The Employment Gold Card Super-Thread

[slawa]

You will be fine unless your passport looks like this

[fifieldt]

Papers, please reference. 10 points.

[DesiInTaipei]

I didn’t get your point here. For GC holders, there is no waiting period for NHI. I applied for the NHI card in the 1st month after coming here on the GC and got it within 14 days.

[tando]

@DesiInTaipei

. For GC holders, there is no waiting period for NHI. I applied for the NHI card in the 1st month after coming here on the GC and got it within 14 days.

Did they already change the rule? Or are you employed?

Iirc, There is a draft to change the rule, but it is not passed yet. If you are employed, I think you get the NHI through the employment. It may not be because you are a GC holder.

[DesiInTaipei]

Yes I am employed. I don’t know if they changed the rules, but it’s been this for the past 3 months. Check this point 5 of A2:

https://foreigntalentact.ndc.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=AC68F9FBABA3F294&s=4D07D9F9F687B542

It even says spouses and children won’t have waiting period.

[pin2xbo]

You get it immediately starting the date of your employment. If not, you will need to wait after continuous 6 months in taiwan, with one trip allowance of not more than 30 days.

Link below:
https://www.nhi.gov.tw/English/Content_List.aspx?n=C88B41A4EAB5E692&topn=778856C209BCE527

[DesiInTaipei]

But that is regular NHI isn’t it? From the GC link above, it seems you should be eligible for it right from day it’s issued.

[fifieldt]

As I understand it, this was the original intention of the program. However, after it was implemented MoHW had a different view meaning a legislative fix was required.

[Andrew]

@tando

Example 2: no need of permission. University most probably request you to give them estimate and bill, and receipt.

If your monthly sales is more than 40k NTD, you should register yourself as a business entity at taxation office, and they require you to issue receipt.

Thanks once again for your help @tando. Could I please clarify something here? Does the 40k TWD/registration/receipt requirement you mention refer exclusively to sales within Taiwan or both inside and outside Taiwan? That is, do I really need to register and issue fapiao for clients outside Taiwan?

I’ve looked through the two acts you posted, and some of the language here seems to indicate (at least to me) that many of the articles specifically refer to goods/services sold inside Taiwan. In particular,

Value-added and Non-value-added Business Tax Act
Article 1: Value-added or non-value-added business tax shall be levied, in accordance with this Act, on the sale of goods or services within the territory of the Republic of China (R.O.C.) and on the import of goods.

Article 4: Any of the following circumstances is a sale of services within the territory of the R.O.C.:

1. Where services sold are supplied or utilized within the territory of the R.O.C..
2. Where passengers are boarded or goods loaded within the territory of the R.O.C by an international transportation enterprise.
3. Where a foreign insurance enterprise accepts reinsurance policies from an insurance enterprise within the territory of the R.O.C…

Am I reading that wrong?

Also,

Article 7: The business tax rate is zero for sale of the following goods or services:
[…]
2. Services relating to export or services provided in the R.O.C. but used in a foreign country.

Would this not apply here?

Article 8: The following goods or services are exempted from the business tax:
6. Publication which are textbooks authorized by education authorities for use at various levels of schools and important specialized academic writings awarded by the government according to the law issued by the publishing industry.

Could this also not apply here for specialized academic publications (though I’m not exactly sure what the “awarded by…” part refers to)? Probably not, I guess?

Regarding the “Regulations Governing Taxation Registration” act, I’ve looked through that…and I get the impression that it would seem to mean that any individual doing work on a freelance/contract basis, whether for Taiwanese or overseas clients, would need to register as a business entity. Am I wrong, or is that really the correct interpretation?

Surely this type of situation, i.e., doing freelance/contract work for one or two clients outside Taiwan, is one that would apply to quite a number of other gold card holders here? I might not have explained myself clearly above - what I intend to do, initially, is essentially provide a regular service to two foreign companies, send each one an invoice every month, and get paid (can be either to a foreign account or Taiwanese one, whichever is easier).

Do I really need to register as a business entity, issue fapiao, and file taxes every two months for this? I know the concept of “freelance” isn’t so common in Taiwan, but I honestly thought I would just need to do something simple like file a personal tax return once a year and pay.

How have other gold card holders in this thread handled this? Surely I’m not the only one in this kind of situation…?

@tando

I think editing isn’t included in gaofei, unless your name is put on the published documents. Maybe science writing by your name is.

Ah okay, thanks. I thought I’d read somewhere that translation and similar services were included, but I must be wrong then.

[tando]

@Andrew

. I thought I’d read somewhere that translation and similar services were included,

now I remember, I’ve read so somewhere on this forum too.

BTW, taxation office is providing professional English taxation consultation, I think for free.

https://www.ntbt.gov.tw/english/multiplehtml/dfd186f192bd4b669352fedbd31c39cd

[andrewng]

Hi,

I’m currently living in Singapore (PEP holder) and tempted to apply for the gold card as I’m interested to relocate to Taiwan with my family. From what I have understood so far, I will be applying as an oversea foreigner.

My question is that if things go smooth and my application gets approved, will the 3 years eligible period (assume this is the duration I apply for) starts immediately? or will it only starts when I & family physical enter Taiwan?

This is quite important to me as I need to plan for quitting my job here, terminate my rental contract, arrange for my kid’s schooling, pack and move my family belongings over to Taiwan, etc. Ideally I want the clock to start ticking only when I enter Taiwan to maximize my 3 years period.

