| Legislative： |
Promulgated on June 29, 2015.
Clauses 3, 4 and 5 appendix amended on December 28, 2015.
Clauses 3, 4, 6 and 5 appendix amended on April 26, 2017. |
| Content： |
1.These directions have been drawn up in relation to the Executive Yuan’s plan for the
promotion of Entrepreneur Visa, to regulate the qualification examination for the issuing
of Entrepreneur Visa.
2.When a foreign national applies for an Entrepreneur Visa, the examination of the
applicant’s qualification for the issuing of an Entrepreneur Visa shall be conducted by
the Investment Commission, Ministry of Economic Affairs (hereafter referred to as “the
Investment Commission, MOEA”) in consultation with other relevant industry
competent authorities; other agencies may be invited to participate in joint review where
necessary.
3.A foreign national applying for an Entrepreneur Visa must meet the following criteria:
(1)An individual applicant should comply with at least one of the following criteria:
a.The applicant has secured investment from a domestic or overseas venture capital
enterprise, or obtained funding of at least NT$2 million from a government-approved
international fund-raising platform.
b.The applicant has received approval to reside at a central or local government-
approved international innovation park, or in an incubator facility that is approved by
central or local government and is either directly run by the MOEA, operated in
collaboration with the MOEA, or has been rated by the MOEA as a first-class
incubator facility within the past three years, or other incubator facility that is
approved by the authority.
c.The applicant has been awarded a patent either in Taiwan or overseas, or can
demonstrate other evidence of professional expertise.
d.The applicant has won an award in a leading domestic or overseas business start-up or
design competition, or has received approval to the project of encouraging overseas
entrepreneurs to invest in Taiwan from government. The applicant who once stationed
or is now stationing accelerator facility that is approved by related government
institutions.
e.The applicant has been, or is currently, located in a startup accelerator facility approved
by the central competent authority.
f.The applicant has ever been shortlisted or awarded in significant domestic or foreign
film festivals.
g.The applicant has ever been granted above NT3 million subvention for startup or
related project by central government, or has ever been granted above NT1 million
subvention for startup or related project by local government.
h.The applicant possesses such other innovation capability as may be specified or
recommended by the central competent authority.
i.The applicant has already established an enterprise with the amount of investment at
least NT$1 million in Taiwan that meets the official criteria for designation as a
business start-up with innovation capability, and been serving as the legal
representative, manager or director of that enterprise.
(2)A team or group applicant:
a.The applicant who has not yet established an enterprise in Taiwan shall meet with at
least one of Items a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h under Paragraph (1) above.
b.For the applicant who has already established an enterprise in Taiwan that meets the
official criteria for designation as a business start-up with innovation capability, the
members of the team or group shall be serving as legal representative, executive
officers or managers of the enterprise, and the members of the team or group shall have
invested a combined total of at least NT$1 million in the enterprise.
4.The term “enterprise that meets the official criteria for designation as a business start-up
with innovation capability” as used in the previous article refers to an enterprise that has
been lawfully registered under Taiwan’s Company Act or Commerce Registration Act
for less than five years, and meet at least one of the following applies:
(1)The enterprise has obtained funding of at least NT$2 million from a domestic or
overseas venture capital enterprise, or from international fund raising platform
approved by government.
(2)The enterprise is already listed on the Go Incubation Board for Startup and
Acceleration Firms (GISA, TPEx), Taipei Exchange (TPEx).
(3)The enterprise has either been awarded an invention or design patent in Taiwan, or
been transferred or licensed of invention or design patent rights by the holder of a
Taiwanese invention or design patentee and been registered with the Intellectual
Property Office, MOEA.
(4)The enterprise has resided at an innovation park approved by central or local
government, or an incubator facility that is approved by central or local government
and is either directly run by the MOEA, operated in collaboration with the MOEA, or
has been rated by the MOEA as a first-class incubator facility within the past three
years, or is another incubator facility approved by the competent authority.
(5)The enterprise or its legal representative has won an award in a leading domestic or
overseas business start-up or design competition.
(6)The enterprise has been, or is currently, located in a startup accelerator facility
approved by the central competent authority.
(7)The enterprise or its legal representative has ever been shortlisted or awarded in
significant domestic or foreign film festivals.
(8)The enterprise has ever been granted above NT3 million subvention for startup or
related project by central government, or has ever been granted above NT1 million
subvention for startup or anything relates to startup by local government.
(9)The enterprise conforms to such other requirements as may be specified by the central
competent authority.
5.The concerning documents of Articles 3, 4 and 7, and the industry competent authorities
that must be invited to participate in qualification examination, are shown in Appendix.
6.Application shall be submitted to one of Taiwan’s overseas representative offices or to
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) along with , the concerning documents
specified in Appendix , as well as a photocopy of a Taiwan R.O.C. visa application
form, and a photocopy of the applicant’s foreign passport or a photocopy of Alien
permanent residence permit; the overseas representative office or the MOFA will pass
the application on to the Investment Commission, MOEA for examination.
Where an application is submitted by a team or group, the application shall be submitted
by persons who jointly conform to one of the requirements specified in Paragraph (2) of
Article 3 above. If all of the team members conform to the requirements for submission
of an application by a single individual, then they may submit a joint application on
presentation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The number of persons that
may be included in a team or group application may not exceed three persons, except in
cases where special permission being given by a joint-agency approval.
7.Initial validity for an approved Entrepreneur Visa shall not exceed one year; however,
when the applicant’s business enterprise in Taiwan meets at least one of the criteria
listed below, the applicant may apply for an extension. The applicant shall submit the
qualification review documents specified in Appendix to the Ministry of the Interior,
which will forward the application to the Investment Commission, MOEA for
examination. The maximum permitted period of each extension may not exceed two
years:
(1)The sales revenue of the applicant’s enterprise for the most recent year, or the average
for the most recent three years, is at least NT$3 million.
(2)The operating expenses of the applicant’s enterprise for the most recent year, or the
average for the most recent three years, is at least NT$1 million.
(3)The applicant’s enterprise employs at least three full-time Taiwanese nationality
employees.
(4)The applicant’s enterprise can demonstrate some other category of operational
performance that leads the industry competent authority to determine that the enterprise
is making a positive contribution to Taiwan’s economic development.
8.The provisions of these Directions shall apply mutatis mutandis to the provision of
assistance by the MOEA for the examination of applications for resident visas in order
to engage in entrepreneur activity that are submitted by residents of Hong Kong or
Macao to the Ministry of the Interior or to the Mainland Affairs Council offices in
Hong Kong and Macao. |