So do you get a Gold ARC card instead of blue?
Called MOL, the officer couldnât provide English service, and told me to call NIA.
Called NIA, told me to call MOL with Taiwanese friend. Lol, I am in Limbo.
Yes, I am aware of that, just trying my luck here. Otherwise I will need to get sponsor for my visa = harder to get job.
Do teachers qualify for the employment gold card?
FYI:
https://foreigntalentact.ndc.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=128B875DE9CBEBE3&s=BB4687B8F1AC1F70
Q1ïŒWhat are the requirements ofâA foreign special professional with special expertise in the field of educationâ?
A1ïŒA foreign special professional with special expertise in the field of education must meet one of the following requirements:
1.They graduated with a doctoral degree from one of the top 200 universities in the most recent QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education World University Rankings, or Academic Ranking of World Universities.
2.They have been engaged in teaching and research for more than five years, and in the past five years, they have worked at one of the top 500 universities in the most recent QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education World University Rankings or Academic Ranking of World Universities.
3.They have won a Yushan (Young) Scholar award in Taiwan.
4.Their most recent monthly salary in a former or current position in another country or in Taiwan was at least NT$160,000.
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If you have specialized knowledge in a certain subject that is of value to Taiwan.
An English teacher isnât categorized as a Foreign Professional but rather a Foreign Teacher.
Buxiban teachers with specialized knowledge or skills can apply for their own work permit I believe under the act.
Some information on changes for foreign teachers:
https://ws.ndc.gov.tw/Download.ashx?u=LzAwMS9hZG1pbmlzdHJhdG9yLzI5L2NrZmlsZS8wZGFhYmQ0Yi00OWE3LTQ2YTItYmM0NC1hMTVjOWM5MmQyODQucGRm&n=NCBGT1JFSUdOIFRFQUNIRVIgV09SSyBQRVJNSVRTLnBkZg%3D%3D
You would get added benefits of an APRC being issued on the bases of foreign professional also rather than spousal or foreign teacher such as not having to remain 183 days a year to retain it, rather can have up to 5 year gaps at a time, if you apply for that down the line.
Ok, a few questions:
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Are you an Overseas Compatriot?
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May I ask if you are a citizen of the Big 5?
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Are you married to a local?
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have you or are you employed by the ROC government?
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Have you or are you employed by the government of your country?
That is teh thing. Imagine someone who wnats to teach Western bread style, or Mexican cooking, or any other exotic skill - capibara raising, for instance. Can they apply to thsi from zero? How can tehy work here legally?
this is a bummer! I wonât risk my hard earned money for uncertain things, I think I will go to MOL by myself.
How did you guys get additional documentation to them? They only allow small jpeg files to be uploaded.
make sure you have good picture of your document, resize it to appropriate size, make sure itâs still readable.
I am using this software to resize my picture Moved to Microsoft PowerToys | Briceâs Blog
Are you an Overseas Compatriot?
No.
May I ask if you are a citizen of the Big 5?
Nope. I am from Pakistan. One of the bottom 5 per my experience. 
Are you married to a local?
No.
have you or are you employed by the ROC government?
No.
Have you or are you employed by the government of your country?
No. Just working for local companies.
The Gold Card is not aimed at people teaching Mexican cooking etc. Itâs for helping Taiwan compete globally. Though if you can explain why this is off importance to Taiwan, then you never know⊠it could warrant a Gold Card.
The culture and performance work permit might fit these cases best.
The thing is tyhat the skills Taiwan need sthe most , well, it ios hard to bring aspecialists here because there is no precedent for theitr abilities. Being repair of wind turbines or plain pupusa assembly, you cannot teach it here if you cannot bring the people who know. A temprary visa would work wonders.
Anyways, I was thinking that the effort is moot, as more employers replace expensive foreigners with cheap locals.
I applied for the Gold Card in March under the Science and Technology category âThose with unique talents or outstanding R&D ability or innovation performances in such cutting-edge technological fields as software applications,
software technology, nanotechnology, optoelectronics, information and communication, communication transmission technology, automation system integration technology, material application technology, high precision sensing
technology, biological technology, resources development or energy saving, frontier scientific research, and national defense and military strategies.â
I was debating to apply under the salary requirement or not. But I felt I had a good chance at the Innovative category and it would be better for me achieving it that way for the CV. As the salary requirement for an Overseas applicant I donât feel you have to be special to get that as I know many people in Ireland that would qualify and they just do a handy 9-5.
