Ep 182 | Michael Fahey of Forward Taiwan Talks About the Gold Card Program

May 12, 2022

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Taiwan’s Employment Gold Card program has come up in several past episodes of Talking Taiwan. I’ve been wanting to bring someone on to talk about what it is, who might be eligible for it and how to apply for it. In this episode I spoke with Michael Fahey, an American lawyer who’s lived in Taiwan for 30 years. He worked with the Taiwan National Development Council on Taiwan’s Gold Card program. Michael is co-founder of Forward Taiwan, an organization founded to improve Taiwan’s immigration laws as they pertain to foreign professionals.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How people may consider Taiwan small but with its population of 23 million people it could be compared to one of the U.S.’s largest states or a mid-sized European country
What is the Taiwan Gold Card
How the Taiwan Employment Gold Card is a four-in-one card: visa, work permit, resident permit, and re-entry permit, that is valid for three years
After three years Gold Card holders who have been in Taiwan for an average of 183 days can apply for permanent residency in Taiwan
How there was an increase in Gold Cards issued during the pandemic
The government of Taiwan’s goal of getting to 10,000 Gold Cards issued by the end of the year and a long-term goal of having 100,000 foreign professionals in Taiwan by 2030
How to apply for a Gold Card
The eight fields that people can apply to in order to obtain a Gold Card
The special category of consultation for those who don’t fit in to any of the eight fields
What documentation needs to be provided in order to apply for a Gold Card
The importance of providing objective evidence of your professional accomplishments (e.g. an award, a measurable accomplishment)
60% of Gold Card holders have qualified by meeting the salary qualification in the economy field
The type of work that Gold Card holders can seek while in Taiwan
Singapore’s Employment Pass program and the backlash it’s gotten from Singaporean citizens
Recent changes to the Gold Card program including the requirement for applying for permanent residence was lowered from five years to three years and different tax incentives
Changes to ordinary work permit requirements which previously required both a college degree and two years of related experience
The American Chamber of Commerce Taiwan Business Topics publication
Useful resources for people applying for a Gold Card including: the Taiwan National Development Council’s website Foreign Talent, the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office Help Desk, Taiwan EZ Permit
The challenges faced by some Gold Card holders in finding employment in Taiwan
It’s not necessary to speak Chinese to live and work in Taiwan
If there is something missing or incomplete with a Gold Card application, you will have 30 days to rectify it
Currently Gold Card applications are taking 4-6 weeks to get approved
What happens if someone’s application for the Gold Card is not accepted
The most competitive sub field under arts and culture is popular music/TV/movies
Special considerations for people wanting to live and work in Taiwan
Considering places to live in Taiwan other than Taipei
Michael’s work with Forward Taiwan
How Forward Taiwan is working on access to dual nationality for people naturalizing as Taiwanese citizens
How Michael is transitioning to working on migrant workers issues
The most meaningful accomplishments of Forward Taiwan: an increased number of countries that Taiwan has working holiday agreements with, making it easier for graduates of Taiwanese universities to stay and live and work in Taiwan
How the National Development Council came up with Taiwan’s Gold Card program and modeled it after Singapore’s Employment Pass program
Taiwan’s independent artist work permit