VisaTaiwan specialists seeking permanent residence after one year need domestic income evidence
Current-rule guide to the NTD 6 million income route, residence calculations, tax records and the practical change from a Gold Card to permanent residence.
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Check the one-year route against your income and physical presence
Taiwan's immigration guidance allows qualifying specialist professionals to seek permanent residence after one lawful year, more than 183 days' presence and NTD 6 million of domestic salary and professional-practice income in the most recent year. This guide explains preparing that application.
File at the NIA service station for your residence. The fee is NTD 10,000; an overseas asset balance does not establish the specified domestic income.
Distinguish specialist status from the ordinary five-year calculation
Article 18 of the foreign-professionals law distinguishes ordinary foreign professionals from specialist professionals holding the relevant specialist work permission or Employment Gold Card. Its general professional route requires five years' continuous lawful residence with an annual average of at least 183 days. The specialist route normally uses three years, while the one-year route depends on the Interior Ministry's announced conditions.
The statute also retains adult status, good conduct, self-supporting assets or skills and national-interest requirements. A shorter residence period does not remove those tests. It separately permits specified Taiwanese degrees to offset residence time and sets a two-year application window after the relevant residence-and-stay period. Degree credits and the income-based one-year route should be identified separately, with the NIA checking the calculation; they should not be combined informally to invent eligibility before the required residence has occurred. At the day-count boundary, note that Article 18 says at least 183 days, while NIA's income-route guidance says more than 183: ask NIA to resolve an exactly-183-day case.
Maintain valid residence and plan any application from overseas
The official Gold Card permanent-residence FAQ says an application is required and stresses keeping residence valid and uninterrupted when applying. It explains that a holder whose card will expire before eligibility should arrange an extension in advance. A pending plan to apply for permanent residence is therefore not a reason to let the existing card expire.
The FAQ also describes applying from overseas through an agent in Taiwan using a power of attorney verified by a Taiwanese overseas mission. It warns that approval automatically cancels the Employment Gold Card, so the agent must collect the permanent-resident card and send it abroad. Anyone using that arrangement should coordinate card collection and travel carefully. Do not plan a return journey on the assumption that the old Gold Card remains available after permanent residence is approved.
Obtain usable income evidence before treating a tax figure as sufficient
The Finance Ministry explains an online route for obtaining individual income information through its tax portal: choose the electronic tax-document service, the tax-administration category and individual income data, then authenticate using one of the specified credentials. This can help applicants locate official income information rather than relying solely on an informal spreadsheet or an employer's estimate.
The published authentication options include a Citizen Digital Certificate or health-insurance card with a password. A foreign applicant who cannot use those credentials should establish an available route with the tax authority. The ministry's document-download instructions do not themselves certify that a particular income item meets the immigration fast-track test. Keep the source income records and ask NIA which tax period and income categories it will recognise before relying on the total.
Prepare the Taiwan police certificate through the police service
Taipei City Police publishes a separate application procedure for a criminal-record certificate. Foreign residents in Taiwan present an original passport or Alien Resident Certificate with the completed application. A representative needs a signed or stamped power of attorney and must show identification when collecting. This is a police-document transaction, distinct from payment of the permanent-residence application fee.
The Taipei instructions list NTD 100 per domestic certificate and USD 7 for overseas applications, with a separate stated amount for Hong Kong or Macau applicants. Overseas identity copies require the specified authentication or notarisation. Use the police resource to establish the filing category. Check NIA's separate clearance requirements and exemptions; the Taiwan certificate does not establish that every other clearance is waived.
