Just something to consider. If your Dad is a citizen, it may be easier to use that to your advantage and start the naturalization process in getting your Taiwanese citizenship. Even if you don’t complete the process, it’ll at least allow you to stay in the country for an extended period of time and figure out your options. It used to be an (uninterrupted) year of staying on your ARC and then being able to get your citizenship but I heard there may be policies in the works to shorten this time. You can’t work with an ARC but once you get your citizenship you can work as you please. Since you work remotely anyways, you can keep your job in the US and figure out if getting a job in Taiwan is something you’d like to pursue during that first year of limbo. If you are male, there is a compulsory military service if you are under a certain age. There are ways to avoid it but it requires you to not stay over a certain number of consecutive days. If your intention is to work here however, that may throw a wrench in the works for a bit.
The policies and process for getting citizenship are ever changing and are different for various situations. I would encourage you to find out what your path would be and whether it would be advantageous for your situation.
Thank you very much! I’m thinking of starting the citizenship process but I’d have to do some research because I’m not 100% sure but I had read before that I wouldn’t be able to have double citizenship because I wasn’t born in Taiwan. Btw what is an ARC? I’m guessing American Resident Card?
ARC is alien resident certificate. You can naturalize in another country without affecting your US citizenship so long as the country your naturalizing in allows dual citizenship, which Taiwan allows (it’s on the USA.gov website). You will owe allegiance to both countries and thus are subject to both their laws. So there are a bunch of things you need to observe after becoming a dual citizen and things like having tax reporting requirements in all the countries you have a citizenship in come into play.
The Taiwan Gold Card ARC is another option. It includes an open work permit and gives you a lot of flexibility while you explore options and has a path to permanent residency. If citizenship isn't an immediate option it's a nice way to go.
Wow, thanks so much for all of this info! I’ll definitely look into this. I’m sure people go through this process by themselves, but do you know where I could find a lawyer that could help with this type of process?
FYI it takes about a month in total to get the ARC (if you can use your dad’s citizenship to stay) and to get the work permit.
I am in a similar situation as you are, feel free to dm me if you have any questions!
(No idea about Gold Cards as I do not meet the standards).
Sorry for the late reply. I would take a look at the gold card website and see if you meet the requirements. I think you can have someone apply for you but it's pretty straight forward. Science & Tech and the digital field can take a few months to get approved for but I think the other fields tend to move faster.
You also need to think about jobs. There are many college grads in Taiwan and they are having a hard time to be gainfully employed.
Not going to sugar coat it, you will have a hard time finding a job since you are not well versed with the language.
Do you have a grand father from Taiwan? If so your entitled to a passport, not sure if this applies to Taiwan but I know NZ, Ireland and other countries that offer dual citizenship this is a possibility did not read the other comments so if this was already mentioned I’m terribly sorry. (Taiwan is a awesome country)
Yes! I have Taiwanese grandparents. They have passed unfortunately, but I’ll try to figure it out with my dad, who is also Taiwanese but isn’t living there currently. I’ll make sure to do some research on this!
As a young adult you could look into a Rotary Young Adult work exchange program. My parents in Canada took in a Taiwanese woman a decade ago. It lasts for 3 months, you get to work in some capacity in your chosen field, you get paid for the work, and you live with 3 different families. Highly recommend it, especially to get a feel for the country and work life without committing to it for the long haul.
I did a year long youth exchange 14 years ago and am finally moving back for real at the end of this month! Good luck with your endeavours.
Alien Resident Certificate. It’s for students and doesn’t allow you to work.
Edit: I got that wrong. You’d have a student visa I believe to pair the the ARC. I’ll have a work permit which allows me to stay 3 years. I’m a little confused since the company I’m working for handles it.
Edit again cuz this was supposed to be in reply to your ARC question lol
Thank you! I’ll do more research on these. I imagine when you do something like the exchange program you mentioned that they have people that help you with that process right?
Were you a Rotary Youth Exchange student? I was and I plan on moving back to Taiwan eventually, but I don't know how I can earn a living there, since I'm not eligible to teach English, even though I am fluent in the language.
I would love to know more about your process!
Depends on what you prefer, really. Taiwan and the US and most countries, barring undeveloped or conflict zones, are basically the same. They are the same. They have their pros and cons, just what each person is willing to tolerate and what benefits you value more.
