It’s been discussed a few times in the past. For me it doesn’t seem “legal” exactly, but both the MOL and NIA have suggested they don’t mind. If push came to shove, I wouldn’t like to be the one to test that.
Some previous discussions linked in this post of mine here:
That’s quite an interesting question actually. Does the digital nomad visa then come with some kind of formal work permit (open or otherwise*), has remote work performed for foreign employers been definitively interpreted as not requiring a work permit at all, or has the decision just been taken to semi-officially turn a blind eye to this for people on digital nomad visas?
Does anyone know? I wouldn’t be surprised if the government hasn’t really thought about the implications/inconsistencies associated with this.
[*Like “open” but restricted to foreign companies, for example. I remember the gold card being marketed as “four-in-one”, where one of those four is an open work permit, though that description always seemed a bit silly to me because some of the things kind of overlap, like a “7-in-1” laundry detergent that supposedly does multiple things all related to cleaning laundry.]
The Gold Card is not an open work permit. You cannot work at 711 for example with a Gold Card. The scope of work you can do is narrower that a resident foreign spouse or permanent resident can do.
The best answer that can be given in a forum like this is that is it is not clear. The digital nomad visa does create an opportunity for the government to clarify this issue. But I suspect they won’t and may not want to.
Good to know. I didn’t realize that. One site mentioned it is an open work permit, and could not recall the details from when I applied several years ago. Talent Taiwan
I actually had a gold card at one point, but circumstances intervened and I was not able to take advantage of it. Was thinking of trying again next year. Is there a site that lists the work restrictions for good card holders? It makes sense that if you don’t work in an area you applied in that you would not be able to renew, but does the government monitor good card holders to verify that they are working in relevant areas?
You should take that up with the Gold Card Office and/or other government bodies then — it’s widely referred to by them as an open work permit, so I’m not sure what you’re talking about here, what you think “open work permit” means, or why you think the gold card isn’t one.
This card is an open work permit issued to employment-seeking individuals that require neither pre-confirmed hiring by nor application through any employer.
Work Permit: Allows cardholders to seek employment freely, obtain employment at any time, work any part-time job legally, and freely change jobs.
Source: What is the Taiwan Employment Gold Card? | Taiwan Gold Card
Holders of Employment Gold Card enjoy the following rights and interests:
- The card is an open-end work permit issued to employment-seeking individuals that requires neither pre-confirmed hiring by or application through any employer.
Source: https://foreigntalentact.ndc.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=AC68F9FBABA3F294&s=4D07D9F9F687B542
Does the Gold Card provide an open work permit?
Yes. You may work for any organisation (or many organisations at the same time) in any industry, in any job, provided it doesn’t have licensing requirements that you don’t meet.
Source: At Work | Taiwan Gold Card - Taiwan Foreign Talent Community
This 4-in-1 document combines an open work permit, residence visa, Alien Residence Certificate (ARC), and a re-entry permit.
Source: Talent Taiwan
I mean exactly what I said. A Gold Card holder cannot do all kinds of work because they have a personal work permit authorizing them to do professional work. Retail service work is not professional work. Hence a Gold Card holder can’t work at a 7-11. There are many other types of non-professional work that a Gold Card holder cannot do.
See §§2, 4, and 9 of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, esp §4(1)(4) (definition of professional work).
In contrast, the holder of an APRC may work at 7-11.
‘Open work permit’ is not a term defined by law. It is widely used among foreigners but does not have accepted Chinese equivalent. It simplifies too much and creates a misleading impression of how the rules about employment of foreign nationals work.
That said, the term is serviceable in the context of the kinds of work that most foreigners from wealthy countries typically do in Taiwan.
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I’m about to go out and already late so I don’t have time to read through the laws carefully at the moment, but you do realize in my posts above I was following the actual wording used by the Taiwanese government when marketing the scheme?
“Open work permit” in the context of the gold card isn’t a term I just came up with myself in this thread. I’ll temporarily concede that the open work permit provided by the gold card applies only to the professional work gold card holders are supposed to be doing, but this is still way more open than the usual situation for professional workers without gold cards, who need to apply for a work permit for each new employer. In this sense, it’s relatively open, even if not completely open. Does any kind of work permit grant someone the right to do absolutely everything?
I’d honestly be more interested in hearing your opinion on the main part of the first of my two posts above, which was the important/interesting bit, rather than quibbling over the exact meaning of a term I used in the parenthetical bit at the bottom where I only followed government usage. There’s been a long gold card thread going on for around 5 years where the same term must have been used a hundred times at least — I don’t remember you bringing up this technicality every time there.
I can’t find the part in the law about gold card that mentions 7-11, since aren’t all employees considered working professionals? And what if they are helping out with marketing or finance? 7-11 is a big organization, they even have software engineers, seems like a better job for an engineer than working at a sweatshop like 91App.
I found that gold card holders can’t work as a household assistant or nurse? Maybe marriage ARC allows household assistant? Or only unpaid?
I have brought the ‘open work permit’ issue up several times before.
The government doesn’t write most of the marketing materials.
It appears to me that the current digital nomad visa does not come with a work permit.
Taiwanese legal professionals have conflicting opinions on whether a foreign national can perform remote work performed for a foreign employer without a work permit. I strongly suspect that different Taiwanese ministries and city/county labor departments have differing views on this too. Hence the lack of clarity on this issue.
This is the main/only reason I brought up the gold card above — the government makes a big deal about the gold card providing some kind of work permit (however it should be referred to), so I’m curious if the lack of one for the digital nomad visa can perhaps be regarded as another tacit indication that a work permit isn’t necessary for people doing remote work for foreign employers/clients.
It would be inappropriate to comment on that in an internet forum. A lot could go wrong if someone relied on what someone said here. But I think you are pursuing an interesting line of thinking.
Another question would be what if the digital nomad isn’t working remotely, what happens when they are running their own business or freelancing… what happens if they have Taiwanese clients?
I think the forum moderator @olm can decide what’s appropriate and inappropriate here, but I don’t see any issue with discussing the ambiguity about this, which is all I was aiming to do (and I think I’ve expressed that clearly enough — as questions rather than definitive statements).
Obviously nobody should regard speculative stuff written here as fact.
If remote workers don’t require a work permit… it would be open to abuse by taiwanese employers. They could simply employ foreigners as freelancers through the worker’s foreign companies, and sit them offsite in co-working spaces (I hope there are definitions of employment to prevent this). Seems a bit of a dangerous precedent to create.
Digital nomads cannot have Taiwanese employers. I would expect this to look beyond legal arrangements to the facts.
He does a great job. But his decisions will not protect a poster from liability for negligently wrong or misleading statements that readers rely on and suffer harm from. Granted, that kind of case is pretty rare in Taiwan. But still…
But why would we want frugal nomads from poor countries?
The list of the visa-exempt countries does include a mix of both wealthy and non-wealthy countries, there is more to it when they decide on that list.
The lack of imagination, vision, and empathy around here is sometimes a bit depressing.