Have long wondered 
Architecture also looks like itās in the same boat.
Would be great if someone could call the relevant ministry and ask. For now, my pet theories:
I just got some key information from the authorities of the Gold Card program today that I wanted to pass on to everyone via this thread, regarding NHI helath eligibility under the Gold Card program. This has been discussed in this thread earlier on and not answered fully.
So, those who donāt come over with employment lined up will need to have private health insurance from their home country in place, or go uninsured.
Hi, can anyone explain āhousehold registration?ā Is it not the case that anyone with an ARC that has a certain address indicated has completed the household registration? Or is this something else?
it is only applicable to ROC nationals. If you are a foreigner, you donāt need to care about.
If you are a national of ROC, you can check here. It is a registration system of nationals with citizenship. Nationals of ROC without household registration do not have citizenship.
Indeed. On this, thereās a new law close to passing that removes the 6 month waiting period for gold card holders.
You can find an overview of the new law and a link to the one signed off by the executive yuan here: https://www.ndc.gov.tw/en/Content_List.aspx?n=999F9864EFDB5F6F&upn=6CE244D6E7DAF831
I just got rejected under the salary requirement, though I earn more than 160,000 NTD a month. Iām self-employed, and some of my income comes through as a freelancer while other comes in as wages paid through my company. I sent them my tax return and they said they would only count the line saying āwages, salaries, tips, etc.ā (company income that I pay to myself as a salary) and not the line saying ābusiness incomeā (income paid to me as a freelancer), even though they are both income for exactly the same type of work. (I bill one way or the other only because some of my clients prefer dealing with a company, and some with an individual.)
Iām not terribly surprised by this outcome, but it wasnāt totally clear to me from the requirements that freelancer income doesnāt count. Sharing this in case anyone else is in the same boat. Also, I called the labor office to clarify, and they confirmed that they are only looking for people who earn a regular wage as a company employee.
This is not entirely consistent with my case.
Whilst I presented salaried evidence from employers, I made it clear however that I was now self-employed (by my own limited company). I never used the word freelance but it was clear that Iām working for my own company.
Can you appeal?
Thanks for your comment. My issue was that, while I do have my own company, not all my income flows through it ā some companies just pay me directly as a āsole proprietorā (as an American it means they give me a 1099 instead of paying the company). On the phone, the guy at the labor office re-iterated that they will only count the āwagesā line even though I explained that itās all earned income and it just gets added together and taxed exactly the same by the US tax authorities.
That sounds annoying. May I ask which field?
Tech, basically front-end coding/analytics. He also asked if I had salaried income of more than 160K in the past, but then said that couldnāt count either because it was more than 3 years ago (Iāve been self-employed for 5 years).
OK. Did you include much information about your tech background in the documents you submitted? I heard MOST does a perfunctory rejection of salary category applicants who donāt provide enough information about their tech skills.
A friend just got a Gold Card and his salary isnāt even half of 160,000/month. Is this a requirement really?
Hmm no, I didnāt include much about my tech background since I just applied under the salary condition. I donāt think I could get too far with the āspecial professionalā criteria as I donāt have international awards or outstanding achievement in R&D (nothing formal, anyway).
@owleyes There are different ways to qualify, either through a monthly salary condition of NT160K, or outstanding achievements in certain fields. So itās not necessary to meet the salary requirement.
@anyway, thanks for sharing your experience.
Iām in the same boat. Whatās the phone number of the labor department?
Iād like to call them and find out if there are other documents that can be used as proof of income.
I couldnāt find a clear answer to this, although there was some talk about only people who come for the first time to tw to work can apply
But, in my case Iām on a jfrv and I been to Taiwan 18 months now. I havenāt filed any tax returns yet though, so arguably I havenāt taken up any work yet(in case that makes a difference)
. Can I switch over to this gold card and get the tax relief ?
My best attempts to work it through logically are 50 posts back or so:
but Iād welcome additional eyes.
This might be an interesting case, since the purpose of your visa is not to come to work ā¦
Yes,
I checked that post and my reading of it is that I can apply for this, but, I suspect Iām not āsupposed toā(Iām a special case they didnāt take in to consideration and might be a bit miffed
Perhaps give Ms Qiu at Ministry of Finance a ring and see how you go ā¦
https://foreigntalentact.ndc.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=D927ED39BDAE7478&s=DA2F7BC919B77E24
Can we ask in English? I emailed Ms. Lin (ęęē¦) from Ministry of Economic Affairs the questions below and has not got a reply.
Dear Ms. Lin,
I would like to apply for the 3-year Employment Gold Card under the Economy field and qualification of previously holding a position with monthly salary of at least NT$160,000. My questions are:
- Can I use my previous employer paystubs from 2017?
- What happens if my monthly salary in Taiwan is lower than NT$160,000?
I just want to make sure that I can still use paystubs that are within 3 years old and would like to get an official answer if the gold card will still be valid if my earning drops below 160K.
Generally, yes.
However, using older information may render your application non-qualifying. The requirement is āPreviously or currently holding a position in a foreign state or in the ROC with a most recent monthly salary of at least NT$160,000.ā
When I attended a workshop on the gold card last year, this statement had different interpretations at different ministries (eg how to avoid scamming the system by having one abnormally large pay slip). I think subsequently the NDC issued guidance, but canāt find that document right now. However, my understanding of what the speaker from the NIA said is if youāve got a new job since your >160k per month job, you may be of luck.