Thanks everyone who has provided such great info in this thread, I actually somehow read all 780 posts LOL. Very helpful to see first-hand accounts here, thanks to all who have kept this thread so informative. I am currently in the process of applying for the Gold Card, while overseas. Had some questions on details:
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Card pickup location. In the application on the resident page, I can choose from “In person - in Taiwan” or “GETTING LICENSE IN ROC EMBASSIES AND MISSIONS ABROAD”. It seems like at least a few posters here have had luck applying from abroad e.g. @irish91 posted about applying while overseas and picking up the card in person in Taiwan in another thread with Noel above. I’m planning to do the pick up at the Taipei office, but are there any pros of having the card mailed overseas? From the post above, the Resident Authorization Certificate seems as good as the real thing. In theory, I should already have an ARC number if I have a “Resident Authorization Certificate” and I should be allowed entry, but I am slightly paranoid that it will not be seen as good as the “real” card under some interpretation of current entry restrictions. Also the nearest mission is not far from me so I don’t mind a trip there. OTOH, mailing the gold card overseas may mean things get stalled or lost too. I guess I can also find out at the passport check stage with the mission.
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For anyone who has done this via an immigration agency, have you found those helpful, either in terms of navigating the process, speeding things up, etc.? For what it’s worth I speak passable Mandarin but nowhere near business fluency, and I’m planning to fill out the application in English since they seem to accept either English or Chinese documents.
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In the Resident section, it seems fine to leave the addresses blank if you don’t have any. For “Name of Your Relatives or Friends in Taiwan” - does this help much to have contacts? And is it preferable that they have an ROC ID?