Near Venice. Transitioning between Singapore and Taiwan, so visiting family for the time being and hoping for a vaccine by year end. That’s why going to Rome for paperwork is a pain. When they reschedule as they please then 
Ah gotcha. Are you ethnic Chinese? Just curious cause I am always fascinated to learn about Chinese communities outside of the sinosphere.
Yes, hoping for a vaccine asap! Sorry must be so frustrating to have to travel far for a TRO 
I think the test should be conducted within 3 days of your flight (my flight was early AM Monday so technically test Thursday morning was over 72 hours before but it was fine). You don’t need a permanent address in Taiwan. In my experience there are long wait times to schedule a test in the Bay Area but results usually come back quickly, no more than 36 hours. Keep in mind that (based on my understanding) ARC holders don’t technically need a test, so even if results don’t come through you should be able to work it out with EVA at the airport. Just get a test scheduled and you should be fine.
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Caucasian here, but I swear in Hokkien Yea man, dealing with TROs is frustrating, but after reading the horror stories in US I guess Italy is not so bad after all. But let me get back to you after I meet them in person 
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Ahhh ok haha. Where’d you pick up your Hokkien?
I’m in Miami, FL and I don’t think I’ve seen any reports on the Miami TECO. But I won’t be applying til next year…hopefully I won’t be the first test pilot.
When I originally applied for the gold card, I had been studying Chinese for over 3 years - which prevented me from getting a gold card! (initially) My job was more than 3 years in the past, so my tax forms were no help in qualifying based on income. That was my experience from March to July 2020, before I found a job in Taipei and applied using the signed offer letter. Here’s the two people I contacted with my gold card application questions:
Mr Huang 02-23801720 : If I recall correctly, he speaks English. He helped notify the appropriate people that my application changed category, even when that didn’t show up in the summary.
Mr Wang 02-238-1725 : I think when I asked (in Chinese) if he speaks English, he transferred me to a friendly woman who spoke English. I asked her my questions about change of category and time limits.
Going back to last Tuesday, the same day I picked up my passport I got email from NIA (in the evening, after they closed). My application was approved! I was ready to wait 2 days, but I received a second email the next day saying my gold card was ready to pick up. Kinda curious, I went to NIA, showed them my proof of payment receipt, and picked up my gold card ARC.
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Hi @qwert_zuiop,
Is it certain that payslips are not accepted? I finished translating my documents, which is mainly the tax statement from last year that shows a salary > 160k. I thought, since the statement is for 2019, that it would not hurt to attach payslips for the last 3 months. Unfortunately, at this point I’m unable to get my payslips digitally and my HR department told me that they can only send them to me via international mail, which - thanks to Corona - will take around 6 weeks… If it suffices to attach last year’s tax notice and no payslips, I would not wait that long and just send my application right away…
Thanks and regards,
Fabian
FWIW, in June I applied with my W2s from 2017 to 2019 and no recent payslips, and got approved.
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I would suggest just submitting now with last year’s notice. They specifically told me that payslips are not a valid form of proof.
You can always attach more documents if they reject your application.
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Based on my experience and what I read here before, I have the impression that if they don’t see the tax statement in your application, regardless of how many other legit supporting documents you attach like in my case, they will auto-mark you as “insufficient documentation” and delay the process. If you have a tax statement, even older, better to upload it from the beginning.
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Funnily enough I picked it up in Singapore rather than in Taiwan
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Thank you @TroubleWithTribbles, @qwert_zuiop, and @boaz25 for your quick and helpful replies. I just sent the application… fingers crossed that all will work out. As soon as there is a meaningful update, I will post it here for future reference.
Best regards and happy weekend,
Fabian
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I finally got an appointment with the Atlanta TECO to submit my passport for inspection. They said that it would take 21 working days to receive my card once they report back to Taiwan that my identity is authentic.
While there they strongly recommended that I apply for a visa anyway to “protect my interests.” They said that sometimes immigration officials in Taiwan don’t know what the Gold Card is and I could “get into trouble.” They said this is due to COVID-19 entry restrictions. Has anyone else gotten this kind of advice? My assumption was that my Gold Card would just be an ARC that says “Gold Card” on it and that I would have no trouble entering the country.
@zacstewart The Gold Card has a sort of barcode on the back, similar to that of a Passport, which NIA will scan at the airport. Even if it’s the first time that that specific officer sees a Gold Card, the process is machine-based so quite fool-proof. Plus, I doubt that an application for a new visa overlapping the one that you already have would ever go through, unless you renounce your Gold Card which of course is nonsense 
The problem here is that the designers made a card that looks anything but an ARC The big title is “Employment Gold Card” while “ARC” is written very small below. And the shiny golden colour doesn’t help either because ARCs are usually blue.
I have been keeping up with the thread pretty closely, but I don’t think I’ve seen anyone posting about applying as a retiree with a pension… applying under “salary”. Any speculation around the possibility of this, assuming the pension meets the salary requirements? Would a tax return be sufficient proof? Any reason why someone couldn’t eventually get an APRC if the financials remained the same?
The Gold Card was introduced quite recently so what will happen to those that try to renew it or whether it will bring to an APRC after 3 years instead of the current 5 is still a matter of debate. As of now, APRC is given after 5 years of continuous residence in the country with an ARC, with the exception of the Student ARC that doesn’t count.
Your case is actually quite interesting 
The Gold Card is supposed to bring in working professionals and not retirees, but since an application under Economy only requires a tax statement that is higher than 160,000 NTD *12 and there are no age restrictions, why not?
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When my prior income didn’t qualify, at one point I submitted my tax statement for last year (U.S. IRS tax form 1040). They seemed familiar with the form, as they rejected that saying I had $0 wage income. Note they didn’t quote my interest or other income - they focused on wages. So my guess is they’d do the same for a retiree’s application, and focus on no earned income.
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Lots of great info in this thread. I’m currently in the USA and thinking of applying for the Gold Card. Couple of questions:
- If I apply and get approved under the ‘Salary’ category, can I still be employed by my US Employer but live & work from Taiwan? What are the downsides to this => I’m more than happy to pay taxes in Taiwan (as a resident) but not sure if it works that way.
- I understand the Gold Card is relatively new but for those that have gone through renewal or know about it, what are the major requirements? I’m worried about not actually working for a Taiwanese Employer during the 3 years of my residence there. Another option is to setup a Taiwanese LLC and use that to charge my US Employer.
If you guys have ideas or suggestions, please let me know. Thanks!
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This is strange indeed. Just to be clear, under “normal” circumstances, one would not need a Resident Visa stamp in their Passport to enter and exit Taiwan correct? i.e. the Gold Card would function as one.
@zacstewart, about two weeks ago when I flew from the States, I had zero trouble using just a print-out of the Resident Authorization certificate PDF. You don’t even need to wait the 21 working days for your physical card to be delivered to Atlanta, as long as you have that PDF.
Please see my post above for details on my travel.
The EVA check-in lady had to check with her supervisor, but he approved me quickly for check-in.
The border-control officer at TPE had to check with his supervisor, because he had never heard of the Gold Card before, but his supervisor approved it.
The certificate says 外僑居留證 (ARC) clearly at the top.
FWIW, no one here has reported being unable to board a Taiwan-bound flight or go through immigration here with just the Resident Authorization.
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