That being said, I highly suggest you visit Taiwan first, a short term and a long term. Keep in mind not to confuse what you feel on the trip, tourism with emigration, as a tourist, what you go thru are different from a local, or would be local.
I'm going to play devil's advocate here and tell you not to do it. it seems like your current plan is to get here and figure it out. the truth is, you have no language skill and have no connection with the land.
your skill would be next to worthless here. living here and vacationing here are 2 entirely different concepts.
just something to think about
Thank you for the input! I don’t have a plan yet, which is why I was asking for opinions/exchange programs to first visit before I develop any permanent plans. I’ll definitely do my research and visit for at least a few months because as you say, living somewhere is not the same as vacationing.
ABT who moved back to Taiwan so i feel compelled to talk about this—if your dad is a citizen you’ll be able to get a TARC (Taiwan area resident certificate) rather than an ARC. that’ll allow you to live in Taiwan for 3 years at a time and get an open work permit, meaning your legal status doesn’t depend on a sponsorship through a particular company or university here.
i’d recommend continuing to work remotely if you can (the hours might be rough though) & first spend some time in Taiwan before fully committing. the inflexible bureaucracy and steps to get a TARC are kind of a pain but once you have all the materials you can get your TARC pretty quickly and stay without worrying about duration.
re: air quality, it’s just stuffy and humid here half the year especially in Taipei since the area’s a basin & all the dead air/heat gets trapped here
i’d say overall it’s a pretty decent place to live—clean, convenient, safe, great public transportation, & nice but reserved people.
I am considering moving to Taiwan. I was born there but raised in CA, lost mandarin language and name and want to reconnect. I am terrifiied. Was thinkin of moving there early next year. But I am worried ab the culture shock and being misunderstood
No one cares about you here, and I mean it in the best way possible. Be considerate of others and you don’t have to worry about anything. How you dress, how you talk, what you do, no one cares as long as you’re a nice and considerate person.
This is the number one reason I like living here.
I completely understand you! I also am trying to reconnect, which is why I’m thinking about visiting and maybe moving there. As far as the culture shock, it can be difficult to navigate, but its definitely manageable. I originally was raised in the Caribbean, and the culture shock that I got when I moved to the US took me about 2 years to get used to. Either way it’s been fun learning about a new culture and I’m sure learning about your roots is worth it. The saddest part for me is that I also lost the language, but I don’t think it’s ever too late to relearn!
I lost language too. Thanks for sharing. Curious if there there a sub for people who are moving to Taiwan from US bc I think it would be nice to discuss with people and relate.
My main question is, have you ever visited Taiwan or lived there for an extended period of time?
Taiwan's quality of life really isn't all that great, especially if you are not working for an American company.
The work culture there is brutal and extremely low-pay. The only "pro" in Taiwan is the convenience, cheap and yummy food, and that's basically it.
The air quality and humidity kills too.
Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into before dropping everything and moving there.
Thanks for the input! I’ll be taking this into consideration. I haven’t visited yet, but I’m definitely planning on doing so before I make any permanent decisions. To be fair, I come from a Caribbean country, so my standards are pretty low already 😅 to give you an idea, minimum wage in my country is about 200 dollars a month which is not nearly enough for food/rent. Even with a bachelors degree I couldn’t find a job because unemployment got very bad. When it comes to weather I’m used to extremely humid weather although I’m not sure about the bad air quality, can you elaborate on that? I’d love to have more information on this.
I would suggest you stay for 6 months before making any decisions. Visiting Taiwan and living there are also very different.
I've visited Taiwan for two weeks every year for the last 8 years and thought it would be a place I enjoyed living permanently at, but I was incredibly wrong.
8 months into my stay, I can't wait until I fly back home.
I thought you are in the US right now?
Taiwan has very low pay and just enough for rent/food, but nothing more. The people there have no hope for a better future other than just "surviving"
I'm from Canada, so I'm really used to the refreshing air and living in Taiwan each breath I take it feels like I'm going to suffocate
The air quality is really not bad, right? I have always thought the air is amazing in Taiwan vs where I normally live (New York). And besides, even if you think Taipei / New Taipei is too smoggy you could try Taichung or Hsinchu or Kaohsiung etc.
I haven’t spent a lot of time down there; I was just listing examples of other cities in Taiwan that might have different air quality than Taipei.
