And you may be deported. This thread is pointless as is the one that was already locked. The action is legally problematic but we aren’t members of the judiciary so can’t help. OP can do whatever the eff he wants. It’s a free country.
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“they [MOL] said if you work for a foreign company which does no business with taiwan, and your work never affect to local employment, and you are not supervised by anyone in taiwan, and you provide no service to taiwan, and do not get paid from taiwasese people or company, you can do the “work” without a work permit.”
later…
“NIA says if MOL has no problem on your remote work, they also have no problem”
I will of course ask them myself before I pull the trigger but it does seem that I can do my side job with ARC as an English Teacher.
I would be very cautious about trying to interpret this yourself. Yes there is a catch-all. Your facts arguably fall into it. But the enumerated activities are much safer than this catch-all that has a lot of room for interpretation. And be aware that a local case officer in the City/Count Department of Labor will be interpreting this first after the investigation. They are not known for their ability to apply the law to facts. They do not have legal training. If they decided it was work, you would have to leave and fight your case from overseas through admin appeals and eventually in the admin courts. It could be years before a person who went to law school considers the merits of your case.
Thats a good point, thanks!
Have you considered applying for an Independent Artist Work Permit?
As I recall, these are somewhat easier to get than a gold card. You could ask the new Talent Taiwan office for a little guidance.
No 
but thats awesome Ill check it out!
My comment was to suggest it would not be illegal. It is not pointless to ask after the law and to discuss it with an aim to prevent doing anything illegal.
And none of this is legal advice yada yada yada. We know. And if you do not like this thread may I ask why you are responding?
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I have a similar question: can a foreigner whose status is dependent on another foreigner’s work ARC do freelancing (clients are abroad; work done via the internet) and pay taxes in Taiwan?
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Apparently, an MOL officer over the phone says it’s legal. Still can’t find a clear law reference.
Try a couple more offices see if you get the same answer (and ask for reference).
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On a related note, my supervisor told me they can no longer keep hiring one of our former teachers who was providing 1-on-1 lessons from overseas. Apparently HQ said it was basically illegal to hire a remote worker like that.
Would that really be the case, as far as anyone here knows …?
If you are physically in Taiwan while doing this remote work, then yes you are providing labour within Taiwan. It’s illegal unless your work permit conditions specifically allow it. It doesn’t matter where the employer is, or where the money is paid, it matters where you are when you do the work.
An MoL letter is not a law. Be extremely careful how you interpret that lest you get deported and banned from working again.
Your company is where, and you’re hiring from where?
If you’re hiring someone as a contractor in another country, not sure how that’s illegal. Contractors are expected to pay their own taxes, you’re not hiring them as an employee, etc. It’s pretty common.
Fair enough!