Reach out to professionals to deal with the hard parts and focus on your business

Vincent Guo (高振隆) is the owner of JusRegal Certified Public Accountants firm with Immigration Consultant and Employment Service License in Taipei. They mainly help foreigners with their investments in Taiwanese companies, work permits/ family visas for foreign employees, and bookkeeping.

Over the last 15 years, Guo and his team has helped over 300 entrepreneurs to register companies and do their bookkeeping. They have also helped many companies to apply for work permits and visas. 

As an expert in helping foreign entrepreneurs getting set up in Taiwan, Guo was of course very excited when the entrepreneur visa was announced. So far JusRegal has helped one French team with three founders to get their entrepreneur visas. “We were referred by another accounting firm that my clients first approached; they did not have the expertise in immigration law so they referred us.”

When the entrepreneur visa was first announced, Guo found he had some questions that even some government front-line government officers couldn’t answer. Now when he has been through the process, his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is for them to seek help from professionals like a  CPA or lawyer. 

MOEA has issued a FAQ sheet, but every entrepreneur’s situation is unique so it is good to get some help.

Guo points out that one of the most common misconceptions is that the entrepreneur visa holders are allowed to work in Taiwan. This is both partially right and partially wrong. EV holders are free to explore and do things that are related to their entrepreneur visa, but in order to be paid in Taiwan, a work permit is required for WHICH EV Holders are not eligible. To get a work permit, they need to apply for a traditional resident permit for the purpose of working in Taiwan.

The good news is that it’s easier for entrepreneur holders to apply for a work permit for themselves and for their other foreign employees after the business is set up. Find out more here.

In overall, Guo thinks the entrepreneur visa is a great start for Taiwan to attract more foreign investments in Taiwan, and he is looking forward to help more teams to apply.