Working in Taiwan

My company (based in US) is thinking of sending me to Taiwan to work with our customers for a few months (less than 6). The company does not have an office in Taiwan. What kind of paper work is necessary? What is the tax implication? I will probably still be paid in US $ to my US bank account. Will I be asked to pay taxes because I work in Taiwan?

The answer to your question about “employment” is found in Article 51, section 3, of the new Employment Services Act, promulgated on January 21, 2002. A rough translation is:

A foreign organization/enterprise [1] which needs to send foreign persons to the Republic of China to engage in work that falls under the scope of the contracts provided for under Article 46.01.01 and 46.01.02 for purposes of contracting, business, or technical cooperation and [2] who have not appointed a representative or established offices in the Republic of China shall apply for a permit through the contracting enterprise or agency or the enterprise

If the company sends you here on a short time assignment and you do not take up local employment (unlikely since they don’t have an office here) you should also not be paid here and thus pay tax under US laws and regulations in accordance with your current employment contract.

That said it may be difficult to get a visa for this purpose, I guess it needs to be a business visa as an employment visa would require lot’s of paper work (visa, work permit, ARC etc) and have some possible tax implications, too.

Thanks, Richard & Rascal, for the info!

I still have a few questions:

quote[quote] 46.01.01 is the category referring to hiring specialists. 46.01.02 is the category referring to foreign invested companies/enterprises. [/quote]

Would either of these two apply in my case? I will only be working with our customers in Taiwan.

It appears business visa would require less paper work. Would I be able to get it if I just state in my visa application “working with customers” as the purpose of the trip? How long can I stay before extension is required?

I was in Taiwan in 2000 for about 10 days. Since it was less than 2 weeks, I didn’t have to get a visa. So this visa thing is all new to me.

Thanks for your help!

Visa regulations depend on your country of origin / nationality.
Contact the neares Taiwanese embassy, sorry, Taipei trade office for detailed information and advise.

And get your company to assist you since they are the ones sending you here.