zzxnn,
How long did it take for them to verify your passport?
I sent my passport to the local TECO office 8 days before they started halting visa applications and passport verifications.
I applied for the TGC back in May while I was in Taiwan.
It seams NIA will update their regulations, some of the changes are related to being exempt from needing a resident visa if already in Taiwan, hopefully that will help with some switching visa issues.
ㄧ、增訂已入國之外國特定專業人才申請就業金卡，得免繳驗護照。
二、增訂已入國之外國特定專業人才申請就業金卡，得免會同外交部審 查。
There will be a relaxation on the time you can apply for extension of the gold card from “within 3 months of expiration” to “within 4 months of expiration”.
Other notable changes is there will be a time-limit on when you should submit your passport for inspected before the application is rejected (within 6 months).
Comment made for this change:
“Since the end of December 2020 more than 100 applications for passport examination have not been submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the legal effect of the applicant’s failure to examine the passport is not specified in the regulations.
I would like to add a new section in order to facilitate the practical operation, I hereby add a second item to specify the handling of failure to comply with the requirement of passport inspection.” (Translated)
Note: These regulations are only in the draft and public comment stage, are subject to change and won’t take effect until officially announced at earliest the end of October.
Can find the official documents attached at:
https://www.immigration.gov.tw/5385/7229/7235/275229/
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Thanks for the info, Irish!!
I’ll have to pay close attention to the passport submission one. Should the rules take effect at the end of October, 6 months will have already passed since my passport submission notice. Hopefully they don’t begin the timer retroactively like that, especially considering for a chunk of that time the passport submission stage was suspended, but I obviously have to pay attention to see what they decide.
I submitted my Gold Card application. Few days later I got feedback stating I need to upload a new picture (backround too dark). When I log into the site, I upload my photo but nothing happens. Originally during the application you find the file, click upload, scroll down and hit ‘save’. Now making corrections there is no ‘save’ button only ‘next step’. Wondering if it automatically uploads when I submit the correction?? Site is really buggy.
Thanks for the info Ponlaihop!
My application was submitted on 2021/6/23 and approved on the 2021/7/26, which is all before 2021/07/28, so I still should be receiving it at TECO.
I’m not exactly sure if I should keep waiting, so I sent an email to help@taiwangoldcard.tw.
My guess is that it’ll automatically upload. It was a while back now (early 2020), but I had a similar issue with uploading new documents during my revised application, where the site would only show the original files. Yeah, it’s pretty buggy.
Thanks for the reply. I will uploaded my revised picture. You were right after I finished it uploaded my picture.
Just saw this update from the website… I hope 9/20 will be the final date.
*From 7/27 to 9/20, R.O.C. (Taiwan) Overseas Missions will halt the processing of visa applications (including the Passport Inspection Stage of the Gold Cards).
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I’ve never seen the update containing an end date before? Has anyone else?
Earlier the end date was 06 Sep… it follows Level 2 schedule.
My application was pending again for almost 4 weeks at consulting with the ministry of science and technology only to be rejected. This time the feedback was:
申請人所提供之文件並不具有前瞻或創新性，尚無法符合我國科技產業領域發展所需特殊專業人才之資格，爰請申請人擇其他相關領域專長申請為宜。
The documentations do not verify that the applicant has unique talents or innovation performances. Therefore, this application does not meet the eligibility requirements for Foreign Special Professionals Possessing Special Expertise in the Field of Technology. The applicant is advised to do application for other related fields.
I’m applying under the salary requirement in S&T, and the WDA agent has already confirmed with me that I met the requirement. Thus I’m not sure what’s going on within the ministry of S&T since I’m not applying under having a a unique talent, outstanding R&D ability or the like. I met the salary requirement and have proved that I worked as an engineer in a tech company, that should be enough? I did apply at first under “other potential contributions” back in February but changed it to salary when that was rejected, so maybe they haven’t registered that I changed the category?
Not sure how to proceed with this application…
My reading from this is that there’s not going to be a separate gold card extension page, but rather use of the existing platform/framework to process things.
Got this back from their Help Desk as I recently queried about it:
他須到先前申請就業金卡的網頁上(外國專業人才申辦窗口平臺)重新申請金卡，點選New Applicant。
建議他在金卡效期內盡快入境臺灣，並到移民署服務站延長居留，他可至移民署各縣市服務站臨櫃申辦「覓職居留證」（於正式取得覓職居留證後，不得在臺工作），以確保延續他的居留效期，或由雇主向勞動部申請工作許可。
Got the approval yesterday! Now on to passport inspection. Here’s my timeline:
Aug 18 – Applied under Science & Technology salary sub-category
Aug 25 – Review by Workforce Development Authority
Aug 27 – Consulting with Ministry of Science & Technology
Sep 3 – Review by Workforce Development Authority
Sep 7 – Approved
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Congrats. Things are moving fast recently.
My friend’s application was reviewed and approved earlier than we expected.
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I got an email today for ‘Supplemntary Information’. My second time, that is fine.
One of the additional things they need is 3 years of tax documents, specifically they mention W-2. I have them, but I was wonder if I should remove my social security number from those documents? Is that allowed? I just dont want my critical information floating around in TW if it is not needed. Please let me know what everyone does in this situation.
Thanks!
I just sent them through as-is, the chance of US identity theft from this felt slim to me. But I’m with you that the concept of SSN as the world’s shittiest password is exhausting lol.
People who got approved did you get an email notice or something? My wife applied through her employer so not sure how to check, and her contact isn’t responding. Maybe there’s a way to contact the visa office?
Yep I got an email the day the approval went through from the same email that confirmed the initial submission.
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The APRC FAQ on the Gold Card website now sound different from that:
My first Gold Card is valid for three years, but I only entered Taiwan after the Gold Card was approved, making my total stay in Taiwan less than three years. Can I still apply for permanent residency?
The start date for calculating permanent residency is the Date of Issue indicated on your Gold Card. As long as your Gold Card is valid for 3 years, you have resided in Taiwan for an average of more than 183 days per year, and you meet the other application requirements, you can apply for permanent residency
@fifieldt Do you know if they changed their mind on that recently?
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Yes, this is a recent change. It’s quite good, I’m still not sure I believe it myself 
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