Citizeo
Pathway

Taiwan Entrepreneur Visa

Taiwan Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

This residence pathway is for founders building a startup or innovative business in Taiwan. It generally requires an eligible business idea, enough funding or support, and approval through the country's startup process.

Type
Startup residence
Startup fit
Founders building an approved startup in Taiwan
Core requirements
Startup approval, business plan, and funding proof
What to know
Meeting the listed requirements does not guarantee approval; the authority retains discretion
Minimum investment
TWD 2 million (about USD $62,000), or a qualifying endorsement
Who may qualify
Innovative entrepreneurs

Summary

Taiwan's Entrepreneur Visa is a two-year residence route for foreign founders and startup teams who can show an accepted innovation or entrepreneurship basis. It is designed for people who intend to build a business in Taiwan, but it does not require every applicant to incorporate a Taiwan company before the first application. Individual and team applications are available through the official online platform.

The route is broader than a single cash-investment test. An applicant may qualify through recognized funding, admission to and recommendation from an approved startup park or incubator, intellectual property or professional expertise, recognized startup or design achievements, or another published category. A founder who already operates an innovative Taiwan company may also qualify through the company, role, and investment tests in the current review directions.

The initial two years give the entrepreneur time to develop the venture. Renewal is based on actual business performance, such as revenue, operating expenses, local employment, or another contribution accepted by the competent authority. Residence permission does not automatically replace any work permit, professional license, company registration, tax, or sector approval required for the founder's actual activities.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

An individual applicant must meet at least one current qualification category and submit the matching evidence. Common categories include:

The official supporting-document list is controlling. It is not enough to describe a promising idea. For example, a funding route needs investment documents; an incubator route needs the incubation agreement, recommendation, and startup proposal; and an existing-company route needs registration, role, and investment evidence.

A team may apply together, but the group must submit a team intent letter and each member's role and eligibility must be supported under the team rules. Approval of one founder should not be assumed to cure missing evidence for another.

Core application records include a recent photograph, a passport with at least six months' validity, and the documents for the selected criterion. Applicants from Hong Kong or Macao use the separate identity and residence framework described in the official instructions.

What This Route Allows

An approved foreign applicant receives entrepreneur residence for an initial period of two years and an Alien Resident Certificate. The ARC allows residence and multiple re-entry during its validity. A foreign spouse, a child under 18, and an older child unable to live independently because of a qualifying disability may apply for dependent residence under the NIA rules.

An entrepreneur may apply to extend the business-based residence within four months before the ARC expires. Each business extension can be granted for up to two years if the Taiwan enterprise meets at least one current performance test:

If business activity has ended but the entrepreneur and already approved family members have a genuine need to remain temporarily, the NIA instructions allow a six-month residence extension and, if necessary, one further extension, for a total of no more than one year. That is a bridge to leave or change status, not an extension of the successful-business route.

What This Route Is Not

This is not passive residence purchased by depositing TWD 2 million. The TWD 2 million figure belongs to a specific qualifying funding category, and the money must be raised through an accepted source and documented in the required way. Other categories have different evidence.

It is not enough to form a shell company. Initial approval requires an accepted innovation basis, and later renewal requires measurable Taiwan operations or another recognized contribution.

The Entrepreneur ARC is not itself a blanket work permit. The NIA expressly says holders must obtain permission to work in accordance with the Employment Service Act and other applicable laws. Founders should confirm whether their proposed executive, technical, salaried, or self-employed activity requires a separate permit before beginning it.

The route is also not permanent residence or citizenship. Any later permanent-residence application has its own length-of-residence, presence, character, and financial rules. Family members receive dependent status rather than entrepreneur status and may have separate work-permit requirements.

Next Steps

  1. Read the current qualification review directions and select one primary category that your evidence clearly satisfies.
  2. Create an evidence table matching every legal criterion to a document, issuer, date, amount, and translation.
  3. If applying through funding, confirm that the investor or platform is within the accepted category and that the proof shows the required amount.
  4. If applying through an incubator, obtain the signed agreement and specific recommendation before filing.
  5. Prepare a Taiwan-focused startup proposal explaining innovation, market, team roles, funding, milestones, and expected local impact.
  6. For a team application, complete the team intent letter and make each person's founder role consistent across all documents.
  7. Submit through the NIA Foreign Professionals Online Application Platform and allow for passport verification and requests for more evidence.
  8. Separately complete company, tax, banking, sector-license, and work-permit steps; do not assume the ARC performs those functions.
  9. From the first day of operations, retain invoices, expense ledgers, payroll, tax records, employee nationality evidence, and business-performance records needed for renewal.
  10. Apply for renewal within the official four-month window before expiry and report address or business-location changes within 30 days.
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