If you tell potential employers that you achieved the âGold Cardâ and they ask âoh, how did you do that?â, mentioning it was based on salary doesnât add much impressiveness (especially outside of Taiwan)⊠my thinking of it anyway based on the numbers of people they would also likely know that would qualify.
I attached certificates and references detailing work performed (had to take screenshots of the documents due to online website only accepting JPEGs).
MOI reviewed and passed it onto MOL.
MOL attempted to identify the qualification.
In my case it had to be referred to MOST in which they can additionally call in a consultant in your field.
About a month later the qualification got approved.
I retrieved a passport submission notice to take to the Representative Office. I rang MOFA before going to verify itâs only my passport I need to bring as its quite a long drive. They informed the Representative Office I was arriving.
The Visa Review took 15 minutes and I got my passport back.
Everyone else had applied from within Taiwan but I was the first Overseas applicant apparently.
A day later I got a Resident Authorization Certificate to use to enter Taiwan.
A week later I got another email saying my ID Card is ready for collection.
I am still in my home country due to having to finish and sort stuff out, but planning to fly out shortly.
Hearing that Overseas applicants arnt applying (or very very few). Taiwan likely needs to advertise the Gold Card more or relax the rules again. As currently they are mostly retaining existing foreign professionals (that likely planned to stay anyway), so the impact isnât that great so far.
I believe their is a coming proposal to allow Foreign Special Professionals to gain APRC after 3 years rather than 5: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2018/05/16/2003693154
âForeign professionals who want to apply for permanent residency are required to stay in the nation for five consecutive years, but the bill proposes shortening the period to three years for special professionals.â
So hopefully with more changes, we can see Taiwan attracting more foreign professionals from overseas 
Although the government is ready for more foreigners, I have yet to experience the perception of the industries in Taiwan. From first impressions there seams to be a distinct differentiation as a âLocalâ or âForeignerâ in Taiwan, unlike in the West where an office contains many nationalities and everyone things nothing off it, including employers⊠i.e. it wouldnât play any factor in getting the role or not.
All thoughts welcomed.
Regards
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First welcome to Taiwan and congrats on the gold card!
There is indeed a big differentiation between locals and foreigners but you can make it work and with the gold card you gain a lot of freedom and convenience now and save money too !
They do need to advertise more, now if there were high paying opps Iâm sure the word will get out !
Congrats on your Gold Card & Welcome to Taiwan!
I am in my final step now. I got an email yesterday that my card is ready and I can go pick it up. I will probably retrieve it today or on Monday.
My situation is kind of similar to yours but I took the opposite route. Although I could probably qualify as a specialist in my field but having dealt with Taiwanese bureaucracy in the past I just wanted to take the easiest possible route so I took the salary one. Another reason I wanted to get the gold card quickly is because I just quit my job 2 days ago and this card secures my stay in Taiwan.
Either way, looking at the time they took to process yours vs mine itâs clear those applying purely on salary basis can expect much quicker results.
The only thing I am unsure of (but I will probably find out soon) is whether the gold card specifies anywhere on it how one got it (i.e based on which criteria). Because if it doesnât (and while Gold Card is still a new thing) it should be easy enough for anyone with a Gold Card to pass themselves off as âspecial foreign talentsâ. I know it will definitely look good on the CV and I do plan to add it to mine.
I also applied using the salary requirement.
The card does say it is an âEmployment Gold Cardâ. On the card they wrote âçčćźć°æ„äșșæâ as the purpose of residence, and âç§æâ as the professional field; obviously that may differ depending on what you put as your field in your application. So it seems like it doesnât differentiate between people who got obtained it via salary requirement or other means.
One thing I am interested in is how this Gold Card will relate to Taiwanâs Dual-Citizenship act. They did say they will allow people to retain their original citizenship if they were âspecial talentsâ. The categories and criteria look quite similar too.
I assume anyone who has a Gold Card might be considered a âforeign talentâ, so they should probably qualify for âDual-Citizenshipâ then ?
It would be a contradiction if Taiwan denies Gold Card holders as not meeting their criteria for âhigh-level professionalsâ.
I will find out next year when I apply. I will try this route.
they donât have salary based option for the naturalization. Other than that, quite similar.
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