Upgrade Your Career – Unlock Taiwan’s Hidden Remote Worker Visa
Known as the Taiwan Employment Gold Card, it offers a similar set of benefits to remote work-focused visas. The Gold Card allows international remote workers the opportunity to live and work in Taiwan for between 1-3 years with plenty of added incentives. For instance, holders of the visa have the option to either work for 1 (or more) Taiwanese companies or to start their own company in the country. This is a massive benefit for those serious about stability and spending a long period of time in Taiwan. A vast contrast to Taiwan’s tourist visa, of which a maximum stay of 180 days is permitted.
However, there is a slight catch.
The Taiwan Employment Gold Card is open to only a few and a series of requirements must be met by all prospective applicants. Unlike most other remote work visas, applicants must be classed as a professional with special expertise that is valuable to the state. Currently, there are 8 different fields considered by Taiwan immigration. The following criteria must be met by all applicants:
- Valid Passport: The applicant’s passport must be valid for the entire visa duration
- $160,000 TWD Minimum Monthly Income: Applicants must prove a minimum income of at least $160,000 TWD per month. This can be completed by providing bank statements.
- Work in One of Eight Fields: Architecture, Culture and Arts, Economy, Education, Finance, Law, National Defence, Science & Technology, or Sport.
By now you may be wondering… why choose Taiwan as a remote work destination?
Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan is by far the most popular choice among international remote workers, but the southern city of Kaohsiung, and Kinmen islands are also great choices for a work-vacay. An annual global study utilising more than 100 different indexes to evaluate 167 different nations, Taiwan ranks between the United States (20) and France (22) in the 21st position. It performs exceptionally in safety and security, ranking 4th globally as well as 5th place in education. Additionally, Taiwan performs well in enterprise conditions with a 10th place global ranking, 13th for economic quality, and 14th for its investment ecosystem. Taiwan only performs poorly in the natural environment category with an 81st position ranking.
Taiwan’s cost of living and quality of life index when compared to Western countries are rated highly. The cost of living in Taiwan is estimated at 24.8% lower than in the United States. This is met with a much lower average rental price of which travelers can expect values to be 67.4% lower than in the US for similar properties.
Meanwhile, the quality of life in Taiwan is rated as high with an index score of 148.5 out of a maximum of 240 points. It performs well in safety, healthcare, climate, traffic commute time, and cost of living. Taiwan does, however, struggle with high pollution, very high property prices, and a moderate purchasing power index.
Taiwan is ranked very highly—in fifth position globally—among the 167 nations included in the study. This health pillar aims to create an accurate overall picture of health for the country, taking into account mortality rates, risk factors, health systems, illness outcomes, and more. Despite this high level of health care, it is vital that all travelers invest in healthcare coverage before traveling to Taiwan. For digital nomads, we would always recommend a nomad-specific insurer that can cater to the nuances of international remote work.