Source: https://startup.sme.gov.tw/taiwan-entrepreneur-visa-faqs/
Timestamp: 2018-09-19 08:34:20
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Taiwan Entrepreneur Visa FAQs - IEIT
Part 1. Your business entity has received Taiwanese or foreign venture capital investment of NT$ 2 million (USD 63,000) or more.
Q: Should this investment be related to the purpose of my Entrepreneur Visa?
A: Yes, it has to be related to the purpose of your Entrepreneur Visa.
Q: Is it enough that one of the team members have previously ever been invested by a professional VC?
A: Unfortunately that’s not enough, it has to be your team that received the investment. And the investment has to be related to the purpose of your Entrepreneur Visa.
Q: Which Venture Capital firms (VC) are qualified?
A: There is no one way to qualify an investor. In Taiwan, a VC usually has terms such as “Venture Capital, “VC” or “investment” in their formal company name. This would be the easiest way to identify a qualified VC. If it’s hard to tell from the company name, another way to prove it is to show from their business license that they are approved by the government to make investments in Taiwan.
Other ways to prove the information could be to provide MOEA with news articles or other documents. It is up to MOEA to decide if they are convinced.
Part 2. Your team has received domestic or foreign venture capital or funding via a qualified crowdfunding platform of at least NTD2 million.
Q: Does the entity receiving the crowdfunding have to be the one related to the purpose of the Entrepreneur Visa?
A: Yes, it has to be related to the entity used to apply for the Entrepreneur Visa.
Q: Is it enough that one of the team members have previously received crowdfunding?
A: No, has to be THIS team.
Q: What are the recognized platforms?
A: There is no specific list, just apply and introduce the platform you have used.
Part 3. Your new entity gets selected into a government approved incubators, accelerators or national entrepreneurial park.
Q: Is this entity supposed to be related to the purpose of the Entrepreneur Visa?
A: Yes, has to be the entity used to apply for the Entrepreneur Visa.
Part 4. You or one of your partners are holding patents from outside of Taiwan
Q: I am the inventor but not the owner, am I qualified?
A: No, you and your team have to own the patent.
Q: If I were granted the patents a long time ago, does it count?
A: Yes, there’s no specific regulations about time, as long as it’s related to your Entrepreneur Visa.
Q: If I apply as a team but only one person owns the patent, does it count?
A: No, it’s has to be owned by the team applying for the Entrepreneur Visa.
Q: Who is going to assess the eligibility of my patents?
A: Intellectual Property Office, Ministry of Economic Affairs – https://www.tipo.gov.tw/mp.asp?mp=2
Part 5. You or one of your partners have won an international startup or design competitions such as IDG Demo Show, Red Dot, iF design.
Q: Does it have to be related to EV entity?
A: No, as long as the winner is one of the team applying for the Entrepreneur Visa it is enough.
Q: If I apply as an individual, is it enough to show that I am the winner?
A: Yes, if you are only one person applying, then if you ever received such an award, it would qualify you for the Taiwan Entrepreneur Visa.
Q: If I apply as a team, should I prove it’s the team that won?
A: Yes, if you are a team, your TEAM has to received an award for a product you developed.
Part 6. Renewing the Entrepreneur Visa.
Q: What are the requirements for renewals?
When the applicant’s business enterprise in Taiwan meets at least one of the criteria listed below, the applicant may apply for an extension:
(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 revenue 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.
Q: What will be the duration of the visa ?
A: The maximum permitted period of each extension may not exceed two years. After continually and lawfully residing in Taiwan for a period of 5 years, and more than 183 days in each of those years, the applicant may apply for the Alien Permanent Resident Certificate (APRC).
Q: What happens to me if I failed to reach the requirements for renewals?
A: You could consult with Investment Commission, tell them about your situations and they will decide.
Q: Can I change to another visa while holding entrepreneur visa?
A: Yes, you can. As long as you fit the requirements for another and apply through the responsible authorities. See more about Taiwan visas here: https://www.boca.gov.tw/np.asp?ctNode=776&mp=2
Q: How about my family members?
A: After getting Entrepreneur Visa, your spouse and children (under 20) may apply for the Dependent Visa.