Question: If I start my own company in Taiwan, can I give myself a work visa?
(I) think you are talking about a “Work Permit”. Depending on the situation, if your name is on the official paperwork, you probably do not need a Work Permit, because as an officially approved investor you could get an investor visa. However, starting your own company needs to go through the investment Commission of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to be totally up-and-up. Informal arrangements will not entitle you to apply for a visa based on that “status”.
I’m curious about a similar idea…I want to do more with my abilities & MBA education so I want to use my spare time to be an independent consultant for companies who desire assistance with marketing strategy & business development. I think I should register myself (i.e. get approval from the MOEA) as a “Foreign Service Company” first, right? Then could I also get an Investor Visa and Alien Resident Certificate? Eventually, I want consulting to be my full-time career instead of a spare-time activity…but I need to start somehow!
I’m also thinking of starting up a company to charge my private teaching sessions thru.
A Taiwanese friend advised me that it is more convenient to establish an ROC company than a company with a foreigner (ie “ARC holding”) investor.
The downside is that, well, I wouldn’t officially be an owner of the company and I’d have to rely on my boyfriend (who holds an ROC ID card) or distant relatives to ‘handle’ all the legal paperwork.
The upside is that it is ‘cheaper’ and ‘easier’ to set up than a foreigner owned company.
Can ANYONE give some advice – or some more questions to ask someone? Can you recommend a good accountant or bookkeeper, too – the quotes I’m getting seem a little high.
The issues brought up in this discussion topic have come up in many conversations which I have had with westerners in Taiwan recently.
If anyone can offer additional insights on the “best way to go about it,” I am sure that such information would be informative to many people.