In my case I contacted the representative office 1 day in advance to ask what all was required as it was a 3 hour drive for me. They had not heard of the Employment Gold Card before so I explained I got an email and a passport submission form stating to take my passport for inspection. I forwarded this email and form to them.
Additionally I rang MOFA (https://foreigntalentact.ndc.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=D927ED39BDAE7478&s=DA2F7BC919B77E24) and asked them what was involved. They said they would contact their colleagues in the representative office with the details.
Before driving down the next day, I rang the representative office again, this time they where knowledgeable and said the process would only take 15 minutes.
Arrived, submitted passport, 15 minutes later got it back, all done.
Quite a simple process and everyone I talked too was helpful to get it all sorted
Iām kinda envious of you all folks who managed to get the card.
I applied for Culture, Art, Audiovisual and Pop Music and MOL deems that I donāt qualify under the scheme.
Well sad to say that my dream kinda stops here and canāt progress it further.
Did anyone try to appeal?
A few thousand white collar expats in Taiwan jumping for scraps at the immigration tableā¦while millions of Taiwanese and Chinese pour into Western countries as full-fledged citizens of those countries. The hypocrisy continues
Notice there is a new bill that will get voted in October. Here the direct link to the pdf draft. I didnāt went though it, but here the introduction of the bill that feel like will make future applications smoother:
The impact of Taiwanās low birth rate and population aging is growing increasingly evident. The countryās working age population began to fall after reaching its peak in 2015. The total population is projected to start exhibiting negative growth in 2025, with the working age population falling below 66.7 percent of the total population in 2027, bringing the period of its demographic dividend to an end.
Taiwan urgently needs to respond to these changes in the demographic structure, as well as to the difficulties caused by the increasingly intense international competition for talent and the marked shortages of the technical talent required by domestic industries, by recruiting and supplementing high-grade foreign manpower and talent to augment the manpower resources needed for national development. As a means to boost industrial upgrading, maintain a reasonable population structure, and raise national competitiveness, this is a vital objective that brooks no delay.
Hence, this proposed legislation will relax and broaden the applicable scope of regulations governing qualification to work and stay in Taiwan, access to permanent residence, rights of dependents, and other aspects of the treatment offered to foreign professionals, foreign mid-level technicians, and overseas compatriots. Also, given that regulation of economic immigration is currently dispersed among various immigration laws and regulations, this new act will serve to enhance administrative efficiency and focus policy implementation by bringing together all pertinent provisions in a single statute, thereby adding greater force to recruitment efforts.
To help attract the foreign professionals needed for the digital economy era and the rapid shift in business models, it is planned to relax their conditions for obtaining work permits and to establish more liberal conditions for their employment and for eligibility to employ them.
Whatās also awesome is that they are requesting for āpublicā comments . Never saw this way to do things anywhere else (even in France, because the only way we do this is by being on strikesā¦). So pleasantly surprised. if they actually read and change things according the comments.
Well, now Iām officially listed as āunder inspectionā, whatever that means. They already knew I have a qualifying degree, and Iām sure the passport canāt have been much of a surprise. Hopefully itās just the label that shows up on the site prior to them sending a notification of issuance.
Thanks for the advice and guidance through the process. Just waiting the ā21 working daysā for the card to arrive in New York. Hopefully that will be before I leave for Taiwan on September 24ā¦not counting on itā¦
Of course it should be possible to pick it up in Taiwan, but I have no idea of how to make that happen at this point. Itās hard enough to get the new procedure to work let alone try to change the process in the middle.
āmay apply for
permanent residence once
he/she has resided in Taiwan
lawfully and continuously for five
years with a presence of more
than 183 days each year. But
considering how frequently
foreign professionals need to
move between countries, and in
order to bolster their recruitment,
this Article relaxes the conditions
they must meet to apply for
permanent residence by
changing the requirement for
presence to AN AVERAGE OF
more than 183 days each year.ā
What exactly does that change. So you can be in Taiwan for 3 years straight (1095 days) and then come back two years later and apply for APRC?
183x5 = 915 and therefore you would qualify with an average of 183 days for each year.
I have a few questions and I would be really happy if you guys could help me out!
āThe Employment Gold Card combines the functions of a work permit, residency visa, alien residence certificate (ARC), and re-entry permit. Holders of the card will enjoy greater flexibility in seeking, taking up and changing employment, including a longer term of validity of their work permits.ā
I have been in Taiwan for almost four years, working full time in the field of science. I speak Mandarin and during my time here I have set up a few side projects that are socially and environmentally meaningful to the country and also promote Taiwan internationally. I would like to spend less time at work and more time on my side projects. So Iām looking into the option to work part-time. Thatās how I found out about the Gold Card and ended up here.
Does the Gold Card provide me an open work permit that allows me to work as a freelancer or part-time or even stay here without being employed?
At the moment I hope that I qualify as a foreign special professional under the theme of Science & Technology as I have published articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals in and about Taiwan during the last three years.
Do I need to earn more than 160000TWD per month? I donāt and I donāt know of anybody in academic sciences in Taiwan who earns that moneyā¦
Do I apply for the Gold Card personally or should I ask my employer to do itā¦ I just donāt see why they would do that, as the fees are higher than for the ordinary ARC.
Do they consider other criteria, for example that I can speak mandarin and I run social and environmental projects that benefit Taiwan?
I read that the Employment Gold Card is valid for one to three years, so how to decide for the duration to apply for?
I think you are qualified, and donāt need to earn 160k. Though, if you wait for 1+ more year, you will get APRC, which may give you more flexibility than the gold card. If it is 2 or more years Iād consider the gold card, but just one year and a few months.
Nice goals, @LessIsMore! Doing something similar on this end Answers based on my experiences with the processā¦
Yes. However, loafing for too long could reduce your chances at receiving a second gold card, should you choose to apply for one.
No, unless you apply under the salary article.
Short answer: no.
Long answer: You must choose which government agency will assess your skills, and there is an impenetrable wall between them all. The Ministry of Science and Technology wonāt be able to āofficiallyā consider areas that would be eg better handled by the Ministry of Culture. However, it is all about documents. If you have documents that succinctly prove your talent that you think a reviewer in the selected ministry might appreciate, attach them but donāt let them detract from your applicationās main focus. The ministry contact on the official contacts list has a document submission focus and might be able to provide some insight.
You select this during the application process. As tando noted, you could go for a shorter duration if you plan to switch to an APRC next year. Otherwise, itās probably better to go for a longer duration - costs more, but delays the hassle of finding the next visa (or going through the gold card application process again).
Works fine if done personally, and may be helpful because you can then directly contact the government agencies to follow up or if something goes wrong.
At the moment it all sounds to me that you basically just give them the hard facts they need, like your income or your published papers and based on that they will judge and make a decision.
Arenāt Iām somehow supposed to write something about my current situation and future plans in Taiwan? Like why I want to stay hear, how I spent time to study Mandarin and also introduce my contributions to the society here in Taiwan? Or maybe a letter of recommendation from people I have worked with here? Where is space for that?!
I actually heard different things about APRC, so for 5 years you need for at least 183 per year, live, work here or have an ARC? I lived in Taiwan for 4 years on different (most of the time with ARC), not sure if that makes me eligible for an APRC.
I could first try to apply for a 2 year Gold Card, the only thing I could lose switching to an APRC after a year would be money, right?
It used to be the case that switching the ARC category resets the clock on APRC. You may have 1 year left on current ARC category, but it could be reset to however many years are needed for EGC holders. Better confirm this before applying.
Answers based on my experiences with the processā¦