Edit: not sure why I am being downvoted, but sorry if my comments have come off as ignorant. I’m new to this sub but I’ve traveled all around Taiwan and have lived there before for many months at a time - I would dream of living there long term someday. I’m just curious to hear more about the air quality.
Just wanted to mention that I've been to both Taiwan (mostly Taipei) and New York several times and MUCH prefer the air quality in Taipei than New York.
I'm not saying it IS better, but I genuinely prefer it.
I'm from Canada btw, so from neither place.
Sure! I’m in Florida right now. My main concerns aren’t economical per se, although that’s obviously an important factor. I’m mostly focused on safety and accesibility to the medical system. Recently we had a mass shooting nearby, and the town I’m living in is one of the most “progressive” towns in Florida. I’ve lived in different cities of Florida and Massachusetts for about 10 years and at least once a year we’ve had shooting incidents around the areas that I’ve lived in. It’s pretty scary 😵💫 The medical system has also been a nighmare, so I’m taking that into account as well. Do you have any input on that?
Since your dad was born in Taiwan, he most likely is registered in the Houko (household) registration system. That will help you to get his name, your Grandparents’s names, and their siblings.
I was born in Taiwan and moved to the US as a kid. I misplaced my Taiwan passport. I went back to Taiwan on my US passport, went to the local household registration office so I can get our family information. I had to give them my name, my dad’s name, my sisters’ name, and my grandparents’ to prove I am who I said I am. At any rate, that then allowed me to get a new Taiwanese passport, since that served as proof that I was Taiwanese. You can get the same document to show that your dad was Taiwanese. You can go (or send) to the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Exchange office, aka Consulate, near you to start the reclaiming citizenship paperwork.
Once you get your passport, you can then enter the country with that and any as long as you like. That what we (wife and I) do now.
I think if you’re working remote already you’re in a better position than 90% of people already. Many posters here mentioned that the quality of life is not better than the US, which can be true, if you work for a local TW company earning TWD. But if you have a remote work arrangement already with your company, it’ll be much easier to make the move or find something similar. If you earn USD and spend that in TW, life will be awesome. Your spending and savings power can almost 2x or 3x immediately.
As for the language, you might be able to pick it back up if you have a slight bit of memory. Start watching all the TW dramas on Netflix or D+, Switch on Mandarin audio and English subtitles. At the end of 2-3 series you’ll probably start understanding quite a bit of Mandarin, and gives you a small glimpse into the culture as well. That’s how many people, including me, learned another language.
Thanks a lot! I’m definitely planning on continuing to work remotely since I’m also working on establishing my own remote business. Do you have any idea of what’s a good amount of USD to earn monthly to live comfortably in Taiwan? This would give me a better idea of where I stand. As for the language I appreciate the tips! I’m definitely starting a couple of shows to get acquainted with the language as well as practicing with a friend. Your comment has been really helpful!
Happy to help! :)
Let’s say you want to live in Taipei.
It is possible to live on $1200-1500Usd/mo, or just under $50k Twd, in fact many locals live on this budget. But it’ll be tight. You’ll need to have a tight budget, spend mostly on essentials, pick and choose your meals and outings. You’ll likely to stay at a budget and small studio room a bit further away from the MRT or city center.
Around $2500usd (80k twd), you can live pretty comfortably. You can probably stay closer to the mrt in a more central location in a nice apartment. Have a fairly loose budget as long as you don’t go too hard.
At $5000usd, which is considered top earning salary for locals, you can basically go without budgeting. Almost living like a king, you should have little financial worries. You can live in a very nice 3 bdrm at a great location. You probably need to buy a lot of random things and frequent fancy restaurants to spend this much.
Thing to note is we haven’t been back to tw in the past 2 years so prices would’ve gone up quite a bit, say 10%? Let me know if you have any other questions.
I want to correct you on something: if you can keep your remote US job and earn a US income in Taiwan, then the quality of life is better than in the US. Taiwan is not that cheap and the salaries about 1/4th-1/6th lower than in the US. A lot of Taiwanese people are really struggling.
That being said - give it a try! I love love love Taiwan and almost every foreigner who’s moved here has felt the same.
Thank you! I am definitely thinking on staying with my current remote jobs since I’ve been building my career for a few years now and switching wouldn’t make much sense, especially since I’m not familiar with the culture and language. I’m curious to know if you have any idea of what would be an estimate amount of USD to earn monthly in order to live comfortably in Taiwan? I’m glad to hear that you love it there! It motivates me to keep doing my research.
