New not quite, uncommon maybe depending on which TECO you need to report to. Again, unbelievable MOFA has yet not trained properly all personnel about this programme, which granted it’s not managed by them, but cmon
I would have thought most overseas rep offices have dealt with the Gold Card passport review by now.
In any case if you enter Taiwan visa-exempt you can skip the passport review at MOFA, checkout the FAQ on how to do that:
Does this also apply if I just go to Taiwan for a day, change the location, and then return home? Because I can only stay long-term next year and I am guessing they can still use the information from my entry. If not then how long does the overseas review even take? They gave me an appointement in the middle of October.
A day might be too short: You’d still need to collect the card in person in Taiwan, then! And they might only start producing it after you’ve entered the country and changed the pickup-location.
Has there been ever any case of an application being rejected after it passed the qualification review? Thanks
Finally, it happened! 
Taipei, Sept. 4 (CNA) Nobel chemistry laureate Arieh Warshel has become the first Nobel Prize winner to receive Taiwan’s Employment Gold Card, the National Development Council (NDC) said Friday.
According to a statement, NDC chief Yeh Chun-hsien (葉俊顯) presented the card to Warshel, who received the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Martin Karplus and Michael Levitt for their development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems.
So it wasn’t for nothing that all those ministries included having a Nobel Prize as a qualifying criteria for applications 
Why not plum blossom?
cuz 1-2 year processing time
From my understanding, one would also need to have at least employment in Taiwan (potentially as a professor) or have proof of making special contributions to Taiwan or being in a profession highly in demand in Taiwan.
If none of these apply, simply having a Nobel Prize won’t be enough for a Plum Blossom card. That would be too easy!
Did you read the article? He has a job, and one of national importance.
Warshel is expected to work with Taiwanese researchers on talent development and research in semiconductors and other key technologies.
I understood this that he hasn’t really started yet. Once he has spent some time on the job, he can probably “upgrade”.
My heart sank when I read about a fellow Gold Card member who is unable to apply for APRC using foreign sourced income (Code: 5F).
It seems like NIA does not really accept proof of salary slips from overseas even though his salary is more than two times the minimum salary of the preceding year and he submitted the tax certificate. You can read about his post in detail here. https://tw.forumosa.com/t/is-it-possible-to-retire-in-taiwan-on-a-gold-card-then-get-an-aprc/251419/16
As a Foreign Professional (NOT Foreign Specialist Professional) Has anyone taken the same path and managed to get your APRC successfully?
If you’re Irish why not go for Taiwan citizenship? You can renounce and resume like Aussies.
You can still apply for aprc under the 3 year gold card route with foreign sourced income… just not the 1 year ‘global elite’ route. Which seems fair enough.
They were pretty clear about that when they rolled out the 1 year route.
Yes, I was clearly referring to the new path. Please people, fully read before panicking. I am about to apply for APRC under the normal 3-year gold card route and that is totally fine with my income because I pay taxes in Taiwan like everyone else. No need to panic!
I’m going from Gold Card to APRC in early December. Hoping this will be my final question in regards to this process.
I need to go in and request the Individual Income Tax Statement since the green paper they gave me after paying taxes says “pending to be assessed”. I will go into the tax office tomorrow morning and request this. Will they give it to me on the spot or will it take a few days? Thanks
It has been 9 days since my visit to the overseas mission to get my passport checked. They checked my passport and gave it back to me within 5-10 minutes and then told me that they will talk to their boss and get her to mark the passport inspection as complete. Has not happened yet…
They are not responding to my e-Mail either, so if they already confirmed it verbally and gave me back my passport, then why does it take so long? Qualification review was moving faster than this 
usually it is received via post. Best to ask to make it faster, explain it is for APRC application, might be able to help
send a complaint to BOCA/MOFA and inform NIA of this.