My (second) application has now been approved, for reference my progress:
Aug 16: Applied
Aug 17: asked to provide ARC No.
Aug 17: Review by Workforce Development Agency
Aug 25: Consulting with Ministry of Culture
Sep 2: Review by Workforce Development Agency
Sep 13: Asked to change sub-category and apply again
Sep 20: Review by National Immigration Agency
Sep 21: Approved
By the way I called the Ministry of labor about my status twice and every time my status changed the same or following day. So it speeds up the process a bit if you just call them and ask.
Will the Gold Card be printed into oneâs passport or is it a separate, credit card sized card?
So, apparently, Gold Card holders who arenât working for a local company or working remotely for a company that isnât paying taxes into Taiwan are not eligible to receive health insurance under the NHI in Taiwan regardless of whether or not youâre renewing an older NHI card. I was under the impression that all Gold Card holders will be eligible for health insurance after a certain period of time in Taiwan and could renew previous NHI cards upon ending quarantine, but this isnât actually the case.
Where did that come from? I was under the impression NHI enrollment is mandatory for all residents. If you donât have a local company youâll need to enroll independently.
I went to the NHI office near NTU University Hospital. They told me I canât apply for NHI insurance independently. All I can do is apply for ânomadâ travel insurance (the type of travel insurance that lets you apply after your trip has already started because Iâm already in Taiwan).
âBy law, every Taiwanese citizen with official residency or foreign national living in Taiwan with an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC), regardless of age, gender, or employment status, must enroll in the program.â
Yes, you need to sign up after having lived in Taiwan for 6 months. If you register later, youâll probably still have to pay starting from the date you should have registered.
At present, you must reside in Taiwan for a consecutive six-month period (or leave only once for less than 30 days) and apply directly with the NHI. There is currently a legislative push to improve this, lead by the National Development Council.
Yeah 6 months with up to a single, one-month break. Iâd make sure to sort this out because a few years from now they may require you to payback all these months of premiums even if you never enrolled or utilized NHI.
Also, I believe you were in the situation where you were previously enrolled in NHI, and you should be able to enroll without the additional 6-month waiting period. Anyway, such a mess that you need to sort out. Sorry your first trip to the office was unsuccessful.
Regarding the NHI insurance. So, if I enroll in the NHI program after being in-country for 6 months, is it really âfor everâ.
The website seems to contradict itself. Most likely just a translation issue, but it seems like if your gold card (or ARC) expires and you may need to apply again for NHI. If so, does the 6-months in-country clause kick in again?
Seems to me once you are enrolled you are in for good. In a way, it sort of makes sense since if I leave the country and my Gold Card expires, I donât think I would return unless I renew my Gold Card and in that case the NHI is still in affect. Probably doesnt actually happen irl?
âNo one may arbitrarily withdraw, except for those who lose their insurance eligibility (such as people who give up their Taiwan citizenship, move abroad, let their Alien Resident Certificate expire, or a person who goes missing).â
01/08/2022 - Review by the National Immigration Agency
05/08/2022 - Review by the Workforce Development Agency
15/08/2022 - Failing 8 years of experience for less than a year (The minister does not accept the internship as work experience) - I decided to switch to Science and Technology Council - 2.2 Field. I prepared other documents (I attached the certificates, the master degree certificate, the Works Experiences, my CV and the signed Certificate of Employment).
23/08/2022 - Switch to the Science and Technology Council - 2.2 Field
01/09/2022 - Consulting with National Science and Technology Council
19/09/2022 - Review by the Workforce Development Agency
23/09/2022 - Passport Inspection at the Bureau of Consular Affairs or Overseas Missions of R.O.C. (Taiwan)
does anyone know how long they keep my passport? Because I would need it for a business trip next month.
That entirely depends on the consulate. In Frankfurt, I just had to wait around half an hour and could take my passport back with me the same day. On the other hand, in the US, they seem to keep some peopleâs passports for some weeks or even months.
May need to specify the TECO for a more accurate answer as it seams to vary depending on which one.
For me I submitted my passport at the Dublin, Ireland TECO, waited 15-20 minutes in the waiting room, then the staff handed my passport back and not long after got an email saying the application was officially approved and entering the certification stage.
Letâs say that once you enrol you are âalwaysâ in the system, regardless of what happens to your ARC. If, for instance, you used to have an ARC and return to Taiwan with a new ARC after a while, you will âreactivateâ your NHI coverage rather than âreapplyingâ for it and if you have lost/thrown away your old card in the meanwhile you will have to pay for the âreissuanceâ of a new one. Terminology apart, the mechanism is the same: you are covered if you have an ARC and you are not if you donât.
As to the 6-month period, it seems to me that itâs the typical Taiwanese mess. In my case, when I âreactivatedâ my NHI coverage with a Gold Card (I was a student in Taiwan years before that) after 6 months, the office told me that I should have done it from day 1 since it was a âreactivationâ. But I read different stories here.
The person whom you bumped into (Iâm sorry for you man) is the typical Taiwanese public servant who doesnât listen but assumes and whose only objective is to get rid of the foreigner as soon as possible. This person probably doesnât know what a Gold Card is and, after hearing that you donât have an employer in Taiwan, just treated you like a backpacker. Classic.
Adding to the data points, TECO Miami they held my passport for maybe 2 minutes, to make copies. My appointment took 5-10 minutes. If youâve got a branch that is still not taking in-person appointments then that sucks.
Regarding the NHI. After re-reading their website it appears one is issued an âNHI Cardâ after six months. I suppose in practice once you have that card you are good to go since it should be easier to re-activate NHI rather than re-apply.
Hey wondering is someone can answer this question.
From what I understand the gold card can be converted to an APRC after three years. One of the requirements is having an average monthly income in Taiwan in the previous year that is more than twice of the Monthly Minimum Wage.
Does only income from a Taiwanese company count towards this requirement or does income from overseas also count? (income from overseas that has had Taiwanese taxes paid on it)