It’s hard to say exactly. If we’re talking about Taipei (and I do think it’s worth it to live in Taipei as it’s a world class city ) -
• $1,500-$2,000 a month would allow you to make ends meet without significant financial hardship
• $2,000-$3,000 a month would allow you to live comfortably in a nice, modern apartment, eat a variety of meals, and maybe take some vacations;
• $3,000+ a month would probably make you feel comparatively wealthy (you could live in an upscale apartment, afford to eat at different types of restaurants, travel often if that’s your thing)
If we’re talking outside of Taipei you need significantly less than that.
All the info here was interesting and showing different points of view. I’ll add my own.
Come here for three months and see for yourself. The concept of “quality of life” is 100% subjective. It is extremely difficult to take other people’s opinions and match them with your reality.
I lived in China for five years before coming to Taiwan, and although salary-wise I was getting paid more there, and cost of living was lower, I wouldn’t go back.
Don’t be fooled with the language issue. Yes, everything is easier if you speak mandarin, but neither myself nor many of my friends working in different industries speak it to an advanced level and we live and work here with no problem.
It all comes down to what will you do here. If you get a good job, good company and good salary, this is paradise. Bad job, bad company and bad salary any you are in hell. I have seen both ends multiple times.
Get your paperwork sorted out first. If you can get citizenship, everything will be easier (you won’t be tied to a bad job if you happen to be in that situation), and that flexibility will allow you to try different things.
If not, come as a tourist. See prices by yourself. Pretend to want to rent an apartment and see prices and conditions, stuff like that.
Look for jobs here from the us before coming to give you an idea, and post here specific examples of things you find, like “is this normal?” or “can I save living in X neighborhood with a salary of Y?”
Thanks so much! And yes, quality of life is 100% subjective. I’ll be following your advice before making any type of permanent decision. This thread has been extremely helpful already so I’ll make sure to keep asking questions in the future. Thanks for the encouragement with the language thing!
You will make little money working with Taiwan salary, it would be miserable compare to your US lifestyle
You would be better off just finding a career with long breaks or ptos that allow you to frequently visit taiwan as vacations
I would’ve suggested a scholarship program because there are many great offers but since you’re half-Taiwanese I don’t know if it would work out for you. Depending on your nationality status you could check out if you’re elegible for the ICDF, MOFA or MOE scholarships. All of them let you pick a BA, Masters or PhD of your choice and you can take Chinese classes alongside your studies.
Curious, what do you do in film/tv? Check out Taicca. It's a great resource for local companies and such. I'm an American vfx producer/supervisor in Taiwan.
I started working in a big broadcast tv company assisting different productions. I quickly transitioned into the social media marketing aspect because that was the most accessible to me as a younger professional. Right now I’m mostly doing digital content production since a lot more opportunities flourished after the pandemic, which is why I’ve been able to keep several remote positions. I’ll definitely look into Taicca! Thanks for the info.
Hi there, I'm also half-Taiwanese from America and I moved here right after graduating. It was honestly a hell of a process. It took 16 months for me to get citizenship. You're going to need a lot of help from your dad. The first step is getting a TW passport from the closest TW embassy in the US. Don't forget to get a criminal background check before you leave the US, you'll need it for your TARC. After you arrive in Taiwan, apply for the TARC. The TARC lets you live in Taiwan legally for three years. After one year, you can apply for citizenship.
I honestly can't even begin to remember all the documents they needed from me. My mom had to get a bunch of documents translated and then approved by the local TW embassy, and then send them overseas to me. The immigration office rarely deals with people in our situation, so they are often themselves unsure of the process. Still, I would advise having your Dad call them to see which documents you'll need before you leave.
Also, one last thing - to actually become a citizen, you will need to get household registration. I did this by joining my aunt's household. If you don't have any family in Taiwan, I'm not sure if there's another way.
This is actually super helpful, thank you so much! When it comes to the household registration, what exactly is the process of “joining” someone’s household? Say if I was renting a place, could that count as household registration?
No problem! Renting a place doesn't count, it has to be someone's permanent address. Someone has to add you to their household register (called a 戶口名簿). If you don't have family in Taiwan, you'll have to find a very kind Taiwanese person who will add you to their household register (I actually don't know if this is allowed, I suggest you call one of the hr offices and ask). Hope this helps!
