I tried calling in a few times, there is a person who does filtering now - I don’t think I ever spoke to Mr Huang (unless it’s a Ms/Mrs?) They just say to wait for a response from online if the application is still pending and the process is slow due to volume. Probably they are getting too many inquiries.
They look at W-2s. I submitted my 2019 Federal tax return, 2019 W-2, and a month’s worth of my latest 2020 pay stubs and they only asked questions about my W-2.
If I work remotely on a gold card, I understand that I have to pay taxes to Taiwan’s government. However, for my employer based in the US and paying to my US bank acct, would they have to report my earnings to the Taiwanese government? I’m perfectly fine with paying Taiwanese taxes and reporting income on my own, however, I do not want my employer to do anything extra for me just because I’m in Taiwan.
Hello there,
I posted a couple of weeks ago regarding my situation: IT professional (Product Designer for international startup with 8+ years of experience in the field) who lives in Taiwan under a WHV (Working Holiday Visa) at the moment. I was originally planning to submit an application under “Science & Technology” but it really seems like it’s mostly maid for scholars (someone holding a PHD for example or doing research) which is really not my case.
My plan is now to apply under Economics, regulation 4:
“Those who have held professional or interdisciplinary integration positions in corporations of the manufacturing industry and relevant technical service industries such as that of semiconductors, optoelectronics, information and communication, electrical and electronic design, biomedical material, precision machinery, transportation, systems integration, consultancy, and green energy, and have also eight plus years of work experience in related fields.”
Just wondering what kind of document they usually expect as a proof of experience in the field? I built quite a lot of website and apps over the last years and I can ask some of my previous boss and my current boss to write me a letter as well. Just not sure what’s the best? Would appreciate some recommendation if any of you guys have been in a somewhat similar position.
Cheers!
Just saw that the salary requirement is actually NT160k. His 6 months W2 in 2019 meet the requirement. With his qualifications, should we just apply for Economy?
My husband is a software engineer in LA and he has been working in this field for the past 16 years. He has a PhD and wrote a tech book 8 years ago and it was published by Manning (a publisher of computer programming and software development books).
He tried to start his own startup 3 years ago, in June 2019, he took a job while waiting for the business to grow. So his W2 in 2019 only showed his 6 months income, which is less than US160k. Is he still qualified for Economy category? His current monthly income definitely meet the monthly salary requirement.
Thank you!
Yes, just do the Economy Category. It’s just more straight forward.
Absolutely. Where did this US$160K idea even come from? It is waaaaay too high. The requirement is NT$ 160,000 per month (just over $5300 US) per month, for a year (so over $64000 US or so), within the last 3 years.
So yeah, he qualifies no problem. Do the economy category.
I was reading this thread, a lot of people mentioned the160k income requirement, so I automatically assume it is USD.
5 minutes after I posted it, then I realized it is NT160k per month 
.
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No worries. 
I think you all just misread the original post. I can’t be bothered scrolling back up the thread, but IIRC the point was that he’d earned 160k+ USD in one year and taken a sabbatical, which put him over the 160k TWD monthly averaged over the 3 years (if it were necessary to average it over 3 years, which I think it isn’t).
Does anyone know what “tax certifications” mean? I am well over the income requirement, but I’m freelance so I don’t have W-2’s. People are saying a tax return is not sufficient(?), but what else can I show to prove my income?
Freelance doesn’t qualify
Really? I don’t see anything that disqualifies it. The FAQ should be updated if this is the case.
It’s not overall income they want to see, it is specifically salary income. Do you have an fomal document which has a label “salary” and a number next to it? Something else that makes clear a number related to “income from employment”?
My tax returns show my business income. It is not technically salary though, but it’s not unearned income either.
The Gold Card application has a category for “Freelancer”, so it would be odd if they don’t allow it.
Are there no other freelancers here?
So far I’m not aware of anyone passing Article 1 (“salary”) under Economics without salary income/income from employment. Probably best to call one of the official contacts and explain your situation. Keep in mind, the definition used to assess Article 1 is one of the more well tested. There was even a clarification issued after the regulations started, and their ability to interpret “salary income” will be limited by long-standing tax law.
In addition to making that call, I’d suggest a quick look to see under which other ministries/regulations you qualify.
I applied under the Economy field, even though I’m a software developer. I’ve got to the passport submission stage and it sounds like I’m basically just waiting until Thursday to get my passport back and an email to receive my card. Will update you guys once I get it (or don’t get it)
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How long did it take after getting your passport to receive your gold card visa? Was it a few days later?
Thanks for the clarification. I’m in an email exchange now, we’ll see how that goes. Is it better to call them?
I’m not sure why they are so attached to “salary income”. If I had an S-Corp set up instead of an LLC, I could have paid myself a salary, but it would make no difference to my overall income. Seems like a meaningless hoop to jump through.