How to become a Permanent Resident in Taiwan – A guide to APRC

Since the pandemic, we’ve been living in Taiwan, and we feel incredibly fortunate to were able to call this place home at that very unique time. Taiwan’s exceptional handling of the pandemic allowed us to explore its beautiful highlands while much of the world was hunkering down, fearful of the virus that we knew so little about at the time.

Fast forward three years, and we’ve become Taiwan Residents, adding yet another country to our list of places we can genuinely call home. Personally, I’ve got France (plus the 27 countries that I can access to that are part of the Schengen zone), the USA, and now Taiwan on my list, while Mrs. NN is proudly a resident of both the USA and Taiwan. She’s also on a journey to unlock her French passport for access to even more of Europe.

In this blog post, we’re excited to dive into how we managed to obtain permanent residency in Taiwan within just three years, all without the need to work for a Taiwanese company. In return, we received a remarkably flexible residency status that only requires us to spend one day in the country every five years, all while enjoying an exceptional and affordable healthcare system. Not to mention, Taiwan has become one of our top destinations in Southeast Asia.

Disclaimer: The information on this blog post is for reference only. Please make sure to double check your own application with your local NIA office. We gather the information from our personal experience as of the summer of 2023 applying for an APRC from holding a Gold Card.

Requirements

When it comes to applying for the Alien Permanent Residency Card (APRC), there are primarily two pathways to choose from:

Option 1: The first route is the more conventional approach, requiring you to be a resident in Taiwan for five years and engage in employment with a Taiwanese company during that period. An average of 183 days of presence in Taiwan is necessary for each of these five years.

Option 2: The second route is the Gold Card pathway, offering an accelerated process where you are required to be in Taiwan for an average of 183 days during the three-year validity of your Gold Card. To qualify, you must either demonstrate that you meet the minimum income requirement or show ownership of assets in Taiwan valued at 5 million NTD (approximately 165,000 USD).

Important: before you can apply to permanent residency, you need to legally get a working visa in Taiwan. You can either do it by getting sponsored by a Taiwanese company or by applying to the Taiwan Gold card. We got our temporary residency through the Gold Card and we wrote extensive guides to help you understand if you can qualify and how to get your started: The Taiwan Employment Gold Card – Part I: Online application & Part II: Spouse application.

Benefits

There are several kinds of APRC available in Taiwan. Through the application process we are documenting here you can received an APRC that is for Gold Card holders and that you can keep by entering the country at least every 5 years.
Though the process we are describing here is quite similar to the standard APRC application process (if you don’t have a gold card), keep in mind though that if you are not classified as a Foreign Professional, you need to stay 183 days / year for you to keep such APRC.

Checklist

Once you have met all of the requirement for permanent residency, the first time to initiate your application is to collect the following essential documents / information:

1. APRC Application Form

1. One Photo ID ( size: 4.5cm X 3.5cm, which is different than the US Passport Photo ID size)
2. Evidence confirming your stay in Taiwan for the minimum required duration
3. Copies of both your old and current passport ID page + all pages including your entry/exit stamp from Taiwan covering the entirety of your application period
4. Copies of your current ARC card (both front and back)
5. A Police Criminal Record Certification from Taiwan

6. Documentation related to either your income of your proof of asset in Taiwan

• Proof of asset: We sent money from the US to Taiwan to hit the 5 million NTD threshold (~155K USD). To avoid those pesky currency conversion fees (usually ~3%), we sent USD from the US and stashed it in our USD account in our Taiwanese bank. When the bank sends out the statement showing all your cash (TWD + USD), they’ll add it up and convert it to NTD using the latest exchange rate. If you ever need to send money from outside Taiwan to Taiwan, we suggest using a service like Wise (Read: A Reliable & Transparent Money Transfer Service) – it’s a breeze!
• Proof of income: Please share a copy of your most recent tax return. To be eligible, you should have an income that is at least twice the minimum wage.

