The Employment Gold Card Super-Thread

Thanks everyone who has provided such great info in this thread, I actually somehow read all 780 posts LOL. Very helpful to see first-hand accounts here, thanks to all who have kept this thread so informative. I am currently in the process of applying for the Gold Card, while overseas. Had some questions on details:

  1. Card pickup location. In the application on the resident page, I can choose from “In person - in Taiwan” or “GETTING LICENSE IN ROC EMBASSIES AND MISSIONS ABROAD”. It seems like at least a few posters here have had luck applying from abroad e.g. @irish91 posted about applying while overseas and picking up the card in person in Taiwan in another thread with Noel above. I’m planning to do the pick up at the Taipei office, but are there any pros of having the card mailed overseas? From the post above, the Resident Authorization Certificate seems as good as the real thing. In theory, I should already have an ARC number if I have a “Resident Authorization Certificate” and I should be allowed entry, but I am slightly paranoid that it will not be seen as good as the “real” card under some interpretation of current entry restrictions. Also the nearest mission is not far from me so I don’t mind a trip there. OTOH, mailing the gold card overseas may mean things get stalled or lost too. I guess I can also find out at the passport check stage with the mission.

  2. For anyone who has done this via an immigration agency, have you found those helpful, either in terms of navigating the process, speeding things up, etc.? For what it’s worth I speak passable Mandarin but nowhere near business fluency, and I’m planning to fill out the application in English since they seem to accept either English or Chinese documents.

  3. In the Resident section, it seems fine to leave the addresses blank if you don’t have any. For “Name of Your Relatives or Friends in Taiwan” - does this help much to have contacts? And is it preferable that they have an ROC ID?

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Hi @lin_ts, welcome to Forumosa. Thanks for reading the thread - you must be an expert by now :slight_smile:

I applied domestically, and the pick-up at the Immigration Agency was very straightforward. Further, I can share the experience of leaving and re-entering Taiwan while my residence card was being updated. During that period of time, my application receipt was as good as the residence card for getting across the border in Taiwan. It was also accepted by the airlines I travelled with in other countries. I expect the Resident Authorization Certificate will perform even better than this non-gold-card application receipt I used in the past. However, if you expect any trouble with particular airlines or particular border officials, having the card in hand is an additional degree of safety. Though, the process is likely to take longer.

This is true. It’s entirely normal and accepted to apply with no local address. Once you get a place to stay, you can (must) update the details on your card free of charge.

That doesn’t look too professional to be honest :joy:

Hello all,

Wondering if there are any Canadians/Brits in this forum who successfully applied for the Gold Card while on the 180 Days visitor visa with no extension?

I have such visa right now and I am unclear whether I am allowed to apply for the Gold Card or not. The immigration consultant I am speaking to seems to think not, but the website is unclear.

Excerpt from the website:
Holders of foreign passports other than U.S. who entered R.O.C. (Taiwan) visa-free, or with a visa for a stay of less than 60 days, or with a visa for a stay of 60 days or longer and with annotation by the visa-issuing authority of a restriction disallowing extension or other limitation applying domestically: For one-year duration, NT$4,500 per card; for two-year duration, NT$5,500 per card; for three-year duration, NT$6,500 per card.

Note: I entered on a visa-exempt basis and extended to 180 days my stay.

Please help and share your experience.

Thanks much!

You might want to ask in the epic gold card thread.

Or failing that, you could visit or email NIA - I found them pretty quick to respond when I had problems with my application. I wouldn’t say you need an immigration consultant (whatever they are) for the gold card application, but maybe it depends on your circumstances.

Edit: Just saw your note at the bottom regarding being on an extended visa exemption. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect you can’t do this as you supposedly can’t change your visa type again after the extension. I actually did a visa run in February while my application was still pending, specifically to avoid being in the position you describe. You could still check with NIA though.

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Thank you so much for the prompt reply @Andrew.

I went this afternoon to the NIA, and it is POSSIBLE to apply with the 180 days visa. And someone else I had asked earlier this morning, kindly called them for me in the meantime and got the same response!

