then that makes sense for you.
UPDATE: my application for extension is already at the NIA re-review stage!
Sound good !
Maybe itâs worth a trip or call to NIA in Taipei and get a second opinion. Iâm pretty sure the law says it only applies if you left for over the threshold (3 months) during your residency in Taiwan, which can be 3 years for GC holders
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Sent an enquiry to NIA already, might go to ask them too
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well, in an incredible change of events, NIA just replied this to me about the criminal certificate from home country exemption:
âSpecific foreign professionals residing in the Taiwan for 3 consecutive years with an average annual residence of 183 days or more, and meet the requirements may apply for APRC to the local Service Center of NIA. Besides, applicants who travel abroad for periods of less than 3 months during their lawful continuous residence for permanent residency application are exempted from providing the national criminal record certificate issued by the police authority of the applicantâs home country.â
Will send this to Gold Card office for their reference, will go without the police certificate first, if any issues, well will work on getting that.
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Blazing fast, already approved!!! Submitted on 9th Jan evening, approved today 14th Jan!!! Amazing
Gotta say, the FSC while kinda hating me they also like me a lot for approving this fast.
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Hey folks - my goldcard expired last year, and I accidentally got a 6 month ARC to find a job here, is there a process where I could renew my goldcard back instead? (I guess this might be a better direct Q to goldcard office, will update)
Yes, use the same website you used to initially apply for the Gold Card:
https://coa.immigration.gov.tw/coa-frontend/four-in-one/entry/main
There, you can apply for an âextensionâ (I think due to the ARC extension, your card should still be considered âvalidâ - but not entirely sure about thatâŚ). If that doesnât work, you need to apply for a ârenewalâ. Both are basically a new application, i.e. you still need to fulfill the requirements for the Gold Card and attach the necessary documents to prove this.
Also see Validity & Extension | Taiwan Gold Card regarding extension vs. renewal:
Re-applicationâ (also referred to as ârenewalâ on the Online Application Portal) is the term used for: 1) those who apply for a new Gold Card after their first Gold Card expires or, 2) those who applied for a second Gold Card before 10/25/2021. The start date of the new Gold Card begins on the approval date of the re-application.
âExtensionâ is the term used for those who apply for a new Gold Card before the first card expires and applied for it after (and including) 10/25/2021. You may apply for extension up to 4 months prior to your cardâs expiration date, but no earlier. In this case, the start date of the new Gold Card is linked to the first Gold Card. For example, if your first card expires on 11/25, then your new cardâs start date will begin on 11/25.
Please note that the application button is different for the âre-applicationâ and the âextensionâ, although required documents are the same. In both cases, you must continue to meet the criteria you previously qualified for. If you change any criteria, then you will need to meet the qualifications of the new criteria.
If you encounter any issues while extending or reapplying for your Gold Card, you can refer to the extension application and reapplication tutorials for guidance.
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Saw this - thanks. The window to extend the application is 4 months after the initial one expired, and I am 6 months out, as the NIA made me go with a jobseeker arc to expedite process, so trying to figure a way out of that from here. Cheers!
nope, the window to EXTEND a not yet expired GC open 4 months before expiration. once expired itâs done, must apply for a fresh new one and the counter towards APRC is reset.
correct, the window to apply to extend the Gold Card is 4 months before expiry date (it also states this on the back of the Gold Card.
But regarding the time to APRC resetting this dependsâŚ
- if already met the residency requirement of 3 years while on the GC itâs possible to apply for the APRC while on the job-seeking ARC due to 3 years as a foreign special professional already being met and an average of 183 days per year in Taiwan over that period.
- if havenât met the residency requirement of 3 years, the job-seeking ARC would still be adding to the count and you could apply as a foreign professional when reach a total of 5 years and have an average of 183 days per year in Taiwan over that period.
- if the applicant wants the foreign special professional type APRC to retain the extended family visitor visa benefit but didnât meet the residency requirement within Taiwan during the initial GC then they would need to do another continuous 3 years as a GC holder.
This would be the closest FAQ on answering that, but not directly⌠residing on an ARC before and after a GC is both fine if itâs continuous:
Before obtaining a Gold Card, I resided in Taiwan on an ARC for a period of time. Can this be counted towards the three years needed for permanent residency?
For the 3-year calculation period of permanent residency, you must reside in Taiwan as a Gold Card holder. If your original ARC has met the requirements of Article 25 of the Immigration Act, it can be combined with your Gold Card status, but the total number of years required to apply for permanent residency is 5 (e.g., 3 years with a foreign professional ARC plus 2 years as a Gold Card holder).
Before obtaining a Gold Card, I resided in Taiwan on an ARC ⌠| Taiwan Gold Card
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