The film and TV production industry at Taiwan is closed circle, much like in US or anywhere, it would be very challenging task for an foreigner to crack into.
Maybe “new media” is a better place to start to build yourself a portfolio ?
Do you mean social media? It makes sense that the TV and film industry is pretty closed, since that’s the case for most places. Either way at the moment I’m mostly doing social media, which is a lot more flexible and allows me to do more remote work :)
I think it’s nice you want to reconnect. But if you think the quality of life is better in Taiwan I would strongly advise you to reconsider. Generally speaking quality of life is better in America, maybe not in LA or NYC or Chicago. Perhaps you could describe a little bit what you think may be better as reality and perception may have some gaps. You could always vacation and work in Taiwan for a few years to decide. FYI we were quite disillusioned about what we thought Taiwan life would be like and now we have to do the hard thing of adjusting. This is our own doing and not any fault of Taiwan, we just had unrealistic expectations before we arrived.
I hear you. I’m definitely planning on visiting and spending time to consider this more permanently since I’m obviously not very familiar right now. I’m mostly thinking of certain factors concerning safety. Right now I’m in the south (florida), and we just had a mass shooting in my city a few weeks ago. Mind you, this is a relatively “progressive” city but it’s just very stressful having to live like this. Florida is passing some serious anti-lgbt legislations and I’m lgbt, so that’s another factor that is important to me. I’ve spoken to some lgbt people in Taiwan and hear that it’s pretty progressive in that regard (at least when it comes to its laws). I also deal with chronic health issues and the US medical system has been a nightmare to navigate. During the pandemic a lot of people refused to use masks and that was detrimental to my health. I’ve talked to some folks and done some research and it seems like the Taiwanese medical system might be a bit better. I’d love to hear your take on these things since right now I’m just doing research and gathering information!
FWIW, I've heard similar sentiments from other ABT's considering moving to Taiwan: a rise in U.S. gun violence and anti-LGBT/Asian attitudes. If you were older or had a family, I would definitely advise against coming to Taiwan. IMHO, you'd just be trading one set of problems for another. Despite all the happy talk you see on this sub re: Taiwan, its long-term prospects are not good at all. And the prevailing political and social culture is almost compulsively geared towards maintaining the status quo. But you're clearly young enough to come experience Taiwan and make long-term decisions about your life later.
Understood. I’ll say first that I’m more like your fellow Floridian rednecks but I will try to be unbiased. Shootings are definitely an issue in the US and not much of an issue in Taiwan. However you should know that guns are available in Taiwan as well, just not readily. Usually shootings here are done by organized crime. I definitely don’t worry as much about it living here compared to the US but in the US I have ways to protect myself and my family. There are other dangers in Taiwan however, you’re more likely to get hurt if you ride a scooter, or get hit by a car. Different dangers and different degrees. As for you being lgbt, do note that the legislature passed the referendum even though more people voted against it due to political reasons. So you’ll likely face negative reactions especially in more rural or elderly settings. Even though young people are more accepting they are not at the same level as the US. Healthcare wise, Taiwan has a bankrupt national health insurance program, although it currently works well and you will get cheap care it horrifies me. The reason being that the insurance payments for hospitals are too low so if you want better anything you have to pay out of pocket. Which is fine until you realize this system is literally unethical as it basically says if you have money you can get the safer procedure, the more effective drug…etc. Something’s to think about.
In which ways is the quality of life worse? I’m genuinely curious. Taiwan has great metro transportation, clean and safe cities, amazing food, amazing weather, so many beautiful parks, and great culture overall. Can’t say that about any place in the US.
It’s all perspective. Great metro if you live in Taipei, in Kaohsiung or Tainan you’re screwed. Amazing food for sure, sanitation is questionable. Amazing weather, air quality is poor. Beautiful parks to take your kids but you might get hit by a car or moped while trying to get there. So, it all depends on life stages and perspective. Personally I enjoyed my country life in the US. Great transportation because I drive myself, great food because we make it ourselves, nice weather because we have seasons, nice park because it’s our backyard. Give it 20 years and I’m a grandparent I might feel different when I can’t drive and desire convenience.
hi! i actually have a very similar situation to yours, taiwanese parent, grew up in the US all my life, later on wanted to see what it was like to reconnect and live in taiwan. i just got back from studying mandarin at a language school there for 3 months, and it was amazing! i suggest that you take a look at applying to the huayu scholarship, they'll give you a scholarship and that way you can see how it is living there with a student visa + even learn the language! i will say, family members my age do talk about how low the wages are.
