Hi.
My situation is that I’m a US citizen who works for a US firm remotely as a web developer. I’d like to move to Taiwan for at least a year and I’m trying to figure out what my options are as far as obtaining a visa. I obviously won’t be working in Taiwan since I’m already employed so what are the other ways that I could potentially be allowed to say in Taiwan long term. Is enrolling in a university my only option ? Generally what are my choices ? thanks so much
Oh for the days when you could get a kungfu study visa (seriously). But yes I think studying is your only viable option. It’ll have to be a government approved school and 15 hours a week but if you have a job you can do at home it’s great: gets you out meeting people and learning the language.
You do have to be careful with taxes as technically you should be paying taxes here even if the work is for a foreign company (as you are physically in Taiwan working). But unless you plan to stay long term it would be senseless to bother with that.
Or you can do the “visa run” method using a visa-free entry, assuming your passport nationality will allow that. It costs a bit but you avoid all the hassle. The downside is that you wouldn’t have an ARC or any of the many papers that people (landlords, vehicle salespeople, etc. etc.) like to see, since you’d be a tourist, essentially.
And, think of all the frequent flyer miles that you’d rack up. Everyone correct me if I’m wrong, but you’d have fly in and out once a month.
Also, get your visa paperwork done BEFORE you get here. Lots of paperwork.
Remember no ARC, no health coverage. You will be on your own. You could perhaps buy health insurance that will cover you in Taiwan abroad though, just for the big stuff if and when. The small stuff isnt expensive to pay on your own anyway.
Oh I guess that’s not the end of the world because I was planning on taking classes anyway although I don’t know if I like the idea of having to go to a government approved school.
Humor me because I’m a little curious… Would it in theory be easy for me to pay a Taiwanese business under the table to give me a job where I work from home and have minimal responsibilities ?
What if I did it in a way that provides a provable value-add for the company… Like for example lets say I know the owner of a motorcycle tour company. I could set up a pay-per-click search engine marketing campaign that drives some extra visitors to his website to maybe get him a few new customers a month. It might cost me $500US/month to buy the web clicks from google. He could hire me as a marketing consultant and pay me $400/month so effectively he’d be getting $100/month worth of free traffic out of the deal. It seems to me like that would be a fairly legit situation. Would the government make it too much of a hassle for it to be worth his time ?
thanks for the advice.
Oh I guess that’s not the end of the world because I was planning on taking classes anyway although I don’t know if I like the idea of having to go to a government approved school.
Humor me because I’m a little curious… Would it in theory be easy for me to pay a Taiwanese business under the table to give me a job where I work from home and have minimal responsibilities ?
What if I did it in a way that provides a provable value-add for the company… Like for example lets say I know the owner of a motorcycle tour company. I could set up a pay-per-click search engine marketing campaign that drives some extra visitors to his website to maybe get him a few new customers a month. It might cost me $500US/month to buy the web clicks from google. He could hire me as a marketing consultant and pay me $400/month so effectively he’d be getting $100/month worth of free traffic out of the deal. It seems to me like that would be a fairly legit situation. Would the government make it too much of a hassle for it to be worth his time ?
thanks for the advice.[/quote]
Possible but unlikely, because there is a minimum he would have to claim to pay you per month, which means you would have to pay taxes on that, and he would also have to provide you with health insurance and an ARC.
You would also have to prove you have at least 2 years experience in the field and I believe the field would have to be approved by the MOI and whatever the labor bureau is called these days as something foreigners can get an ARC for.
Your choices really are: start your own business; leave every two months; go to school (and it has to be a government approved school).
Thanks for your answer.
I’m not finished with my outside-the-box ideas so bare with me a little longer please 
Lets talk about what is involved in starting a business. Would my business have to be on a government list of approved businesses also ? Lets say I own a web property that’s bringing me $700US+/month in advertising revenue. Currently my advertisers wire funds to a US bank account but they could easily be instructed to wire it to a Taiwanese bank. I could deal with incorporating in Taiwan and paying both US and Taiwanese taxes on this income. Would that work ? What does the government want to see from a foreigner owned business besides the certificate of incorporation and the tax return ? Would it work if my site only made $300US/month?
