Taiwan business visa

Meetings, negotiations, inspections and trade fairs are visitor activities that do not need a work permit. Visa-exempt nationals can do them without a visa and eVisa nationals within one 30-day stay. A business visitor visa is needed by other nationals and by anyone who needs a longer stay or repeated entries. Attending a conference or exhibition has its own visitor visa category, which requires an invitation letter or proof of the exhibition and your identification.

Besides the standard form, photos and passport, BOCA asks for evidence of business activities: a letter from your company confirming your employment and assignment, the invitation letter, ongoing correspondence and trading records such as letters of credit or remittance receipts, the name, address and telephone number of your contact person in Taiwan, and a ticket or travel agency confirmation.

Applicants from BOCA's designated countries need a sponsor in Taiwan who files a Letter of Guarantee with the company seal, an explanation of how the parties met, proof of trade, the company's business registration and a NT$50 cable fee per page at BOCA in Taipei; the mission then interviews the applicant.

Applications made abroad cost US$50 for a single-entry and US$100 for a multiple-entry visitor visa; rush handling, where the mission agrees, carries a 50 percent surcharge. Fees are non-refundable. The mission can ask for additional documents and an interview, and BOCA may refuse a visa without giving reasons.

If you are later hired by a Taiwanese company and receive a work permit, a visitor visa can be changed to a resident visa inside Taiwan: holders of non-extendable visitor visas for employment, investment, business or tourism apply to BOCA or one of its Central, Southwestern, Southern or Eastern Taiwan offices eight working days before their stay ends. Visa-exempt or eVisa stays cannot be converted in this way.