As always, let’s grift the public purse as much as possible…
I don’t think we need to criticize the dude for looking for a loophole–totally legitimate question. Taiwanese look for loopholes all the time—lots of laws on the book, not all enforced as we know 
I just think that having NHI is really handy for visits to the local doctor, is so cheap from payroll, and such coverage, combined with his US private insurance, gives flexibility of choice in Asia should more serious stuff emerge. When I was in Taiwan, I remember needing some colonoscopy related stuff and my employer (a recognized name in Taiwan) found me one of the best doctors in all of Taiwan for it. He may not need to go outside of the NHI as I certainly did not for the big stuff in my 20s, but as per my recommendation above, having both (payroll costs are minimum) makes sense.
Given the cheap costs, it just doesn’t make sense to go for a loophole here. If anything, it is great value for the money even if just utilized for colds, great for Chinese medicine, etc.
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Paying NHI here would be less than many deductions not given by US medical insurers. Also many insurers when they find out you are resident in another country also require you to use local health insurance first before they pay out anything.
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Can you clarify about this? Are you saying that my premium for NHI would be $850 NTD per month no matter what my salary is if I am working for a foreign company?
From what I had read on the NHI website and related sites I would need to pay almost 5% of my income (up to 219,500 NTD) for NHI. That’s almost $350 USD per month as I earn more than this amount.
If the amount is really only $850 NTD per month which seems like an even bigger loophole then I don’t care but there would be no reason to pay $350 USD per month for something I won’t use given my employer’s coverage which costs me $0.
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Yes, that’s the current way things work for those of us who don’t have a local employer. The NHI office will say „no local employer = unemployed in Taiwan = minimum premium“.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that they will always stick to that interpretation in the future, but so far that’s what they have been doing.
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Because people like this could have inconsistent income and imagine an unemployed person being charged high premium he already struggles to afford.
It’s better to miss a few secretly rich folks than to cause a humanitarian crisis because he can’t afford nhi.
Wow that seems silly and too good to be true. Thanks for the answer.
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Here’s my experience a few years ago and I think the guidelines are probably still similar but could be different based on gold card, arc, aprc, etc
You can read and read and talk to lots of people but you’re really can’t know for sure until you go in and talk to them and they were very helpful.
They never asked me about income.
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Does your US company allow you to work in Taiwan for more than 3 months? Most companies won’t allow that, because that company can be liable for local corporate tax for having employees in Taiwan
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I’m sure Taiwan will survive financially if a handful of people don’t sign up for NHI. It’s not like it’s Canada or the USA with millions of immigrants clamoring to come in.
My employer has many remote employees over the world. I would be the first in Taiwan. I don’t see how Taiwan could enforce this since there is no company office in Taiwan.
Do you have an example of Taiwan trying to get corporate tax for a company that has one employee working in Taiwan on a Gold Card?
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So you wont be paid within Taiwan right? Assume you just transfer yourself money from abroad?
Not sure how NHI works, but I think technically on the tax side you are taxed on services provided here, regardless of where you are paid from. Some things like exports dont have sales taxes, but still have income tax etc. If you have an arc/apec you are required to have it though. Probably if anything just to have your record in case of disease. I presume the usual health check is still a requirement as well to get your residency.
no ideae show a gold card works, but worth reading the actual laws and regulations, most of which are in english on government sites 
Travel has nothing to do with becoming eligible, it’s 6 months from the start of getting your residency (ARC). You can travel all you want for business or leisure.
This is wrong, as stated above. You can look up the NHI regulations if you like. I’m quite sure there are other threads about it on here too (which you’re also welcome to look up).
It’s a risk that’s up to your company to take. It’s why some companies say you shouldn’t spend more than 3 months in any country.
Here is Taiwan’s corporate tax law: Taiwan - Corporate - Taxes on corporate income
“A non-resident company is taxed on income derived from Taiwan sources. A non-resident company with a fixed place of business (FPOB) or business agent in Taiwan is taxed similarly to a resident company”
Your company is a non-resident company with an employee in Taiwan so it has income derived from Taiwan sources. You are also a business agent in Taiwan.
Is this actually true if he’s not representing the company in any way legally though? 
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someone who does not represent the enterprise in signing of contracts or delivery of goods ordered, the person is not a “business agent” as stated in Paragraph 2, Article 10 of the Act.
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Can you ask your employer to employ you in Taiwan through a global employer of record? That would eliminate any permanent establishment risk for them.
Yes. If you are not employed by a company in Taiwan, then you are not in the system which means you fall under the “all other persons” category. The monthly premium for anybody in that category is $850.
folks, for GC self-employed ppl, such it seems this case will be, NHI is not based on employment in the country, but on residency. All ppl permitted to reside more than 6 months must enrol to NHI.
“Self employed” ppl with foreign employer are, as per TW legislation, considered jobless regarding NHI premiums, so they will charge u as a person directly and bills will be sent to your address to be paid.
If you don’t enroll in NHI still and u stay more than 6 months, they will eventually catch u somehow (they always do at the end, it’s amazing) and charge you all the unpaid bills during your period when u became eligible but didn’t register, plus probably some fines.
Just go to NHIA and ask, they r actually nice folks and very helpful, better to have than not and 826$/mo for this level of care is not bad at all (this is what I am charged for monthly premium in TW as a “self-employed” person with GC, I showed them my payslips and foreign contracts but they repeated cannot be considered since it is not a TW “insured unit”, so I am technically jobless).
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