@fifieldt Yes, for US passports you receive a new passport number. My assumption is that I will be able to use my old passport with the Gold Card on initial entry, and then get a new card in Taiwan. That would be a bummer if they required the passport number on the GC to match your current passport. Might be worth calling to confirm.
Does anyone have experience with making an appeal after being denied the Gold Card?
I submitted on 8/26 and today (9/24) received a denial notice.
Application result: You do not meet the requirements. The Ministry of Labor had consulted the Ministry of Culture on 7 September 2020 regarding this case. According to the Ministryâs reply on 16 September 2020, after reviewing the documents filed, you are not recognized as one has met the qualification No. 2 under the category of performing arts. If you have any further questions regarding the documents required or the qualifications, please contact the Ministry of Cultureâs officer for more information: Mrs. Xu 02-8512-6777.
I applied under the Culture/Arts category as arts administration which they define as follows:
Were you significant in hosting a major international event? Please prepare:
proof your event is considered international or major level. Examples to compare with include Edinburgh International Festival, Festival dâAvignon, and BAM Next Wave Festival
I work for an event agency in NYC since 2006 and have produced events similarly prestigious and complex as the listed examples. I provided a cover letter, resume, and customized 10-page event history highlighting my experience. The fact that they did not ask for additional supporting documents makes me think they were looking for applicants to have the exact type of role in public festivals and that no one was assessing my application on skills or experience. No rationale was provided so I really donât know what went wrong.
Itâs disheartening to say the least, and my Taiwan visa ends in 45 days so Iâm under a lot of pressure.
Can you reapply under economy? It seems to be the easiest route
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Unfortunately not. Itâs a weird situation because Iâve been living in Taiwan on visa-exempt entry (although currently on special entry permit visa) and working freelance for the home office (working outside Taiwan). Some years I would easily clear the monetary requirements for economic application, but work is unpredictable and the past couple years have been lean. So the fact that Iâve been in Taiwan for several years actually puts me at a disadvantage.
Sorry to hear about your experience.
My (complete) guess: the documents you provided were composed by yourself and what the government wanted was documents composed by âauthoritiesâ (so they could be independently verified, in theory). If I was to try and apply with your background, Iâd be looking for published lists of the âtop X eventsâ in the field by relevant metrics, news articles that compare the event you ran to one of the events on the list, letters of recommendation on letterhead from important people/organisations in the field. Formal proof of your job title/role (company letterhead, from a big boss) and employment service certificates from previous employers if applicable.
Having said that, I am surprised you were rejected outright straight away, rather than being given the opportunity to submit supplementary documents.
Definitely worth giving the phone number a call, IMO.
ĺ 沚ďź
Hang in there travis-travels! Sounds like itâs definitely worth a follow-up call to Mrs. Xu at the Ministry of Culture. As fifieldt says, it may be that they are looking for a different type of documentation or title. Maybe get the home office to write a letter that gives you a title of âgeneral managerâ since âproducerâ doesnât seem to be in that example list of titles.
Thanks for your input and this is a helpful list of supporting documents. In retrospect I should have compiled stuff like this but I was in a hurry to apply due to visa expiry.
It is tough to imagine what documents they want when there is very little information about the application process online. And I agree itâs strange to be rejected without explanation or request for more information.
Already called Ms. Hsu (or Mrs. Xu depending on which website you check) and unfortunately she only spoke very little English and asked me to email her. I sure hope language barrier is not one of the reasons my application was overlooked. There is a lot of nuance and uniqueness to be considered in the type of work I do.
@JohnTN My official title is Event Producer, International but to be honest itâs all a bit meaningless because weâre a small company of about 50 people between 2 offices. But I can imagine they may just want to see the right title on an application rather than assess the candidateâs experience.
Hello everyone, Iâm thinking of applying under the Economy category but without the clear intention to immigrate in the following 12-18 months. Also it seems that after receiving card Iâm free to enter (& settle) any time while card is active. To phrase it differently: could be there a penalty for taking card and not using it, in case if Iâll apply for another one, letâs say 5 years later?
Why not wait until youâre sure you want to come and closer to the date you want to come? There are a lot of people applying now and while you might be entitled to apply at any time, why make the government process an application that isnât backed by a clear and near term intent to come to Taiwan?
Sorry it didnât work out for you, but definitely keep pushing and see what information you may be able to get from them. I think you have a strong case that just needs some alteration.
