Taiwan Employment Gold Card

The Gold Card

Now, here you are in Taiwan, and you've been hearing all about so many cards - ARC cards. NHI cards. APRC cards. And now... there's this GOLD card. What's it all about? Let's find out.

The way most of us get here is pretty simple - get a teaching job! That way, soon enough you have an ARC. And, BOOM! NHI, too - right out of the gate. Day 1 on the job.

Then, after a few years, you can easily find yourself with an APRC! "P" - as in permanent, right? Change jobs at will. Open Work Permit. The life of Riley, yes?

Well, YES! And Yes some MORE! The ARC-NHI-APRC-OWP system is quite convenient and generous for most all of us who are interested in teaching. Taiwan has so much to offer. And yet…as much as we’d all hate to admit it, there are OTHER areas of expertise than English teaching. (“Law school!” Dad! I hear you!) And, back in 2018 the government got to thinking, “How could we attract professionals from OTHER disciplines to consider Taiwan?”

That’s how we get, the Gold Card.

Now, how does it DIFFER from an ARC, or an APRC? Well, to START with, you DON’T need a job to get one. But, you DO need an income! Or, a “special” degree.

There are different ways to qualify.

By Income & Area of Expertise

There are 12 fields: Architecture, Arts and Culture, Biotechnology, Digital, Economy, Education, Environment, Finance, Law, National Defense, Science and Technology, and Sports.

In 9 of the 12 fields, a salary of NT$160,000 a month qualifies you, as shown by an annual tax statement from any one year in the last 3.

Arts, sports and defense go by achievements.

Education also needs 5 years of teaching or research.

Law needs a Taiwan attorney license.

Retired with an income at that level or achievements in one of the above? That counts, too!

Elite Degree

Or, hold a doctorate from a top-500 university on the QS, Times Higher Education or U.S. News lists.

No salary test.

And, there are other criteria, such as awards or recognition in your field also without a financial test.

A Gold Card serves as your work permit, resident visa, ARC and re-entry permit all in one.

Durations are 1, 2 or 3 years, renewable.

Gold Card - the Everything Card

With your Gold Card in hand, work for any company, work for several, or be self-employed.

Moreover, Gold Card holders can qualify for an APRC in 3 years, against the usual 5.

And, NHI? Employed or self-employed here, you and your dependents get in without the 6-month wait.

Origins & An Original YouTuber

Whose idea? The National Development Council led the push for the law and manages its issuance.

On 9 March 2018, then-Premier Lai Ching-te, now Taiwan's President, handed the first one to YouTube co-founder Steve Chen. Quite an opening customer, eh?

Now, who would the Gold Card work for? I think there may be a few perfect-fit cases:

The Family Gap Year(s)

Picture an engineer, arriving with two kids, 7 and 9, for 2 years. He continues to consult for his US company, so he registers here as self-employed. BOOM, the whole family's on NHI from day one. Gold Card!

Now, where are you putting this family?

How about a mountain down south, with the ocean outside the window? Dad has his laptop open. Beyond the screen a fishing boat is making very slow progress across a great deal of blue. The kids walk down to the local public elementary school, built in the 1900s, with 200 students and a dog asleep by the gate.

At first they come home with a word. Then a phrase. Soon they're speaking full sentences of Mandarin over dinner, arguing about something that happened at recess. Dad catches the classmate's name. He's pleased with that.

His son turns to him.

「爸爸，你的中文沒有我的好！」

Ouch.

Or, put the same family down in the river lowlands. Huge houses, low rents, and room for friends to stay. Egrets standing around like they're waiting for a bus. Dad's working again beside an open window when the kids come home with a friend who has apparently been invited for dinner.

Has he? Dad asks. Everybody answers in Mandarin.

Meanwhile, Dad’s meeting people to work with in Taiwan and across Greater Asia.

A call turns into lunch, and lunch runs well past the time he meant to get back to the laptop. The kids have classmates to visit. By the time the 2 years are up, who's going to explain the leaving part?

And, in either life, he's still shopping at Costco every week. The children can discuss the school day in Mandarin all they like. They still want them chips.

RETIREES

A RECENT retiree, mind you. Your working year's tax statement within the last 3 years can do the job if your salary averaged NT$160,000 a month before taxes. Your pension doesn't count as salary.

You've qualified.

And, every morning you wander down to the park for tai chi. You're in the back row. The lady in front turns around and gently moves your elbow. Again. Yesterday she moved the same elbow.

Afterward, you sit with your tea while she tells you something about her grandson. She went to Stanford.

Or, you're near the Tropic of Cancer at Shuishang in Chiayi County.

Ninety degrees and sunny skies. Your friend calls from home wearing a sweater. You turn the phone toward the sunshine. He asks whether you're ever coming back.

Well...you've just found a breakfast place you like. The woman there sees you coming and reaches for your cup. You sit down. No particular reason to hurry, is there?

Low living costs, and high-quality health care, too.

Retired and doing no work here? Here's one thing to consider: keep that consulting gig! Self-employed, you can qualify for NHI right out of the gate, like our engineering friend above. Otherwise, you and your wife or husband would need to wait 6 months to qualify. Monthly premiums? Around NT$1,500 each. Not bad, right?

Founders, Artists & Scholars

Stay in Taiwan without needing employer support right away, or at all.

And, even able to get in-country insurance premiums.

Who else might the Gold Card be good for?

The founder. You've carried an idea around for a while, and Taiwan looks like a sensible place to give it a real try. The actual FOUNDRY for Silicon Valley, right? With the Gold Card you can start your own company right here. As the owner, you're on NHI from day one, and your family with you. Room to build something, at your own pace.

The artist. A filmmaker, a musician, a designer, a coach. Arts and Culture and Sports go by your awards and recognition, with no salary test. So, a year or two somewhere new, with the time and the quiet to make the next piece of work.

The scholar. A doctorate from a top-500 university qualifies you, again with no salary test. Teach a course at one university, join a research project at another. The card lets you work for more than one. Time to think, and a good place to do it.

Is it a success?

There are 9,303 valid Gold Cards today. A reported 13,191 had been issued by April 2025. Cards expire, so issued and still valid are different counts.

The NDC reportedly aimed for 10,000 holders by the end of 2022. The reported 2030 goal is 100,000 foreign professionals altogether. Gold Card holders are part of that larger group.

And so, thousands have jumped at the chance. Arrive for years at a time without needing to get hired first. With NHI to boot!

Will our engineer stay? He's getting calls from people here now, and the kids have been invited somewhere after school again. He'd better ask them to say the name of the place slowly.

How about our retiree? Mountains or beaches. Wide blue rivers. Her sister arrives tomorrow.

And, to those of us here already, we of the ARC and APRC persuasion, we’d probably be the first to tell you…we’ve already FOUND gold! And, we welcome everyone, too. It sounds like a GREAT ‘nother way to be right here, in Taiwan.

Learn more at the Taiwan Gold Card Office: https://goldcard.nat.gov.tw/en/