These Regulations are prescribed pursuant to paragraph 3 of Article 9 of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”).

A foreign specialist professional applying for an Employment Gold Card shall submit the application to the Foreign Professionals Online Application Platform (hereinafter referred to as the “Foreign Professionals Application Platform”) established by the National Immigration Agency of the Ministry of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as “the NIA”) in accordance with the following requirements:
1. The following color scanned documents:
(1) Passport with at least 6-month validity remaining.
(2) 2-inch hatless facial color photo taken within 6 months.
(3) Documents for recognition of eligibility as a foreign specialist professional as announced by the central competent authority of the industry concerned.
(4) Other documents required for work permit, resident visa, alien resident certificate, and re-entry permit application.
2. Choose the validity period of the Employment Gold Card and pay the stipulated fees.
In the case of a foreign specialist professional whom the central competent authority of the industry concerned has recommended to apply for an Employment Gold Card, the documents referred to in subparagraph 1 of the preceding paragraph may be submitted in written form.
After the NIA has accepted an application and the Ministry of Labor has reviewed it for compliance with foreign specialist professional eligibility as prescribed in paragraph 1 of Article 3, the NIA shall notify the applicant to submit the Passport Submission Notice and his/her passport (original) to an overseas embassy, representative office, or office (hereinafter referred to as “overseas mission”) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for verification within six months. However, a foreign specialist professional who applies for an Employment Gold Card having already entered the State may be exempted from passport verification.

After accepting an application, the NIA shall jointly review the application with the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (hereinafter referred to as the “review authorities”). If necessary, the review authorities may consult the central competent authority/authorities of the industry/industries concerned for provision of opinion therefrom. However, a foreign specialist professional who applies for an Employment Gold Card having already entered the State may be exempted from joint review by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The review authorities shall complete the review process within 30 working days starting from the date of acceptance. The waiting time for passport verification as referred to in paragraph 3 of the preceding Article, time taken for document supplementation and correction as referred to in Article 4, and other delay caused by force majeure, shall be deducted.

In case that the required documents for application are incorrect or insufficient, the NIA shall notify the applicant to supplement or correct the application documents within 30 days. In case that application documents can only be obtained from outside the Republic of China (Taiwan) (hereinafter referred to as “the State”), the supplementation and correction period may be extended to six months. The application shall be rejected if the information is not fully supplemented or corrected within the required time period.
The application shall be rejected if the applicant fails to comply with the notification to verify passport as stipulated in paragraph 3 of Article 2.

The NIA may deny the application if it falls into one of the following circumstances:
1. Not consistent with the requirements as reviewed by the Ministry of Labor.
2. Not consistent with the requirements as reviewed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. One of the circumstances listed in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 24 of the Immigration Act occurs.
4. Other circumstances which are not consistent with the provisions of the Act or these Regulations.

After review, the NIA shall process the application that meet the regulations according to the following rules:
1. Onshore application: issue the Employment Gold Card to the applicant.
2. Offshore application: issue an Employment Gold Card Overseas Approval Certificate (hereinafter referred to as the “Certificate”) to the applicant, who shall use the Certificate for entry. The applicant shall present the Certificate at the NIA to exchange for an Employment Gold Card within 30 days after entering the State.
The validity period of the Employment Gold Card starts from the next day after issuance.
During the validity period of the Card, the foreign specialist professional (cardholder) may work and reside in the R.O.C. (Taiwan), and shall use the Card together with a valid passport whenever re-entering the State.
In case that the applicant has an Alien Resident Certificate, the NIA shall revoke his/her residence permit and annul his/her Alien Resident Certificate upon issuance of the Employment Gold Card or the Overseas Approval Certificate as referred to in Paragraph 1.

In case that the Employment Gold Card holder falls into one of the following circumstances, the NIA shall withdraw or revoke his/her Employment Gold Card:
1. Notified of withdrawal or revocation of work permit or eligibility as a foreign specialist professional by the Ministry of Labor or the central competent authority of the industry concerned.
2. Notified of withdrawal or revocation of visa by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. During the period of residence in the State, the Employment Gold Card holder falls into one of the circumstances described in the subparagraphs of Article 32 of the Immigration Act.

The NIA shall notify the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the central competent authorities of the industries concerned when it approves or denies an application or it withdraws or revokes an Employment Gold Card.

When an Employment Gold Card holder who is employed in a public or private enterprise or institution in the State is granted an Alien Resident Certificate under paragraph 2 of Article 8 of the Act, the NIA shall revoke his/her Employment Gold Card.

In case that there is a change to the residential address, passport number, or other pertinent information of the Employment Gold Card holder, or the Employment Gold Card is defaced, unrecognizable, damaged or lost, the holder shall apply for re-issuance of the Card via the Foreign Professionals Application Platform within 30 days starting from the date of occurrence of the fact.

An Employment Gold Card holder who does not fall into one of the circumstances specified in subparagraphs 1, 3 and 4 of Article 5 or Article 7 and who still meets the eligibility criteria for foreign specialist professionals may, within four months before the expiry date of his/her Card, apply for an extension of the Card via the Foreign Professionals Application Platform, attaching the color scanned documents specified in items 1 to 3, subparagraph 1, paragraph 1 of Article 2 and his/her Employment Gold Card, and may be granted an extension of one to three years each time.
After accepting an application as referred to in the preceding paragraph, the NIA shall review it jointly with the Ministry of Labor. When necessary, the Ministry of Labor may consult the central competent authority/authorities of the industry/industries concerned for provision of opinion therefrom. An application that does not comply with the requirements specified in the preceding paragraph shall be denied by the NIA.

In case that a document required for an Employment Gold Card application is issued abroad, the review authorities may, if necessary, require verification by an overseas mission. In case that such document is issued by a foreign embassy or consulate or its authorized representative agency in the State, the review authorities may, if necessary, require reverification by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In case that a document referred to in the previous paragraph is written in a foreign language, an English or Chinese translation shall be attached.
In case that the authentication of a foreign document comes within the provisions of Article 15-1 of the Document Legalization Act for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Missions, those provisions shall apply.

A resident of Hong Kong or Macau who engages in professional work or seeks employment in the Taiwan Area, in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the Act as applied mutatis mutandis under the provisions of Article 24 of the Act, may apply for an Employment Gold Card or for extension thereof according to the provisions of these Regulations.

These Regulations shall come into force on the date of enforcement of the Act.