Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts.
To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said.
Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in the same period.
Photo: CNA
Applicants must also provide “proof of bank deposits” averaging at least US$10,000 for the previous six-month period as well as “proof of health and full hospitalization insurance for the entire duration of stay,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Only nationals from the ministry’s list of visa-exempt countries are eligible for the new visa, which includes citizens of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK, the US and several EU countries, including France and Germany.
Applicants must also provide a “personal resume or portfolio, including academic background and work experience,” a valid work contract from an employer or contracts for current freelance projects, and complete a “description of intended activities” form.
The new visa was launched on Wednesday last week by the National Development Council (NDC) in conjunction with the ministry, apparently in an attempt to attract financially independent foreign nationals to spend overseas-earned money in Taiwan.
The NDC in July last year said that it hoped to attract 100,000 “digital nomads” — referring to people who work remotely, sometimes for a company in one country while living in another.
However, nearly a week after applications were first opened, neither the NDC nor the ministry announced or promoted the new visa category on their Web sites in any language.
It is also unclear how the digital nomad visitor visa might differ practically from other visitor visas already offered to people from countries on the ministry’s visa-exemption list, except for offering a longer stay of up to six months.
Foreign nationals from the majority of Taiwan’s visa-exempt countries can already visit Taiwan for 90 days without providing proof of income, while British and Canadian nationals can extend their three-month stay to six months in total, the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Web site says.
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