Important: If you have been outside of Taiwan for more than three months in one single trip, you need to provide some additional documentation:

7. Police Criminal Record Certification from the country of the passport you use to apply for your ARC. This document must be authenticated and translated into Chinese if it is not written in English.
8. A Health Certificate from Taiwan

Process if you applied with a US passport:

If you are a USA national, then read the well written FBI Background Check Process by a fellow Gold Card member that cover the entire process.

Process if you apply with a French passport:

1. Request your “casier judiciaire” here. This takes just a few minutes to get delievered to you by e-mail.
2. Find a translator that is recognized by the Ministry of Foreign Affair (list is here) to translate your document. This person need to have his/her signature legalized (usually by his/her local city hall).
3. Send the document to the Ministry of Foreign Affair for them to legalized the signature of the translator
4. Send it to the Bureau des Francais a Taipei for them to review
5. Received the document at your current location

Note: this process take about a month so make sure to start it early.

In my case, I was able to find a translator that was able to do step 2-5 for me which save me time and potentially errors with a process that I was not at all familiar with.

Cost 

The application fee for the APRC itself is 10,000 NTD (~320 USD). On top of that you need to factor additional cost related to all the documentation you will need to provide.

Here is a rough breakdown:

• ARC Extension for 6 months: You need to apply for your APRC the day after your Gold Card has expired and need to be legally able to stay in the country. You have two options based on your employment status:
  • If your are working for a Taiwanese company your employer can apply for a work-permit on your behalf. Cost: FREE
  • If you are not working for a Taiwanese company, you can request a 6-month extension for your ARC (Note: this ARC won’t come with a work-permit but will let you seek one). Cost: 1000 NTD. To get this ARC, basically fill-out the same APRC form. Indicate the following:
    • Classification: “Change of Residence”
    • Application Type: “Other”
• APRC form: free (You can request it as the NIA or print in online here)
• Photocopies of passport(s) and ARC card: 10 NTD (Tip: go to 7-11 as a photocopy cost about 2 NTD for each page in black and white)
• Evidence confirming you stayed an everage of 183 days / year in Taiwan: free (taking care by the NIA when you submit your application).
  • Though you can request the document to double check everything yourself before submitting your application by asking for your entry record at the NIA. Cost: 100 NTD
• Police Criminal Record Certificate from Taiwan: 100 NTD
• Health Certificate from Taiwan: 1,000-1,500 NTD (varies depending on the clinic/hospital you go to)
• French Police Criminal Record Certification: Free
• Translation of French Police Criminal Record Certification: ~200 USD (could be cheaper if you handle all separate steps yourself vs having someone to do it all for you)
• Bank certificate for proof of 5M NTD in asset: 100 NTD

Total: ~19,000 NTD (or ~600 USD)

Processing Time

Processing time seems to be between 3-5 weeks based on the NIA office you applied to (it has to be the office from the city you currently live in) and external factor such as national holidays and application workload.

Additional Ressources

If you are looking for additional information on this topic, we found these resources helpful:

• Instructions on Document Submission by Foreigners Applying for Permanent Residency
• Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office – APRC FAQ
• Foreigners In Taiwan – Taiwan APRC FAQ

Our Bottom Line

The APRC application process is quite straightforward and doesn’t necessitate the involvement of a third-party company if you’re familiar with the requirements.

If you meet the qualifications for the Gold Card, you can obtain an APRC in just 3 years. Gold Card holders enjoy an expedited application process (3 years instead of 5) and are eligible for the Foreign Special Professional APRC, which is the most generous option available in Taiwan. This particular APRC only requires you to be in Taiwan for one day every 5 years.

However, the regular APRC is also an excellent choice for those planning to reside in Taiwan. It renews annually as long as you spend at least 183 days per year in the country.

Have you contemplated applying for permanent residency in Taiwan? Are you aware of the Taiwan APRC and how it compares to your current permanent residency status? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below! We value your input and would love to hear from you. 😊