Moving to Taiwan: residence, healthcare, banking and your first month

Choose a route that fits the work you will actually do

For an employer-led move, establish the applicable occupation and work-permit process with the employer before agreeing a start date. Taiwan’s Workforce Development Agency separates specialised or technical work from school teaching, cram-school teaching and other professions. A teaching offer is not interchangeable with a technology-sector permit, and professional licensing may be a further requirement.

The Employment Gold Card is different: for qualifying professionals, it combines a resident visa, ARC, re-entry permission and an open work permit. It can support employment with more than one company or starting a business. Qualification depends on the relevant professional field; do not treat a salary mentioned for one field as the universal test.

• Workforce Development Agency: specialised and technical work categories
• National Development Council: what the Employment Gold Card provides
• BOCA: resident visas for entrepreneurs
• BOCA: visitor visa for employment-seeking purposes

Deal with the residence card and address promptly

If entering on an ordinary resident visa, apply to the National Immigration Agency for the ARC and re-entry permission within 30 days of entry. Prepare the passport, resident visa, photograph and documents supporting your residence purpose, and use the service station responsible for your address. A Gold Card already performs the ARC function; its holders should follow the Gold Card collection and address-update process rather than apply for a duplicate ordinary ARC.

Report a change of residential address or place of employment within 30 days. Keep a copy of the lease or other accepted residence evidence. Reporting an employer change to Immigration does not replace any work-permit action the new job requires. Retain the old and new approval records so an address update, new job and renewal do not become three contradictory files.

• National Immigration Agency: residence-permit and address-change questions
• National Development Council: what the Employment Gold Card provides
• Taiwan Gold Card: banking, identity and branch appointments
• Workforce Development Agency: specialised and technical work categories

Choose an address around work, school and transport

Compare an actual weekday in Taipei or New Taipei with the same routine in Taichung, Tainan or Kaohsiung: door-to-door commute, school journey, healthcare appointments and evening transport. A lower advertised rent can lose its advantage if it adds a car, frequent taxis or a second school run. Start with temporary accommodation if you cannot inspect properties before arrival.

Before paying, confirm who can legally rent out the property and obtain a written agreement you understand. Ask about the deposit, management charges, electricity calculation, internet, air conditioning, rubbish collection and early termination. Check ventilation, damp, emergency exits and the permission to keep a pet. Keep these as property-specific checks, not assumptions about every Taiwanese lease.

Save the complete Chinese address and the landlord’s contact details, not only an English map label. Use the same address consistently when updating your residence record and asking the bank which proof it accepts.

• National Immigration Agency: residence-permit and address-change questions
• Taiwan Gold Card: banking, identity and branch appointments

Keep a payment bridge until the local account works

Ask the chosen branch for its document list and appointment process before visiting. A Gold Card is an ARC-equivalent identity document, but the bank still carries out its own customer and risk checks; a lack of local address or employment can make account opening harder. An overseas account with the same banking brand is not automatically linked to a Taiwan account.

Talent Taiwan’s banking initiative launched on 4 June 2026 provides an appointment-based option at participating branches. Check the programme’s current branch list rather than assuming every branch participates. Keep another working card and enough accessible funds for rent and essentials until incoming transfers, withdrawals and online banking have been tested.

• Taiwan Gold Card: banking, identity and branch appointments

Confirm when National Health Insurance begins

For an eligible resident with a fixed employer, NHI enrolment is through the employer from employment. Other eligible residents generally face a six-month residence requirement. Under the published rule, that means continuous residence, or one trip abroad of no more than 30 days with the overseas days deducted. A residence card alone does not prove that the waiting period has been met.

Ask NHIA which category applies if you run a business, are self-employed, study, or join a family member. Eligible dependants of employed foreign professionals have special enrolment provisions; do not apply the general waiting rule to every child or spouse. Arrange cover for any gap and confirm the start date before cancelling existing insurance. Bring a medication list and care summary, and locate a suitable clinic before an ongoing prescription runs out.

• NHIA: health-insurance enrolment for foreign residents

Track days and income from your first arrival

For a foreign individual without Taiwan domicile, 183 days or more in a calendar tax year is the main residence test. It is not “more than 183”, and holding an ARC or Gold Card does not substitute for the day count. Non-residents can still owe tax. In particular, work physically performed in Taiwan can create reporting obligations even when an overseas employer pays the salary.

Keep entry and exit dates, contracts, payslips and foreign-income records. The ordinary annual filing period is 1–31 May for the previous year, with holiday adjustments; departure during the year can bring an earlier filing obligation. Ask about payroll withholding, final liability and the former country’s rules separately. Do not budget using a single supposed tax rate for all foreign workers or assume a Gold Card makes foreign-paid work tax-free.

• Taxation Administration: resident and non-resident definitions
• National Taxation Bureau of Taipei: when foreigners must file

Coordinate school admission with the home search

For local public schooling, identify the school district through the local education department or district office, then contact the school’s admissions office. For Gold Card dependants, the official newcomer guide lists the application, identity or residence evidence and transcript as the starting file, with a transcript exception for first-semester Grade 1. Other families should confirm their own document list with the school. Ask about placement, teaching language, language support and additional learning needs before committing to a lease.

Compare local public, bilingual and international options using the actual child’s eligibility and available places. A bilingual programme is not a guarantee of an entirely English curriculum. Obtain written tuition, transport, meal and enrolment quotations where applicable. Handle each family member’s immigration permission separately from the school place, and confirm the other parent’s working rights before counting on a second salary.

• Taiwan Gold Card newcomer guide: education for dependent children
• Workforce Development Agency: specialised and technical work categories

Do not use an international driving permit indefinitely

Reciprocity matters. For an accepted international driving permit, a short stay of 30 days or fewer does not require local IDP registration; a longer stay requires registration with a motor vehicle office. Carry the underlying foreign licence as well. The Taipei office lists the passport, ARC, original licence, original IDP and photograph for the registration application.

Registration validity is limited by the relevant documents. The office directs residents staying over six months to obtain a Taiwan licence. Check whether your issuing jurisdiction and vehicle category qualify for exchange or require tests. A car entitlement is not automatically a scooter entitlement, and a rental company handing over a vehicle does not establish that you are licensed and insured to drive it.

• Taipei Motor Vehicles Office: international driving permit registration

Price the move in TWD and start pet arrangements early

For a dog or cat, use APHIA’s import-permit system and the process for the animal’s country of origin. Veterinary certification, rabies evidence and any quarantine arrangements must fit the applicable conditions; an airline booking is not an import permit. Secure a pet-friendly home and confirm acceptance with the carrier before paying for transport.

Build a Taiwan-dollar budget from your own quotations: application and document costs, flights, temporary accommodation, rental deposit, initial rent, utilities, health cover, school costs and any pet shipping. Separate refundable deposits from spending, then add several months of household outgoings and a reserve for delays. The moving-budget tool calculates this cash requirement without inventing a nationwide “typical expat” figure.

• APHIA: dog and cat import procedures and quarantine guidance

Keep the records that a longer stay will require

Calendar the earliest expiry among passport, residence permission and any employer-linked work approval. Save tax filings, insurance records, contracts and a travel-day log. Before changing jobs, stopping work or moving address, identify which authority needs an application and which only needs notification.

Permanent residence is a later application, not something a bank account or Gold Card automatically turns into. Compare the APRC route against your actual residence category and history. Build the arrival plan first, then revisit the long-term route as employment, family circumstances or intended absences change.

• National Immigration Agency: residence-permit and address-change questions
• Workforce Development Agency: specialised and technical work categories