 1 January 2026, from NT$25,250 a month and NT$168 an hour set on 1 January 2022.
- Does the minimum wage cover every kind of migrant work?
- This page does not say. Taiwan treats household-based work differently from factory work in ways the Ministry of Labor's English pages did not load to confirm, so no claim is made here about which categories fall inside Labor Standards Act coverage.