The Taiwan “Digital Nomad Visa” has been discussed on a few threads. I will move all related discussion here, so we have a dedicated place where interested people can look up info.
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This 30 second Taiwan Plus report also mentions a digital nomad visa. 3 months plus another 3 months opens to door to Gold Card in that proposal
The digital nomad visa seems like a good idea.
People are already allowed to work online using the visa waiver scheme. As long as your boss, manager and company are all based outside of Taiwan you can work online in Taiwan. This has been confirmed by the labor department multiple occasions. (P.s. before giving me the silly claim many Facebook foreigners give “oh did you check with immigration?” Immigration actually referred me to the labor department to ask.
However, I put it further to you… are they really contributing to the workforce? Typically they are more transient and will stay wherever the cost of living is low or the taxes are easily avoidable.
Different topic but same ball park - anyone know what’s happened with the digital nomad visa Taiwan was “mulling”? Not heard anything about it recently.
Apparently Taiwan will start issuing them in Jan. 2025. The idea seems to be to lure them to Tainan at first.
Liu Jingqing said that starting from 2025, a “digital nomad visa” with a lower threshold than the employment gold card will be issued, providing a stay period of up to six months, which will strengthen the ability to attract digital nomad talents; this time, Tainan City was chosen as the city.
Interesting. With the lower salary requirement, is seems like they are targeting digital nomads from non-western countries. I like it.
Gold card holders from the US, Canada, UK, etc are more likely to leave once they’re bored of Taiwan or have new responsibilities back home.
But a digital nomad from say, Indonesia or India, might stay and contribute in Taiwan for longer.
Then the question arises: Who contributes more to Taiwan over 3 years: 1,000 digital nomads vs 160 gold cards vs 40 global elite cards? Then you need to account for negative political impact with the Taiwanese.
Six months for a digital nomad visa might be quick enough to identify the winners and kick out the losers. Thus Taiwan gets the economic benefits of the few good nomads, and avoids negative consequences of a large number of lazy immigrant nomads. Nice strategy.
Notes:
- 1,000 digital nomads ≈ 160 gold cards in visa/ARC length
- 160 gold cards ≈ 40 global elites based on salary
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The linked news talk about a digital nomad visa of 6 month. It’s not the Elite Card, right?
That’s right. It’s about the digital nomad visa. Not the Elite card.
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Some more reported details of digital nomad visa (not Global Elite Card).
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Visa issuance starts Jan. 1 2024
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Digital nomads: Foreign nationals with professional skills and capable of conducting remote work via digital means. During their stay in Taiwan, they are not permitted to be employed by local employers. They include
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Individuals already conducting remote work in Taiwan (no additional visa issuance required);
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Those who have previously applied for a digital nomad visa in another country and wish to conduct remote work in Taiwan;
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Individuals aged 30 or older with an annual income of at least USD 60,000 in the previous year, or individuals aged 20 to under 30 with an annual income of at least USD 24,000 in the previous year.
Visa Issuance:
- A short-term visa is initially issued with a validity period of three months, which can be extended once (for another three months) before expiration, allowing for a maximum stay of six months.
- For individuals who have previously applied for a digital nomad visa in another country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will issue the visa directly, exempting them from the review process by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
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The story I linked to mentioned that officials from South Korea and Japan were there as well as the representive of the ‘Japan Digital Nomad Public-Private Collaboration Association’. So maybe they are targeting Japanese and Korean digital nomads first. Great idea since they will easily qualify and they are way-underrepresented for Gold Card.
Also, the press conference was held in Tainan, which will be a recommended city for digital nomads. Something that makes total sense. There will be some kind of service center at You’ai Market in Tainan City proper. Mayor Huang was there, which means the city takes it seriously. All looking good to me.
I would wait until at least March to apply. This is going to be complete chaos at first just like the Gold card.
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This is an interesting question. With the current “normal” work visa system for blue & white collar workers, the new digital nomad card, the Gold Card, and the Plum Blossom card, has there been any statement from the government about what they (the government) feel is most valuable?
Your overall post seemed to want to only have one class of immigrants coming here and reject everyone else. You even say “kick out the losers.” Is that reflected in any Taiwanese policy statement though?
It would seem that Taiwan’s doing a good job of offering a different visa for different people. I am someone that loves seeing many options and a diverse amount of immigrants from top to bottom. Just my own observation of Taiwan having 5 classes of resident visas seems to suggest Taiwan’s government also wants many kinds of immigrants. I think this is smart policy considering the dire consequences of the population collapse going on.
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More likely they are targeting a younger and possibly more innovative cohort who may be making less while they get their businesses/ideas off the ground.
The younger cohort from western countries (plus Japan, Korea) can already enter Taiwan visa-exempt for 3 months and is allowed to work remotely for a foreign employer (note, tax status is different from visa). Renewing indefinitely via visa runs is generally not a problem cost-wise, even for college backpackers.
Compared to the digital nomad visa which requires a formal application, “only” grants a 6 month stay, and requires you to live in Tainan? I mean, Tainan beats Taipei at a few things, but hmm…
For places like the Philippines, which Taiwan grants 14-day visa exemption (which is already better than many countries!), I can see the appeal.
For the record, I like the idea and initial terms of this digital nomad visa. I think the ROC needs more of this stuff.
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But can they legally work as a digital nomad on a visa exempt 3 month visa??
Officially, nope. It is illegal.
Practically, yes, it is allowed.
Just like jaywalking is illegal [law.moj.gov.tw] with NT$500 fines starting Jan 1, 2025 [taiwannews.com.tw]
I’m not encouraging anyone to break the law, but it’s good to know what people are supposed to do vs what they actually do.
It seems to me possible that NDC and Labor are going to bring some clarity to this longstanding issue.
Notice this reported class of digital nomad:
- Individuals already conducting remote work in Taiwan (no additional visa issuance required)… [emphasis added]
But this is only suggestive and not from an official source. We probably won’t know more if anything happens on this front until after Jan. 1. And I will not be surprised if they end up failing to address the issue.
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and requires you to live in Tainan? I mean, Tainan beats Taipei at a few things, but hmm…
There is no requirement that you have to live in Tainan. The NDC/Tainan are just encouraging people to go to Tainan. The NDC understands that most new immigrants end up in Taipei–especially Gold Card holders. It is responding to that reality by publicizing other options. Tainan will make sense for some more cost-sensitive digital nomads.
For places like the Philippines, which Taiwan grants 14-day visa exemption (which is already better than many countries!), I can see the appeal.
Precisely. And India.
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Is it a big problem though? As long as the nomads’ local spending is more than their cost (hospital, MRT usage, tiny impact on housing prices, etc)
But yeah, if Taiwanese companies start indirectly hiring “remote” foreign nomads living in Taiwan to avoid both corporate and individual tax, and start hiring fewer Taiwanese nationals, then yeah, you got a problem. But I don’t think this happens (yet)?