Skip to content
voymo
EN
Menu

Countries

Taiwan: visas, tax & cost of living

Taiwan's digital nomad visa is a visitor visa with no ARC, and remote pay is taxed as Taiwanese from day 91, not day 183.

Taiwan: visas, tax & cost of living
Your passport

United KingdomTaiwan

Your move to Taiwan on a United Kingdom passport

  • VisitEasyVisa-free entry
  • NomadEasyNomad visa, likely eligible
  • RelocateFairly easyClear residence route

Visiting

Visa-free for up to 90 days. Travel on a passport valid for your whole stay, with a return or onward ticket and proof you can support yourself.

Passport validity: Generally valid at least 6 months beyond arrival, though US visa-waiver visitors reportedly only need validity for the length of stay.

Heads-up: Since 1 October 2025 every air arrival must complete the free online Taiwan Arrival Card (TWAC) at twac.immigration.gov.tw before immigration, replacing the old paper landing card.

At the border: Expect to show a confirmed return or onward ticket, proof of accommodation and funds, and the completed online Taiwan Arrival Card.

Working remotely

Taiwan Digital Nomad Visitor Visa.

Income needed: USD 40,000 in one of the last two years if 30 or older (USD 20,000 if 20 to 29), waived entirely if you already hold another country's digital nomad visa; plus a USD 10,000 average monthly bank balance over the previous six months, Digital Nomad Visitor Visa (estimate)

Savings option: Proof of savings averaging at least about USD 10,000 in your bank account over the previous six months.

Duration: 24 months

Who qualifies: Open only to nationals of visa-exempt countries, since Taiwan gates the whole route on your passport before it looks at your income. You must have no Taiwanese employer and provide no services to a Taiwanese business, working only for clients or an employer abroad. Show at least USD 40,000 earned in one of the last two years if you are 30 or older, or USD 20,000 if you are 20 to 29, unless you already hold a digital nomad visa from another country, which replaces the income test entirely. You also need international health insurance covering the whole stay, because this is a visitor visa with no ARC, so no access to National Health Insurance.

Tax and residency

Article 8 of the Income Tax Act treats pay for work physically performed in Taiwan as Taiwan-source income even when your employer and your bank are abroad; that pay is left alone only if you stay 90 days or less in the calendar year. From day 91 you are a non-resident and that pay is taxed at a flat 18%, filed before you leave. Article 7 counts a total of 183 days in the tax year toward residency, so day 183 itself makes you resident, not day 184, or it gives you a home and a settled life here with no day count at all; either one means progressive rates from 5% to 40%. Days exclude your arrival date, include your departure date, and separate trips in the same year add together. Genuinely foreign income sits outside this and only enters the 20% Income Basic Tax once a household's foreign income reaches TWD 1,000,000 and its basic income passes TWD 7,500,000. (estimate)

The UK decides residence with its Statutory Residence Test (days in the UK plus your ties). As a non-resident you are usually taxed only on UK income; where one exists, a double-tax treaty with the destination decides who taxes what.

Double-tax treaty: yes, in force since 2002

Practical

Currency: TWD. Cost of living: mid.

Healthcare: There is no reciprocal health agreement for foreigners and Taiwan's National Health Insurance is residence-based, so short-stay visitors and Digital Nomad Visa holders need private medical insurance.

Driving: An International Driving Permit carried with your home licence lets you drive for about the first 30 days, after which it must be validated at a local Motor Vehicles Office.

Sources: Taiwan, BOCA/MOFA, Digital Nomad Visitor Visa: eligibility, income and savings thresholds, nationality gate · Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, art. 14 (visitor visa, six month blocks, two year maximum, work ban), in force 1 January 2026 · Income Tax Act, art. 7 residence test and art. 8 Taiwan source income for work physically performed in Taiwan · Income Basic Tax Act, art. 12 to 13 (20% minimum tax on foreign income above TWD 1,000,000 once basic income exceeds TWD 7,500,000) · National Taxation Bureau of Taipei, non-resident 18% flat rate for 91 to 182 days and resident status from 183 days · National Development Council, Foreign Talent Act info page confirming art. 14 digital nomad visa provisions took effect 1 January 2026 · GOV.UK: tax on foreign income · HMRC: double-taxation treaties

Estimates, not advice. Confirm with the official sources before you act.

Should you move to Taiwan?

Taiwan is a strong pick if you want safe, friendly, well-connected city life without a Western price tag. Taipei is the obvious base. Taichung and Kaohsiung are calmer and cheaper if you don’t need the capital’s buzz. Budget roughly 1,500 to 2,200 USD a month for a comfortable single life. Rent is your biggest line, and food stays famously cheap thanks to night markets and local lunch spots.