And agree, they are very helpful. Same goes for folks in this Forum.

Thank you!

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Oh that’s good to know. My suspicion that it wouldn’t be possible to go from the extension to the gold card was based on BOCA telling me I couldn’t go from an extension to a work-based ARC without leaving the country a couple of years ago. They might have relaxed that rule given the current situation though, or it might be something specific to the gold card.

Guess I didn’t need to do the visa run to KL after all then. Although I would have missed out on the kebabs, so it’s all good!

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I’m in kind of an odd situation but haven’t been able to get clarification on this. I’m on an ARC that’s set to expire in a few weeks and I want to apply for a Gold card instead of renewing my current ARC. However due to the covid situation I’d really prefer to just apply for it in my home country (US) and go to Taiwan once I have the card in hand before going back.

If I go back to Taiwan, go through quarantine, there’s only about 2 weeks left on my ARC after that, which is not enough time for applying for a Gold card which takes about a month so I risk having to fly back. Also the plane ticket costs about $2k each way right now.

Is Taiwan still issuing gold cards to foreigners? And assuming I do get it (I meet the requirements per their website), would I even be able to enter Taiwan with just a gold card visa, since they only allow ARC/Residence card holders to enter?

There is also a non-refundable application fee for applying for a gold card, and I’d rather not pay just for them to say there’s no way to enter the country right now.

Thanks!

Welcome to Forumosa.

Yes. The Gold Card is a type of ARC/Residence card (which also includes a visa, re-entry permit and work permit).

I’m not sure I see the problem from the information given. Assuming you’re currently in Taiwan (?), can’t you just apply for the gold card with the intention of collecting it here, take your trip back to the US, and collect it when you come back? (You said you’d still have 2 weeks left on your ARC after quarantine, which seems to imply you’d have at least a month left on your ARC after entering Taiwan plus the duration of your trip to the US, which should be enough time for the application process, no?)

Even failing that, couldn’t you just extend your current ARC for 6 months under the job-seeking thing, to give you more time to apply for the gold card?

You would be able to enter Taiwan on your current ARC or your gold card, as far as I’m aware.

I used to live in Singapore, KL is quite a city :slight_smile: glad you could check it out. For me, it was the Teh Tareks. Cheers!

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Hey there,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think it won’t be possible to get a gold card.

I also have a 180 day, no extension visa as a Canadian. I went to BOCA today to inquire about 1. getting on a spousal visa due to my husband recently getting the gold card, and 2. getting the gold card myself. I was told that to get the spousal visa, I’d have to leave the country and apply for a special entry permit to return and apply for an ARC. But in terms of getting the gold card myself, it’s not possible. At the step where I’d need to turn in my passport (this is then past the point of NIA inspection), I would be turned down due to the fact that my current visa cannot be turned into any sort of resident visa. BOCA would reject me.

My husband asked the same question to NIA, and NIA said indeed I can apply for the visa. But the gold card process also involves BOCA which has told me no.

Just wanted to pass on this information so you can plan around this sooner rather than be hit with a surprise later. You can also contact BOCA yourself to verify this information. Best of luck.

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I’m still in the US, and ideally would like to apply and get the gold card here and then go to Taiwan, rather than make the trip with my existing ARC, go through quarantine, and then find out whether or not I can get the gold card.

Edit: just read further back in the thread and seems overseas applications should be fine under current conditions

I’ve been waiting five weeks for TECO Houston to email me and tell me I can pick it up. They assure me that NIA is still processing them and to be patient. I believe the problem is with the post, but that is speculation. Be prepared to wait.

I’ve been waiting 4 weeks now for review from the “Workforce Development Agency”. I guess a lot of foreigners must want gold cards now that the borders are closed.

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You should call (or email) Mr Huang. It could be hung up indefinitely if you don’t.

How do I contact this “Mr Huang”?

This link has the contact list

Edit: nevermind

Yeah, I definitely second the suggestion that you should call to follow up. I had the same situation in January/February, and it turned out my application had been held up at the very first stage because some of my supporting documents were issued in China (which they didn’t notify me about until I started e-mailing them).