Canada vs Taiwan (Republic of China)
A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.
Last reviewed:
Source basis
This comparison combines Canada and Taiwan (Republic of China) government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
IRCC - verified
- National Immigration Agency
National Immigration Agency (Taiwan) - verified
- IRCC — Federal Skilled Worker Program
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) - verified
- National Development Council - Taiwan Employment Gold Card
National Development Council (Taiwan) - verified
Canada
Canada's permanent-residence system is dominated by Express Entry, covering Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Trades, plus Provincial Nominee Programs. Temporary routes include LMIA-based work permits, International Mobility Program, and the Post-Graduation Work Permit.
- Official portal
- IRCC
- Languages
- English, French
- Currency
- Canadian dollar
Taiwan (Republic of China)
Taiwan manages immigration through the National Immigration Agency (NIA) under the Ministry of the Interior, with work authorisation governed by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and entry visas issued by the Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA). The headline routes for skilled foreigners are the Employment Gold Card, which bundles a visa, residence and open work permit for designated specialist fields, and the employer-sponsored work permit plus Alien Resident Certificate (ARC). After five years of continuous residence, many foreign professionals can apply for an Alien Permanent Resident Certificate (APRC).
- Official portal
- National Immigration Agency (Taiwan)
- Languages
- Mandarin Chinese
- Currency
- New Taiwan dollar
How Canada and Taiwan (Republic of China) differ
| Dimension | Canada | Taiwan (Republic of China) |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 8 | 6 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 7 | 4 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 6 | 5 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | Arrival as PR → citizenship eligibility at 3 years. Temp-to-PR transition (Express Entry or PNP from inside Canada) typically adds another 1-3 years. | — |
| Dominant skilled visa | Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) | Taiwan Employment Gold Card |
| Skilled visa salary minimum | — | — |
| Skilled visa processing time | IRCC’s current processing-time service reports an approximately 7-month Express Entry processing expectation for this programme; its historical dashboard shows about 5 months for recently completed cases. | — |
| Skilled visa government fees | Canada Express Entry (Federal Skilled Worker) costs about CA$1,675 in government fees for a single applicant, plus roughly CA$550 in pre-application third-party costs (ECA + language test). | — |
| Official languages | English, French | Mandarin Chinese |
| Currency | Canadian dollar | New Taiwan dollar |
| Primary regulator | CICC | TBA |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 2 | 0 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
Canada
Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- Canada Express Entry (Federal Skilled Worker) costs about CA$1,675 in government fees for a single applicant, plus roughly CA$550 in pre-application third-party costs (ECA + language test).
- Processing time
- IRCC’s current processing-time service reports an approximately 7-month Express Entry processing expectation for this programme; its historical dashboard shows about 5 months for recently completed cases.
- Sponsor required
- No
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Taiwan (Republic of China)
Taiwan Employment Gold Card
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- No
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Recent policy activity
Last 6 months. Each entry links to its primary government source.
- 29 July 2026Canada
Canada raises LMIA high-wage stream hourly wage thresholds (17 July 2026)
ESDC raised the hourly wage thresholds that determine whether an employer's LMIA application falls under the high-wage or the low-wage stream. For LMIAs received as of 17 July 2026 the threshold rises in every province and territory except the Northwest Territories — for example Ontario from CA$36.00 to CA$36.92 per hour and British Columbia from CA$36.60 to CA$38.40 per hour. Employers hiring temporary foreign workers, and workers whose permits rely on an LMIA, are affected.
Employment and Social Development Canada - 30 April 2026Canada
Canada: PR fees rise (30 Apr 2026), category-based Express Entry, Start-up Visa closed, arranged-employment points removed
A run of IRCC changes through 2025-26 reshaped Express Entry economics and closed the Start-up Visa to new applicants.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Routes unique to Canada
Visa routes side by side
Canada (8)
Express Entry — Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.
Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.
Express Entry — Federal Skilled Trades (FST)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.
Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 3 years.
Start-Up Visa (Canada)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.
Canadian Study Permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Programme length plus 90 days.
Spousal / common-law sponsorship (Canada)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.
Taiwan (Republic of China) (6)
Taiwan Employment Gold Card
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Valid for 1 to 3 years; renewable.
Work Permit for Specialized or Technical Work + ARC
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Work permit and resident visa run with the employment contract (which must have more than six months remaining at application); renewable.
Foreign Special Professional Work Permit
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Employment permit of up to five years for designated foreign professionals; renewable.
Entrepreneur Resident Visa
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Initial residence of 2 years; extensions of up to 2 years each subject to continuing to meet the qualification directions.
Visitor Visa for Employment-Seeking Purpose
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Short-stay visitor visa for job-seeking; the holder must convert to a work-permit-based resident visa to stay and work.
Permanent Residence (Alien Permanent Resident Certificate, APRC)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent, subject to maintaining the rolling presence requirement; re-entry and the certificate are maintained per NIA rules.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, Canada or Taiwan (Republic of China)?+
Canada’s Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) is the dominant skilled route; Taiwan (Republic of China)’s Taiwan Employment Gold Card is the dominant skilled route. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Which immigration system has changed more recently, Canada or Taiwan (Republic of China)?+
In the last 6 months: 2 logged policy changes for Canada, 0 for Taiwan (Republic of China). See the recent-policy section above for the details, each linked to its primary source.
Does Canada or Taiwan (Republic of China) have more visa routes without an employer sponsor?+
Canada has more: 7 of its covered routes can be pursued without an employer sponsor, against 4 for Taiwan (Republic of China). No-sponsor routes — such as digital-nomad, self-employment, and points-based skilled migration — matter most if you do not yet have a job offer.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Canada vs Taiwan (Republic of China) immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/canada/vs/taiwan. Last verified 29 July 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons