| Legislative： |
1.Promulgated on June 29, 2015
2.Amended on December 18, 2015
3.Amended on April 26, 2017
4.Amended on December 19, 2019
5.Amended on August 13, 2021 |
| 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
firm, secured investment from the Executive Yuan National Development Fund Startup Angel
Project, or obtained funding of at least NT$2 million in investment (fund-raising) from
a government-approved domestic, foreign, or international startup fund-raising platform.
b. The applicant that has been physically stationed within one year, or is physically
stationing in, the following parks or startup incubators, and has been recommended by such
parks or startup incubators:
(i).International start-up parks and projects approved by the central or local governments
in Taiwan.
(ii).The central or local government-operated startup incubators in Taiwan, or those
registered in the MOEA international startup incubators and approved and announced by the
MOEA.
(iii).Foreign startup incubators recognized by the central or local governments in Taiwan.
c. The applicant has been awarded an invention patent in a foreign country or domestic
invention or design patents, or can demonstrate other evidence of professional expertise.
d. The applicant has obtained plant variety rights, or animal name registration in
Taiwan, but does not include those implemented by rights assignment or authorization.
e. 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. e. The applicant who once stationed or
is now stationing accelerator facility that is approved by related government institutions.
f. The applicant has been shortlisted or awarded in indicative domestic/international
fashion shows, film festivals, international style awards.
g. The applicant possesses such other innovation capability as may be specified or
recommended by the central competent authority.
h. The applicant has already established an enterprise with the amount of investment at
least NT$1 million in Taiwan that meets the Directions of Recognition for Startups 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 under Paragraph (1) above.
b. For the applicant who has already established an enterprise in Taiwan that meets
the Directions of Recognition for Startups 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 Directions of Recognition for Startups 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. However, enterprises that have received additional
approval from the central competent authority shall not be subject to the aforementioned
five-year limit:
(1) The applicant has secured investment from a domestic or overseas venture capital
firm, meets the requirements in Article 23-2 of the Statute for Industrial Innovation,
secured investment from the Executive Yuan National Development Fund Startup Angel Project,
or obtained funding of at least NT$2 million in investment (fund-raising) from a
government-approved domestic, foreign, or international startup fund-raising platform.
(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 applicant has obtained plant variety rights, or animal name registration in
Taiwan, but does not include those implemented by rights assignment or authorization.
(5) The applicant that has been physically stationed within one year, or is physically
stationing in, the following parks or startup incubators, and has been recommended by such
parks or startup incubators:
a.International start-up parks and projects approved by the central or local governments
in Taiwan.
b.The central or local government-operated startup incubators in Taiwan, or those registered
in the MOEA international startup incubators and approved and announced by the MOEA.
c.Foreign startup incubators recognized by the central or local governments in Taiwan.
(6) The enterprise or its legal representative has won an award in a leading domestic
or overseas business start-up or design competition.
(7) The enterprise or its legal representative has been shortlisted or awarded in
indicative domestic/international fashion shows, film festivals, international style awards.
(8) The enterprise conforms to such other requirements as may be specified by the central
competent authority.
Regarding the applicable scope of Items b, e, and f of Paragraph (1) of Article 3, and of
Paragraphs (5) to (7) of the preceding Articles, please refer to the Directions of Recognition
for Startups with Innovation Capability and the attachments thereto.
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. |