Taiwan combines big-city convenience, mountains and beaches, excellent healthcare and a reputation as one of the safest places in the world. It is also home to the world's most advanced chipmakers. For skilled foreigners, the Employment Gold Card is one of Asia's most flexible residence options.

Visas and residence

  • Employment Gold Card: a combined open work permit, resident visa, residence permit and re-entry permit for professionals in fields such as technology, finance, education, culture, sport, law and architecture. One common way to qualify is having earned at least NT$160,000 a month (about US$5,000) at some point in the past three years. It is valid for one to three years and renewable, and lets you work for any employer or be self-employed. Applications go through the Taiwan Gold Card Office.
  • Employer-sponsored work permits: for foreign professionals, including English teachers, hired by Taiwanese companies and schools.
  • Entrepreneur visa: for founders of innovative start-ups meeting investment or funding criteria.
  • Permanent residence: after five years of continuous residence, or three years for Gold Card holders in some cases.

How much does it cost to live in Taiwan?

Our Taiwan data puts an average one-bedroom at about $600 a month, though central Taipei apartments cost more, and Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung are cheaper. Groceries cost about $250 a month, and eating out is very affordable: a bowl of beef noodle soup or a night-market meal costs a few dollars. Taipei's MRT is clean, cheap and efficient, and high-speed rail links the west coast.

How Taiwanese tax works

Residents (people in Taiwan for 183 days or more in a year) pay progressive tax from 5% to 40% on taxable income, according to the Ministry of Finance. Non-residents pay a flat 18% on Taiwan-source salary. Foreign income is generally excluded unless it is large, when an alternative minimum tax may apply.

Gold Card holders who become tax residents for the first time can deduct 50% of salary above NT$3 million a year from taxable income for five years. Employees contribute about 4% of salary to labour insurance and National Health Insurance. VAT is 5%. Try our tax calculator.

Healthcare

Taiwan's National Health Insurance is one of the best-rated healthcare systems in the world. Residents join after six months, or immediately if employed, and pay low premiums with small co-payments. Clinics are quick and inexpensive, and hospital care is excellent.

Daily life

Taiwan is famously friendly, and people are often eager to help. Mandarin is the main language, and Taiwanese Hokkien is widely spoken; English is common in Taipei business circles but less so elsewhere. Rubbish collection is a ritual: trucks play music, and residents bring their sorted waste out to meet them.

Summers are hot and humid, and typhoons can strike from July to October. Taiwan also has frequent small earthquakes; buildings are built to withstand them.

Is Taiwan a good place to move?

Taiwan suits tech, finance and creative professionals, teachers and anyone wanting a safe, convenient and affordable Asian base. Compare it with neighbours using our comparison tool.