I have another idea, but I’m not sure if it’s possible (folks who have been living in Taiwan should be able to say if it is, though)…can a foreigner gain automatic residency if they bring a certain amount of money into the country? Not to invest into a business or anything, but just by having a certain amount in their bank account? This is possible in many countries, but I’m not sure about Taiwan.
Thanks for your answer.
I’m not finished with my outside-the-box ideas so bare with me a little longer please
Lets talk about what is involved in starting a business. Would my business have to be on a government list of approved businesses also ? Lets say I own a web property that’s bringing me $700US+/month in advertising revenue. Currently my advertisers wire funds to a US bank account but they could easily be instructed to wire it to a Taiwanese bank. I could deal with incorporating in Taiwan and paying both US and Taiwanese taxes on this income. Would that work ? What does the government want to see from a foreigner owned business besides the certificate of incorporation and the tax return ? Would it work if my site only made $300US/month?[/quote]
You need to ask this on the business forums. Several people have started businesses in Taiwan to maintain/obtain residency. I am self-employed but have residency through marriage (and should this year get around the permanent residency based on my time in Taiwan). AFAIK the startup costs of a business are not high for the first year but go up considerably after that and you must then start employing locals. The government has little interest in making Taiwan a haven for the self-employed.
Probably not … minimum amount per month is about 30,000NT$ for living costs … if you incorporate you need to hire yourself as employee, and pay yourself as a foreigner 49,000 NT$, get a work permit and ARC … it’s not as easy at it looks.
But there are ways around, some people on the forum know about setting up a ‘branch’ office or ‘sales’ office, it doesn’t allow you to do physical work however … but you can get visa and ARC I believe.
OK I’m taking this over to the business forum. Thanks for your assistance everyone.
Hey there triumph and everyone else!
I am pretty much in the same boat at the moment. So triumph, I was wondering what your final solution was.
I want to live in Taiwan for the next 1 - 2 years with my (taiwanese) girlfriend that I met in Australia. Like you, I am a web-developer. I currently work for a company in Europe. I addition to that I am self employed as well.
I already mailed the “council of labour affairs” in Taiwan and they told me that I do not need a work permit if I do not work for a taiwanese company and no taiwanese company is involved in my work. They just were not very specific on the visa issue:
[color=#0040FF]“As for whether you can do teleworking while you are in Taiwan on vacation, it depends on your purpose of visiting Taiwan and what kind of visa you are granted. As a visa is normally issued for a specific “purpose of stay”, what activities the visa holder can engages in within territory of Taiwan shall be in accordance with the purpose(s) of the visa.”[/color]
I mean the taiwanese government wouldn’t know if I do work on my computer (VPN) anyway, while I am sitting in the apartment. But still, it’s good to know the official rules… 
I have been in TW for a month in march and will be going back in may.
Currently my plan is to go to Taiwan on my 90 day visa exempt entry and renew (visa run) if necessary. I actually plan to go to a university to learn mandarin, maybe I will get myself a student visa. Does anyone know by chance if I can study chinese at a university while I am there on visa exempt entry? Do the universities check your visa? Do I need a student visa to be accepted?
Other than that I read on this forum that after you have stayed in Taiwan for 183 days you have to pay taxes. Can someone please give a short summary about this tax issue? Would that even apply in my case?
Thanks a lot everyone! This forum is very helpful! 
Cheers!
Unless I’m missing something, the “council of labour affairs” didn’t want to address the issue and gave you a non-answer. :loco:
You can’t get a work visa if you telework, so how exactly can you legally telework in Taiwan? If you enter the country with the purpose of study or visit, then you are not allowed to work.
Now, you would not be the first person in Taiwan who’s working while not having the right visa…
[quote=“traveller77”]I already mailed the “council of labour affairs” in Taiwan and they told me that I do not need a work permit if I do not work for a taiwanese company and no taiwanese company is involved in my work. They just were not very specific on the visa issue:
[color=#0040FF]“As for whether you can do teleworking while you are in Taiwan on vacation, it depends on your purpose of visiting Taiwan and what kind of visa you are granted. As a visa is normally issued for a specific “purpose of stay”, what activities the visa holder can engages in within territory of Taiwan shall be in accordance with the purpose(s) of the visa.”[/color][/quote]
The CLA doesn’t issue visas, the NIA does. What they are telling you is that it’s not their business.