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Director or manager of a foreign-invested business

TaiwanStarting a business

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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Is this for a founder, startup entrepreneur, self-employed person, freelancer, company owner or another business profile?

This is a work-permit route for a company director or manager, not a self-employed founder or freelancer: a foreign national hired as director/manager of (1) a company invested in by overseas Chinese or foreigner(s), (2) a branch office of a foreign company, or (3) a representative office, where that underlying business is admitted by the Government of the Republic of China.

See recorded sources
  • WDA SOP Manual (Category B), Job Items and Description
    The approved scope of this job shall be management-related. Besides, according to the Standard of Occupations Classification of Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the job content of management personnel (director/manager) includes planning, commanding, negotiating and managing corporate or organizational activities. (1) Manager of a company invested in by overseas Chinese or foreigner(s) (Code 01) (2) Manager of a branch office of foreign company (Code 02) (3) Representative of a representative office (Code 03)

What must actually exist or be demonstrated: business plan, company, innovation, clients, contracts, economic activity, job creation or other substance?

The applicant must be hired as director/manager of a business that was itself invested in or established by overseas Chinese or foreigner(s) and admitted by the ROC Government; the job content must be genuinely management-related (planning, commanding, negotiating and managing corporate or organisational activities).

See recorded sources
  • WDA SOP Manual (Category B), Job Items and Description
    The approved scope of this job shall be management-related. Besides, according to the Standard of Occupations Classification of Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the job content of management personnel (director/manager) includes planning, commanding, negotiating and managing corporate or organizational activities. (1) Manager of a company invested in by overseas Chinese or foreigner(s) (Code 01) (2) Manager of a branch office of foreign company (Code 02) (3) Representative of a representative office (Code 03)

What investment, capital, income, revenue, funding or viability evidence is central to this pathway?

Under Article 38 of the Review Criteria, one qualifying condition is that the shares held or capital contributed by the overseas Chinese or foreigner(s) exceed one third (1/3) of the business's total shares or total capital. The official manual also lists, as condition (3), employers established for less than one year with paid-in capital of NT$500,000.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The capture shows condition (3) but not the other numbered Article 38 conditions, so the full list of alternatives is not proven.

What business/self-employed activity may the holder conduct? Are there important restrictions? What is the family position where clearly stated?

The permitted activity is limited to the management-related role specified in the permit (director/manager of the qualifying company, branch office or representative office); the manual does not describe this as a general right to conduct any self-employed business activity. The official source does not state the family position.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The captured source does not establish general self-employed business activity for this route.
  • WDA SOP Manual (Category B), Job Items and Description
    The approved scope of this job shall be management-related. Besides, according to the Standard of Occupations Classification of Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the job content of management personnel (director/manager) includes planning, commanding, negotiating and managing corporate or organizational activities. (1) Manager of a company invested in by overseas Chinese or foreigner(s) (Code 01) (2) Manager of a branch office of foreign company (Code 02) (3) Representative of a representative office (Code 03)

What approval/application sequence applies, how long is the status granted, how is it renewed, and what longer-term residence direction is officially stated?

The work permit is approved on the employer's application and the signed contract; under Article 52 of the Employment Service Act its maximum validity is 3 years. The official source does not state how the permit is renewed or a longer-term residence direction.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The manual does not state how the permit is renewed.
  • The manual does not state any longer-term residence direction.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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