Taiwan
Employment Gold Card · Taipei
The skilled professional's quiet winner in Asia: a flexible 3-year card with elite healthcare, real safety and — uniquely — a path to permanent residency.
NT$160,000/mo
30–60 days
3 years
85/100
160 Mbps
Moderate
Subtropical
UTC+8
Model your move to Taiwan
Set who's coming and what you earn. We'll handle eligibility, taxes, contributions, living costs and what you'd have left — and compare it to home.
Staying more than ~183 days?
Affects tax residency for territorial & exempt regimes.
Your monthly life in Taiwan
Pre-filled with typical costs in Taipei. Drag or type to match your life.
A nice place in a popular area
Power, water, gas
Home fibre + data
Food at home
Transit, rideshare, fuel
Private cover nomads usually need
Eating out, coffee, going out
Shopping, gym, subscriptions, misc.
You meet the income requirement
Needs $5,008/mo.
Your qualifying income
$6,000
$6,000
$1,898
$4,102
Tax in Taiwan
Effective rate
0.0%
- Income tax / mo
- $0
- Social security / mo
- Not charged
- Total deductions / mo
- $0
- Take-home / mo
- $6,000
Under 183 days you stay outside the local system; your home country keeps covering you.
Private health insurance isn't required for this visa, but most nomads carry it — it's already counted in your living costs above.
A rare DNV-style route that genuinely leads to permanent residency.
vs. United States
Tax
22.8% at home → 0.0% here
Same lifestyle costs
$3,451 at home → $1,898 here
Money left over
$1,182 at home → $4,102 here
Estimates for planning only — actual tax depends on treaties, your residency and personal circumstances. Confirm with official sources and a qualified advisor before you move.
What it takes to qualify
Income & savings
- Monthly income (single)
- NT$160,000
- Basis
- ≈NT$160,000/month past salary, or recognised expertise
- Combine two incomes?
- No — main applicant only
Qualify by salary history OR demonstrated expertise across eight fields.
The visa
- Program
- Employment Gold Card
- Introduced
- 2018
- Duration
- 3 years, renewable
- Max total stay
- 3 years
- Fees
- $310 (approx)
- Who can apply
- Employees, Freelancers, Business owners
- Bring family?
- Yes
$100–310 depending on duration chosen. A combined work-permit/residency/visa for skilled professionals, valid 1–3 years.
What you'll actually pay
Income tax
- Treatment
- Foreign income not taxed for nomads
- Headline rate
- 40%
- Tax residency at
- 183 days
- Employee social
- Usually home-covered
A rare DNV-style route that genuinely leads to permanent residency.
Special regime · Gold Card high-earner relief
- Rate
- 20%
- Duration
- 5 years
Foreign special professionals can exempt 50% of salary above NT$3m for up to five years.
Reviewed Source: Taiwan Gold Card
Path to residency & citizenship
On the visa
Year 0–3
Live legally on the Employment Gold Card.
Permanent residency
~3 years
Settle permanently with full rights.
Citizenship
—
Not available via this route.
Three years of continuous Gold Card residence leads to an APRC (permanent residency). Naturalisation exists (~5 years) but Taiwan generally requires renouncing your current citizenship, so most holders stop at the APRC.
Reviewed Source: Taiwan Gold Card
Typical costs in Taipei
Rent (1-bed)
$900
Rent (family)
$1,450
Groceries / person
$320
Utilities
$120
Internet
$30
Transport / person
$35
Health insurance
$40
Dining / person
$250
Cost index 55/100 vs New York · prices are about 60% of US levels (PPP). Monthly figures shown in USD.
Highlights & watch-outs
What makes it great
- One of the few nomad-style visas that leads to permanent residency.
- World-renowned, affordable healthcare.
- Extremely safe with a thriving tech scene.
What to watch
- Skilled-professional eligibility.
- Humid summers; geopolitical headlines.
Reviewed Source: Taiwan Gold Card
Compare Taiwan
Head-to-head with similar destinations.
Moving to Taiwan from…
See the tax & cost picture for your home country.