🇹🇼 Taiwan Long-stay visa

All requirements in detail

Official name

Employment Gold Card (就業金卡) — issued under the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals

Visa type

Long-stay visa

Status

Active

Income requirement (original currency)

160,000 TWD / month

Income basis

Salary / employment contract

Legal basis

Salary route for most fields (incl. 'Digital' and 'Economy') = monthly salary of at least NTD 160,000 (NTD 1,920,000/year), confirmed on the official Taiwan Gold Card salary FAQ (goldcard.nat.gov.tw). EUR conversion: 160,000 TWD x ~0.02748 EUR/TWD (market rate, mid-June 2026) = ~EUR 4,397, rounded to ~EUR 4,400/month. This is a recent-income / earning-capacity threshold proven by a foreign annual tax statement issued within 3 years of application (e.g. W-2, P60, T4), or by an employer certificate stating employment period, position/job content and actual salary (optionally with salary slips), or by a future ROC employment contract starting more than 1 month after application. Salary is counted 'before tax' and includes salaries, stipends, wages, allowances, annuities and bonuses (excludes travel/daily allowances). Bank account balances, cryptocurrency, funds, stocks and property income are explicitly NOT accepted as proof. The salary route is only one of several qualification paths; some fields qualify by senior position, recognised awards or special expertise with no salary figure, so 160,000 is a route-specific minimum, not a universal one.

Family surcharges

No additional income multiplier is published for dependants. Spouse and minor/dependent children apply separately for dependent residence (no extra income test stated); lineal ascendants (parents/grandparents of holder or spouse) may visit on a Visitor Visa extendable up to one year.

Working for local clients

Allowed

Path to citizenship

Via permanent residence

Where to apply

Online, Embassy / consulate, In country

Processing time

4–12 weeks

Tax residency trigger

183 days

Insurance requirement, verbatim intent: There is no insurance figure required to obtain the Gold Card itself. Once resident, Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) is mandatory for eligible foreign residents. Gold Card holders without a Taiwan employer (incl. those working remotely for a foreign employer) must enrol in NHI after 6 months of continuous residence (a single trip abroad of no more than 30 days is allowed but is deducted). Spouses and minor/dependent (incl. disabled adult) children of foreign professionals enrol immediately upon receiving their ARC with no 6-month wait, per the 25 Oct 2021 amendment to the Act; the legally employed enrol from the employment start date. Private international health or travel insurance is advisable to bridge the initial 6-month gap, but no statutory coverage minimum is published.

Tax notes: Tax residency is triggered by 183+ days of presence in a tax year; residents are taxed on Taiwan-source income at progressive rates (5-40%). Taiwan is effectively territorial for individuals on the regular income tax: foreign-source income is excluded from ordinary income tax and instead only enters the separate Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT/Income Basic Tax) above a high exemption, so remote income from a foreign employer can carry a low or zero Taiwan tax burden depending on facts. SPECIAL REGIME: a qualifying foreign special professional who (1) is approved to reside for work in the R.O.C. for the first time, (2) does professional work tied to the recognised expertise, and (3) had no Taiwan household registration and was not a Taiwan tax resident in the 5 years before the day of employment, gets, for 5 years from the first qualifying tax year, 50% of salary income ABOVE NTD 3,000,000 (~EUR 82,000) excluded from individual income tax, in each year they reside 183+ full days; certain overseas income is also excluded from the AMT (Income Basic Tax) base in those years. Legal bases (verified on goldcard.nat.gov.tw and the NDC Foreign Talent Act site): Art. 20 of the Act and Art. 3 of the Regulations Governing Reduction and Exemption of Income Tax of Foreign Specialist Professionals. Always confirm with a Taiwan tax adviser.

Beyond the visa

Taiwan — the rest of the move

The visa is step one. Here is the rest of what it takes to live here — each researched and sourced.