Taiwan digital nomad visa
Taiwan's Digital Nomad Visitor Visa lets you stay six months, extendable to two years, while working for employers or clients abroad. You need USD 20,000 a year if you are 20 to 29 or USD 40,000 if you are 30 or over, plus a bank balance averaging USD 10,000 a month, and only passports that can visit Taiwan without a visa may apply.
At a glance
- The visa
- Digital Nomad Visitor Visa
- What you need
- About $1,670 to $3,330 a month (USD 20,000 a year, depending on your age); in pounds, about £1,250 to £2,500 a month
- What counts as proof
- Salary in one of the last two years, shown by a tax certificate (such as a UK P60 or US W-2) or an employer's salary certificate. Also six months of bank statements showing a balance averaging at least USD 10,000 a month, a work contract or current freelance contracts, and health insurance for the whole stay. Holding another country's digital nomad visa can replace the income test.
- Who can apply
- Employees of a company abroad: yes. Freelancers: yes. Owners of a company abroad: unclear (neither the foreign ministry nor the National Development Council mentions company owners or self-employed directors).
- How long
- Six months, extendable six months at a time to two years in all
- Without a visa
- British visitors: 90 days, extendable to 180 (British Citizen passports only). American: 90 days, not extendable
- Passports
- Only passports that can visit without a visa may apply. British and American passports can.
The catch. The bar is USD 20,000 a year if you are 20 to 29 and USD 40,000 if you are 30 or over, and there is no income band for under-20s. Income alone is not enough: you also need a bank balance averaging USD 10,000 a month over the last six months. And it stops at two years, with no longer stay until the law changes.
See where you stand against Taiwan and every other country. Check your income
How to apply
- Check your passport first: only nationals of countries that can visit Taiwan without a visa can apply. British Citizen, American and Singaporean passports qualify, as do those of the EU countries we checked. Indian passports don't, because India isn't on Taiwan's visa-exempt list.
- Fill in the online form at visawebapp.boca.gov.tw, print it with its barcode and sign it. Hand it in within 30 days.
- From abroad, apply in person at a Taiwan mission (in the UK and US, the Taipei Representative Office or Taipei Economic and Cultural Office). The National Development Council checks whether you qualify, then the mission decides on the visa.
- Already in Taiwan on a visa-free entry? Apply to the Bureau of Consular Affairs in Taipei, or a foreign ministry office in central, southwestern, southern or eastern Taiwan, at least 10 working days before your stay ends. If the visa isn't issued in time, you must leave. American visa-free stays are 90 days and can't be extended, so apply early.
- You may be interviewed, and any extra documents asked for are due within three working days. The visa goes in your passport, collected where you applied.
- It's a visitor visa: neither official page mentions a residence card.
Fees and timing
- Visa
- No fee is published for this visa: the bureau points to its general schedule, where a visitor visa costs NT$1,600 single entry or NT$3,200 multiple entry. Which of the two applies to this visa isn't stated. The fee isn't refunded if you're refused.
- US citizens
- US$160, on the same schedule.
- Applying in Taiwan
- The schedule adds NT$800 for a visa converted inside Taiwan. Whether that applies to this visa isn't stated.
- How long it takes
- 14 to 20 working days, the National Development Council's FAQ says, and longer over holidays or if more documents are needed.
The documents
The main items. Your consulate's own checklist is the one that counts, so check it before you start.
- The online form, printed with its barcode and signed
- Two colour photos, 45 x 35 mm, on a white background, taken in the last six months
- Passport valid at least six months, with blank pages, plus a copy of the data page
- A CV or portfolio
- An employment contract, or freelancers' current client contracts
- A "Description of Intended Activities" form, from the bureau's site
- Proof of income in one of the last two years: a tax certificate (such as a US W-2, UK P60 or Canadian T4) or a salary certificate from your employer, or another country's digital nomad visa
- Six months of bank statements averaging USD 10,000 a month
- International health insurance for the whole stay
- Applying in Taiwan: copies of your latest visa and entry stamp pages
- No criminal record certificate or proof of accommodation is asked for
Health insurance
International health insurance with full hospitalisation cover for the whole stay, matching the dates in your activities form. No minimum is stated, and the official pages don't say whether travel insurance counts.
Nomad policies differ on cover limits, excess and whether they're accepted for a visa. Compare nomad health insurance
Family, renewing and tax
- Family
- The official pages don't mention a partner or children. One firm, Vialto Partners, says the visa doesn't allow dependants, so each family member must apply separately.
- Renewing
- Six months at a time, up to two years in all, under the law in force since 1 January 2026, KPMG says. The official pages don't say where or how to extend; Vialto says you apply in Taiwan before the visa runs out, and approval is discretionary. The NDC says no longer stay is possible until the law is amended.
- What it leads to
- Not shown to lead anywhere: it is a visitor visa. The National Development Council's FAQ says holders "can apply to convert to long-term residence" but gives no route. Permanent residence runs through the Employment Gold Card, after three years
- Tax
- 183 days or more in a calendar year, or a domicile in Taiwan where you habitually live
Worth knowing
- 1 January 2026: the longest stay went from six months to two years. The first stay went from three months to six, with extensions of up to six months each.
- The National Development Council's FAQ says holders "can apply to convert to long-term residence", but it gives no route or conditions.
- The longer route is the Employment Gold Card: a visa, open work permit, residence permit and re-entry permit in one, for one to three years, with no job offer needed. You qualify on your professional skills in named fields, from science and technology, finance and law to digital and culture, and apply online at goldcard.nat.gov.tw. It costs USD 100 to USD 310, depending on nationality and length, and takes about 30 days. A spouse and children can apply to live with you, and permanent residence is possible after three years. That's from the Gold Card office's own page, last changed in 2020.