The Employment Gold Card Super-Thread

Talk to the Gold Card Office Help Desk chat service. They should be able to help you. Write an email in Chinese to TECO. ChatGPT is your friend.

The TECO received my passport and let me know they no longer validate by mail, so next week they’re going to let me know when I can show up in person for validation. I wish the info online was more clear or that it was easier to get a human on the phone, but it sounds like I’m very close to having this wrapped up now. The key was just getting through to a real human at the TECO, at which point I’ve got the right information and a path to completion.

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complain to the BOCA at MOFA and the gold card office.

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This is hard to believe.

If they have really lived here for decades, they should have an aprc already, which would allow them to enroll in any school or university to study.

The first thing I plan on doing after I get my APRC is to enroll in one of those chinese language programs.

Anyways, I am thinking of trying to get a gold card. I don’t know if I really qualify, but I wanted to ask, can gold card holders enroll in chinese languages classes?
How about masters degree programs?

Is there a rule against foreigners taking language classes? They seem like they would be the prime demographic

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You can certainly enroll at one of the many university-affiliated Mandarin Training Centers around the island.

Here is the list: Chinese Language Centers in Taiwan -Ministry of Education Republic of China (Taiwan)

At least in Taipei City, it does not appear that a Gold Card holder qualifies as a New Immigrant, so you probably can’t take the free Mandarin classes offered by the city.

There are also some private language schools like TLI. These are mostly in Taipei

Yes. It’s easier to get into the national universities outside of Taipei. National universities have the most resources in Taiwan and the best faculty.

I’m taking Chinese classes privately. It’s pretty affordable since it seems to be a part-time job for most who teach Chinese to foreigners. So they aren’t charging rates as if it were their full-time job, it’s just side income for many of them.

I guess it comes down to how much study you’re doing. For me, I’m only doing 3 hours a week of classes. If you were wanting 20 hours a week of full-time instruction them I’m sure you’ll be spending far more and probably need a formal school, not a part-time teacher.

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You find it hard to believe that foreigners can live here for decades without having good Chinese? OK Well it’s true.

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Much more common they someone might think. It is silly

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From my first time in Taiwan, between my workplace being English speaking, being able to use my phone’s camera to do realtime translations at the store, Applepay so I can do self-check without needing to talk to the cashier, etc, it’s certainly plausible to live a long time as English-only, and I wasn’t even in Taipei, I was further south.

That said - I started classes online with my Taiwan-based teacher about 5 months before I should get back to Taiwan. Even with Taiwan 2030 meaning that every government service is supposed to be available in English, I am about to live there this year and 2030 is a long way away, and probably English is simply never going to be universal. I don’t know if I will stay in Taiwan 6 months or 20 years, but I want to be prepared sooner than later.

I’d strongly recommend anybody doing the Gold Card to apply for 3 years to give yourself the most options and start at least a few hours of in-person (not app based) instruction right away; before you even get to Taiwan if that’s possible, or within a month after arrival once you’re settled in.

One of my co-workers waited 15 years to start taking formal classes and said she regrets waiting so long as it’s made her life harder than it needed to be for this whole time. She justified it because “Oh, this is only 1 year. Oh, ok just one more year” and “one more year” kept going for 15 years. Best to start now rather than “one more year” of delays and finding you’ve lived a more difficult life for a decade or more of not learning the language.

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Beyond me to actually see ppl who think that living in a country without speaking the language of that country is ok

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Q: Working in Taiwan companies as a Gold Card holder.

Question: What are the requirements for companies of different nature, organisations or NGOs to hire Gold Card holders?

On the side of the Gold Card holder it seems rather clear. The Gold Card is itself or is linked to (?) a work permit that is again not linked to any particular company and Gold Card holders could even work at several companies as long as there are no clauses in the work contracts that forbid that.

Furthermore, Gold Card holders should have a salary of NT$47,971per month (or maybe a bit higher now, might be outdated data). (Source: website taiwangoldcard dot com)

Question: What are the requirements for companies to hire a Gold Card holder? Do they need to have certain number of employees, a special permit, a certain field of work… before hiring a Gold Card holder or is that completely independent? And can a Gold Card holder set up companies (yes) and hire herself by these companies (yes) without local employees and does each company have to pay at least 48000 NTD or in total that amount?