Taiwan visa and entry

Taiwan does run a dedicated nomad route, and its exact shape decides everything that follows. The Digital Nomad Visitor Visa is a visitor visa, not a residence permit. Article 14 of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, in force since 1 January 2026, gives you six months at a time, extendable in blocks of up to six months without leaving the country, up to a two-year maximum.

Two conditions rule people out before income does. Only nationals of visa-exempt countries can apply, which closes the route to Indian, Brazilian, Mexican, Nigerian and Vietnamese passport holders. And the work must be for an employer or clients outside Taiwan, because the law bars you from providing services to a Taiwanese business or employer. This is not a visa you can bolt local clients onto.

The income test is a floor, not an approximation. You show at least 40,000 USD earned in one of the last two years if you are 30 or over, or 20,000 USD if you are 20 to 29. If you already hold a digital nomad visa from another country, that replaces the income test completely, which is the most-missed shortcut here. You also show a bank balance averaging at least 10,000 USD a month across the previous six months, plus international health insurance covering the whole stay. You can apply at a Taiwan mission abroad, or at BOCA or a MOFA regional office if you are already in Taiwan visa-free or on another visitor visa.

Because it is a visitor visa, it brings no ARC, and that has three consequences worth weighing before you commit: no National Health Insurance, no household registration, and no time counted toward permanent residence, which needs five years of actual residence.

Tax residency and what to check

This is where Taiwan catches people out, and the trigger is not the 183-day line you were expecting. Under article 8 of the Income Tax Act, pay for work you physically perform in Taiwan is Taiwanese income even when your employer and your bank are abroad. The only shelter is a 90-day one: stay 90 days or less in a calendar year and your foreign employer’s pay is left alone. Step into day 91 and it becomes taxable here.

So the bands that matter are these. Up to 90 days, nothing is due on that pay. From 91 to 182 days you are a non-resident, salary is taxed at a flat 18%, and you file before you leave. At 183 days you become resident, and article 7 counts a total of 183 days, so day 183 itself tips you over rather than day 184. Residents pay progressive rates of 5% to 40%. Keeping a home and a settled life in Taiwan makes you resident with no day count at all. Days are counted excluding your arrival date and including your departure date, and separate trips in the same year are added together.

Notice what that means for the visa: a six-month block puts you past 90 days by design. Genuinely foreign income, such as offshore investments, is a separate question. It sits outside the regular income tax and only meets the 20% Income Basic Tax once your household’s foreign income reaches 1 million TWD and your basic income passes 7.5 million TWD.

Figures are estimates. Always check the official source linked below.

At a glance

Currency
TWD
Cost of living
Moderate
Digital-nomad visa
Yes

Frequently asked questions

Taiwan: is there a digital nomad visa?
Taiwan Digital Nomad Visitor Visa. Open only to nationals of visa-exempt countries, since Taiwan gates the whole route on your passport before it looks at your income. You must have no Taiwanese employer and provide no services to a Taiwanese business, working only for clients or an employer abroad. Show at least USD 40,000 earned in one of the last two years if you are 30 or older, or USD 20,000 if you are 20 to 29, unless you already hold a digital nomad visa from another country, which replaces the income test entirely. You also need international health insurance covering the whole stay, because this is a visitor visa with no ARC, so no access to National Health Insurance.
Taiwan: when do you become a tax resident?
Article 8 of the Income Tax Act treats pay for work physically performed in Taiwan as Taiwan-source income even when your employer and your bank are abroad; that pay is left alone only if you stay 90 days or less in the calendar year. From day 91 you are a non-resident and that pay is taxed at a flat 18%, filed before you leave. Article 7 counts a total of 183 days in the tax year toward residency, so day 183 itself makes you resident, not day 184, or it gives you a home and a settled life here with no day count at all; either one means progressive rates from 5% to 40%. Days exclude your arrival date, include your departure date, and separate trips in the same year add together. Genuinely foreign income sits outside this and only enters the 20% Income Basic Tax once a household's foreign income reaches TWD 1,000,000 and its basic income passes TWD 7,500,000.
Taiwan: what is the cost of living?
The cost of living is moderate and the local currency is the TWD. Treat any figures as estimates.
Taiwan: do you need health insurance?
There is no reciprocal health agreement for foreigners and Taiwan's National Health Insurance is residence-based, so short-stay visitors and Digital Nomad Visa holders need private medical insurance.
Taiwan: can you drive on a foreign licence?
An International Driving Permit carried with your home licence lets you drive for about the first 30 days, after which it must be validated at a local Motor Vehicles Office.

Terms worth knowing

Asia: more countries to explore

Put it to work

← Back to all countries