I have been reading lots of comments above but so far I don’t seem to find a definitive answer… any advice on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Andrew

[tando]

@andrewng

if things go smooth and my application gets approved, will the 3 years eligible period (assume this is the duration I apply for) starts immediately?

short answer, yes.

This post explained.

"Employment gold card" for some foreigners

When the card is issued that determines the expiry date. If you applied overseas you will get the Resident Authorization Form (basically a paper version of the card) to show immigration at the border. Your card is printed and sits at the Immigration Center until such a time you collect it. When I collected mine the agent at the counter looked through a stack of cards to find it. To be clear, the expiry date is not counted from time of entry or pick-up. I have checked my emails and expiry dat…

[andrewng]

Thanks tando!

[lin_ts]

Thanks everyone who has provided such great info in this thread, I actually somehow read all 780 posts LOL. Very helpful to see first-hand accounts here, thanks to all who have kept this thread so informative. I am currently in the process of applying for the Gold Card, while overseas. Had some questions on details:

1. Card pickup location. In the application on the resident page, I can choose from “In person - in Taiwan” or “GETTING LICENSE IN ROC EMBASSIES AND MISSIONS ABROAD”. It seems like at least a few posters here have had luck applying from abroad e.g. @irish91 posted about applying while overseas and picking up the card in person in Taiwan in another thread with Noel above. I’m planning to do the pick up at the Taipei office, but are there any pros of having the card mailed overseas? From the post above, the Resident Authorization Certificate seems as good as the real thing. In theory, I should already have an ARC number if I have a “Resident Authorization Certificate” and I should be allowed entry, but I am slightly paranoid that it will not be seen as good as the “real” card under some interpretation of current entry restrictions. Also the nearest mission is not far from me so I don’t mind a trip there. OTOH, mailing the gold card overseas may mean things get stalled or lost too. I guess I can also find out at the passport check stage with the mission.

2. For anyone who has done this via an immigration agency, have you found those helpful, either in terms of navigating the process, speeding things up, etc.? For what it’s worth I speak passable Mandarin but nowhere near business fluency, and I’m planning to fill out the application in English since they seem to accept either English or Chinese documents.

3. In the Resident section, it seems fine to leave the addresses blank if you don’t have any. For “Name of Your Relatives or Friends in Taiwan” - does this help much to have contacts? And is it preferable that they have an ROC ID?

[fifieldt]

Hi @lin_ts, welcome to Forumosa. Thanks for reading the thread - you must be an expert by now

@lin_ts

1. I’m planning to do the pick up at the Taipei office, but are there any pros of having the card mailed overseas?

I applied domestically, and the pick-up at the Immigration Agency was very straightforward. Further, I can share the experience of leaving and re-entering Taiwan while my residence card was being updated. During that period of time, my application receipt was as good as the residence card for getting across the border in Taiwan. It was also accepted by the airlines I travelled with in other countries. I expect the Resident Authorization Certificate will perform even better than this non-gold-card application receipt I used in the past. However, if you expect any trouble with particular airlines or particular border officials, having the card in hand is an additional degree of safety. Though, the process is likely to take longer.

@lin_ts

it seems fine to leave the addresses blank if you don’t have any.

This is true. It’s entirely normal and accepted to apply with no local address. Once you get a place to stay, you can (must) update the details on your card free of charge.

[olm]

@tando

BTW, taxation office is providing professional English taxation consultation, I think for free.

https://www.ntbt.gov.tw/english/multiplehtml/dfd186f192bd4b669352fedbd31c39cd

That doesn’t look too professional to be honest

[Boubba]

Hello all,

Wondering if there are any Canadians/Brits in this forum who successfully applied for the Gold Card while on the 180 Days visitor visa with no extension?

I have such visa right now and I am unclear whether I am allowed to apply for the Gold Card or not. The immigration consultant I am speaking to seems to think not, but the website is unclear.

Excerpt from the website:
Holders of foreign passports other than U.S. who entered R.O.C. (Taiwan) visa-free, or with a visa for a stay of less than 60 days, or with a visa for a stay of 60 days or longer and with annotation by the visa-issuing authority of a restriction disallowing extension or other limitation applying domestically: For one-year duration, NT$4,500 per card; for two-year duration, NT$5,500 per card; for three-year duration, NT$6,500 per card.

Note: I entered on a visa-exempt basis and extended to 180 days my stay.

Please help and share your experience.

Thanks much!

[Andrew]

You might want to ask in the epic gold card thread.

Or failing that, you could visit or email NIA - I found them pretty quick to respond when I had problems with my application. I wouldn’t say you need an immigration consultant (whatever they are) for the gold card application, but maybe it depends on your circumstances.

Edit: Just saw your note at the bottom regarding being on an extended visa exemption. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect you can’t do this as you supposedly can’t change your visa type again after the extension. I actually did a visa run in February while my application was still pending, specifically to avoid being in the position you describe. You could still check with NIA though.

[Boubba]

Thank you so much for the prompt reply @Andrew.

I went this afternoon to the NIA, and it is POSSIBLE to apply with the 180 days visa. And someone else I had asked earlier this morning, kindly called them for me in the meantime and got the same response!

And agree, they are very helpful. Same goes for folks in this Forum.

Thank you!

[Andrew]

Oh that’s good to know. My suspicion that it wouldn’t be possible to go from the extension to the gold card was based on BOCA telling me I couldn’t go from an extension to a work-based ARC without leaving the country a couple of years ago. They might have relaxed that rule given the current situation though, or it might be something specific to the gold card.

Guess I didn’t need to do the visa run to KL after all then. Although I would have missed out on the kebabs, so it’s all good!