It does worry me since I, like you, plan to go the performing arts route. It seems like what they deem significant is very much up to interpretation on their end!
At the very least I hope to understand their criteria and why I did not meet their high standards. Itâs quite puzzling. And honestly I wouldnât be so hung up on it except that Iâve got 45 days left on my visa and so few options on the table. Youâd think theyâd be more accepting of a professional who already lives in TW and wants to seek work in their field of expertise.
I confirmed with Immigration that if you are here on a 90 day visa, you can renew it once if you go to Immigration in person 15 days before expiry.
Thanks @JohnTN. I think I saw you posted about that earlier. Definitely going to try this. Iâm not on a 90 day visa however, I have a 180-day special entry permit / visa.
I might go next week to inquire since Iâm still in the process of applying for Gold Card (the appeal process anyway) and use that as the main reason I need more time.
Update on rejection.
Ms. Hsu replied via email to say that my application is ânot within the category of âinternational art activities (indicative art festivals and other art activities)â recognized by the departmentâs performing arts category.â
This seems like a mindless distinction. I work for a private company that produces events ranging from private/corporate concerts, business events, and public festivals. Our clients being corporations, NGOs / charities, and the types of renown art groups detailed in their description. No, Iâm not a board member for an arts festival, but they hire my company to envision and execute their events and secure the artists. I guess that doesnât have the same prestige.
The criteria provided by MOC is certainly broad enough so I donât understand their interpretation being so narrow.
I. Performing arts
a. Previously serving as member of international arts organization, or assuming post of significant capacity in governmental agency or private organization related to culture and arts;
b. Currently or previously being major or significant member of hosting international arts event (including, but not limited to major arts festival);
https://foreigntalentact.ndc.gov.tw/en/Content_List.aspx?n=0CBC9B954DBA530B
Ultimately, I think I fall between the cracks because most of my events are produced for corporate sponsors and involve contemporary artists. I work for too many different types of events and theyâre really just looking for someone from one clearly accepted arts organization.
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@travis-travels I donât mean to sound discouraging, but on the face of it I would interpret this category as including successful actors from well-known theatre troops, musicians from a famous symphonic orchestra, visual artists who are famous enough that their work would be displayed in a prominent museum, etc. Maybe if you were involved in producing Sundance, but I am not surprised that they categorically say that being an event organizer for corporate events does not qualify.
For comparison, I am a software engineer. I work at a very well known Silicon Valley company. I even hold a fairly senior position. Yet, I did not apply under the science and technology category because the qualifications were so clearly over my head. They are looking for PhDs that have published groundbreaking papers, hold patents, proven outstanding researchers, etc. Just being a great engineer at a well known company in my field is not enough. Like most people, I applied under the economic category because making $65k/year in the US is a lot easier than being an outstanding technology innovator.
Good luck. I really hope youâre able to find a way to get it.
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@zacstewart This makes some sense. Theyâre really going after the prestigious and probably people who wouldnât have as much opportunities if they did live in Taiwan.
I think the criteria is widely open to interpretation but is applied narrowly. I think itâs misleading in a way when you read the requirements to apply.
Thing is I do work for high-profile festivals / clients and with internationally known artists, but that experience seems disregarded outright. Not even asking for additional information or clarification.
Maybe itâs the difference between working AT such cultural organization and being hired BY such cultural organization to run their events. But to make that distinction in a work-permit application seems arbitrary and certainly not about experience.
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hi everyone.
I recently applied the gold card under âtechnologyâ field and just received the request to provide more document.
But I have 2 questions
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I started working on a company which give me >160,000 NTD monthly salary this year. So, I havenât and taxing document now. Is it allowed to provide the company contract as alternative?
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It also required proof of technology works. I worked in software development over 8 year but is it too hard to find a formal certification/reward for that. So. Is it better option if change to âeconomicâ field? Seem the requirement more simpler compare with âtechnologyâ fieldâŚ
Thank for anyone help ~~
Listen to the popular opinion here, and re-apply in Economics category.
You need to provide a government issued tax document for one [previous] year tax returns (W2, or 1099). Company offer letters will trigger âadditional documents neededâ and you will spend about 4-6 weeks going through the required tax document update.
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@rogerhok I also didnât have tax documents, and I confirm that providing a letter from your company verifying your monthly salary, your employment contract and your pay slips is sufficient. I had initially submitted only pay slips and contract, and was then requested to submit a letter written by my employer in addition to a declaration letter (written by the applicant) attesting to the authenticity of documents.