Putting it differently what specific rules should companies, NGOs or other organisations think about when hiring Gold Card holders.

Thanks all!

GC comes with open work permit as clearly written on the back of the card, there is technically no minimum wage mandated nor minimum size of the company. Hiring a GC holder is like hiring a citizen, there is no authorisation required nor extra paperwork.

That’s it, as easy as that, you can put the company interested in touch with the gold card office and international talent Taiwan office for clarifications.

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Great Thanks!

Maybe I misunderstood something on the Taiwangoldcard dot com website. But this is fantastic that there is no requirement whatsoever on companies when hiring GCs.

there are a few exceptions though as indicated by the WDA, GC holders can only work in the areas as specified in items 1 to 6 sub 1 par 1 of art. 46 of the Employment Service Act. However there is mention of minimum wage as the employer doesn’t need to seek for a work permit approval.

I think I remember reading somewhere that they reserve the right to cancel the Gold Card if one doesn’t work in their field of experience or accepts a job which doesn’t meet the double-minimum-wage salary requirement, but in practice I’ve never heard about them cancelling a Gold Card after it has been issued.

Yep. Because like the rule for special foreign professionals regarding cancelling the permit or needing to ask for a new one if you work outside of the area of expertise/sector under which you were approved seems only applicable to non-GC special foreigner professionals holders. Yes, that’s a thing! These ppl r foreigner who have been approved for a special 5 yrs work and residency permit instead of the usual 3, but they r not GC holders.

As always, TW bureaucracy is as confusing as it gets

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You might be thinking of article 7 in “The Regulations Governing Employment Gold Card Permit for Foreign Special Professionals”:

In case that the Employment Gold Card holder falls into one of the following situations, the NIA shall annul or revoke his/her Employment Gold Card:

  1. Notified by the Ministry of Labor or the central competent authority of the industry concerned that the Employment Gold Card holder’s situation warrants the annulment or revocation of his/her work permit or eligibility as a foreign special professional.
    …
    The Regulations Governing Employment Gold Card Permit for Foreign Special Professionals - Article Search/Content Search Result - Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China (Taiwan)

MOL related FAQ (slightly outdated now though as more fields have since been added and their is the special review route):

Q: What fields of job could Foreign Special Professionals obtaining the Employment Gold Card engage in?
A: The scope of work stipulated in Article 46.1.1 to 46.1.6 of the Employment Service Act may be carried out subject to the 8 major fields of the technical, economic, educational, cultural and artistic, sports, financial and legal and Architectural design, which are announced by the Central Government Authority.
https://ezworktaiwan.wda.gov.tw/en/News_Content.aspx?n=35C4C6202979ECD0&sms=2D58889BB41F75D7&s=DFD021AC89683025

I think the main point is the work is within Article 46.1.1 to 46.1.6 of the Employment Service Act.

The term “Foreign Special Professional” has been changed to “Foreign Specialist Professional” now also though it’s only been updated in the main Foreign Talent Act so far so might see different terms used depending on where you look but it’s both the same thing.

  1. “foreign specialist professional” means a foreign professional who possesses specific expertise needed by the State in science & technology, the economy, education, culture & the arts, sports, finance, law, architectural design, national defense, and other fields, as announced by the central competent authorities, or who has been recognized by the Competent Authority in consultation with the central competent authorities as possessing specific expertise.
    Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals - Article Search/Content Search Result - Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China (Taiwan)
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yeah, that is what I wrote basically, you have to work according to the conditions in those articles, but there is no mention of minimum wage as there is no need to get a work permit.

However, I would hope anyone with a GC earns more than the minimum requirement for having at least a work permit issued normally. That’s already not a lot of money to begin with if you need to rent in the metropolitan area of Taipei.

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Hi! I’m about to start my gold card and I’m super excited! I’m trying to think ahead, in the case that I want to extend/renew it, are there any specific requirements about what you needed to have done during your time in Taiwan to do so?

I got the 3 year gold card and I was hoping to take a year off from working to just enjoy Taiwan before attempting to find work again in Taipei. Would this get in the way of extending when my 3 years is up? I guess what I’m asking is: Is there a requirement that you need to be working the entire time in order to be eligible to renew when it expires?

Thanks!!