You may wish to visit Taiwan for a number of reasons. For example, you may want to see its picturesque shrines in Taroko National Park, its verdant mountains or its modern capital, Taipei. Whatever your motivation for going, you may first need to apply for a visa. This article will walk you through your options.
Visas
Depending on your nationality, you may be able to visit Taiwan for 30 or 90 days without applying for a visa beforehand, so long as you have a passport and a return ticket.
Passport holders from EU countries, Iceland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, or the United States can stay for 90 days. Visitors from Australia, Canada, Korea, Malaysia, or Singapore can stay for 30 days.
If you hold a passport from India, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, or Vietnam, and you hold a valid visa for Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand, or Australia, you can enter Thailand for 30 days without an additional visa.
If you are a visitor from another nationality, you will need the following:
• A completed application form, which can be found here
• Two passport photos
• Your passport and a copy
You may be asked for additional documents, depending on which visa you are applying for.
Most visas cost $50 for single-entry and $100 for multiple-entry, and expire within 90 days. All documents must be in Chinese or English, or must be Taiwan consulate-certified translations into Chinese or English.
Further visa information is available on the Bureau of Consular Affairs website.
Visitor visa
This visa applies to visitors looking to stay for less than six months in Taiwan, who intend to travel, undergo short-term study or employment, or attend conferences.
Applicants must have a valid passport, a completed visa application form, two passport photos, bank statements from the last three months, and a copy of their travel itinerary and/or airline ticket.
The visa can be issued for 14, 30, 60, or 90 days, and can potentially be extended for up to 120 additional days.
Resident visa
If you intend to stay in Taiwan for more than six months, for purposes including joining family, studying, working, investing, or doing volunteer work, you’ll need to apply for a resident visa.
Applicants must have a valid passport, a completed visa application form, two passport photos, letters of approval or recommendation from Taiwan authorities, and a health certification.
Long-term students will require this type of visa, and, along with the above, will need to provide information about their financial means and their study plans, including a letter from a certified academic institution in Taiwan.
Resident visas are valid for three months at a time, and visa holders must register at the National Immigration Agency within 15 days of their arrival in Taiwan.
Join family visa
This is a type of resident visa, specifically meant for the foreign spouses, or the children or grandchildren under 20 years old, of Taiwan citizens. To apply for this type of visa, you will need all the same paperwork as for a regular residence visa. Additionally, you must provide a marriage or birth certificate, and your partner or family member’s Household Registration Certificate or Alien Residence Certificate.
Work visa
If you plan to work in Taiwan, you’ll need a work permit and a residency permit, as well as a work visa if you don’t already have a visitor visa.
Taiwan only grants work visas to specialised workers, teachers, coaches, artists, and contract workers in certain fields. You’ll need your employer to get you a work permit first. Then you can apply for a work visa at your consulate if you’re abroad, or you can apply at the Bureau of Consular Affairs to change your visitor visa to a residence permit if you’re already in Taiwan.
Once you have your original work permit, you’ll need to present it, along with a photocopy, in order to get your work permit. You will also need your passport, two passport photos, a completed application form, a health certification done by a hospital in your home country and legalised by a Taiwanese consulate, and any additional documents, as required.
Work permits
Work permits can only be applied for by Taiwanese employers. They will apply at the Ministry of Labor (or Ministry of Education, for teachers), and then provide you with the permit. You will need this to either apply for a work visa to enter Taiwan, or to change your visitor visa to a residency permit if you are already in Taiwan.
Residency
You need a Taiwanese work visa to enter the country, a work permit to work, and a residence permit to stay for more than 90 days. Taiwanese residence permits are called Alien Resident Certificates (ARCs), and are granted by the Taiwan National Immigration Agency. They can be issued for one, two, or three years at a time.
Once you have lived in Taiwan with an ARC for five years or more (with at least 183 days per year spent in Taiwan), you can apply for an Alien Permanent Residence Certificate (APRC), which doesn’t expire.