Hey Laowinners,
I have a friend with a Dubai company but is a Pakistani national. His company has business interests in Taiwan, but getting a visa is a pain as Pakistan doesn’t have a Taiwan embassy. If they open a representative (or branch) office here, would that office be able to issue a letter of invitation so they can get a multi-entry business visa. Anyone have any experience in this field?
Generally he should be able to use the closest Representative Office to apply for a visa (by post). If there are business interests then it will probably be far easier for him to establish a business contact with a local company who can issue the required invitation / letter.
Opening a Branch Office is not too difficult in Taiwan, and yes, it can issue visa invitations and even sponsor resident visa / ARC (under certain conditions). However, in my experience there is quite a lot of bureaucracy involved, incl. opening local bank account for the business, minimum capital requirement, etc. If the business interests are serious and they are planning to have a longer term presence in the market and collect recurring revenue, have staff here, etc., then Branch office is the way to go.