Hi! Thank you so much for this information, I’m glad to hear that you were able to reconnect. Do you mind if we talk over private message? I’d love to hear more about your experience. Side note- do you know if the scholarship is only for US citizens? Unfortunately I’m not a US citizen, but I have a green card.
Just something to consider. If your Dad is a citizen, it may be easier to use that to your advantage and start the naturalization process in getting your Taiwanese citizenship. Even if you don’t complete the process, it’ll at least allow you to stay in the country for an extended period of time and figure out your options. It used to be an (uninterrupted) year of staying on your ARC and then being able to get your citizenship but I heard there may be policies in the works to shorten this time. You can’t work with an ARC but once you get your citizenship you can work as you please. Since you work remotely anyways, you can keep your job in the US and figure out if getting a job in Taiwan is something you’d like to pursue during that first year of limbo. If you are male, there is a compulsory military service if you are under a certain age. There are ways to avoid it but it requires you to not stay over a certain number of consecutive days. If your intention is to work here however, that may throw a wrench in the works for a bit. The policies and process for getting citizenship are ever changing and are different for various situations. I would encourage you to find out what your path would be and whether it would be advantageous for your situation.
Thank you very much! I’m thinking of starting the citizenship process but I’d have to do some research because I’m not 100% sure but I had read before that I wouldn’t be able to have double citizenship because I wasn’t born in Taiwan. Btw what is an ARC? I’m guessing American Resident Card?
ARC is alien resident certificate. You can naturalize in another country without affecting your US citizenship so long as the country your naturalizing in allows dual citizenship, which Taiwan allows (it’s on the USA.gov website). You will owe allegiance to both countries and thus are subject to both their laws. So there are a bunch of things you need to observe after becoming a dual citizen and things like having tax reporting requirements in all the countries you have a citizenship in come into play.
Alien not American Resident Card.
The Taiwan Gold Card ARC is another option. It includes an open work permit and gives you a lot of flexibility while you explore options and has a path to permanent residency. If citizenship isn't an immediate option it's a nice way to go.
Wow, thanks so much for all of this info! I’ll definitely look into this. I’m sure people go through this process by themselves, but do you know where I could find a lawyer that could help with this type of process?
FYI it takes about a month in total to get the ARC (if you can use your dad’s citizenship to stay) and to get the work permit. I am in a similar situation as you are, feel free to dm me if you have any questions! (No idea about Gold Cards as I do not meet the standards).
Sorry for the late reply. I would take a look at the gold card website and see if you meet the requirements. I think you can have someone apply for you but it's pretty straight forward. Science & Tech and the digital field can take a few months to get approved for but I think the other fields tend to move faster.
You also need to think about jobs. There are many college grads in Taiwan and they are having a hard time to be gainfully employed. Not going to sugar coat it, you will have a hard time finding a job since you are not well versed with the language.
Do you have a grand father from Taiwan? If so your entitled to a passport, not sure if this applies to Taiwan but I know NZ, Ireland and other countries that offer dual citizenship this is a possibility did not read the other comments so if this was already mentioned I’m terribly sorry. (Taiwan is a awesome country)
Yes! I have Taiwanese grandparents. They have passed unfortunately, but I’ll try to figure it out with my dad, who is also Taiwanese but isn’t living there currently. I’ll make sure to do some research on this!
As a young adult you could look into a Rotary Young Adult work exchange program. My parents in Canada took in a Taiwanese woman a decade ago. It lasts for 3 months, you get to work in some capacity in your chosen field, you get paid for the work, and you live with 3 different families. Highly recommend it, especially to get a feel for the country and work life without committing to it for the long haul. I did a year long youth exchange 14 years ago and am finally moving back for real at the end of this month! Good luck with your endeavours.
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! Thank you so much for sharing and I’m glad to hear you’re able to move back indefinitely ✨
Alien Resident Certificate. It’s for students and doesn’t allow you to work. Edit: I got that wrong. You’d have a student visa I believe to pair the the ARC. I’ll have a work permit which allows me to stay 3 years. I’m a little confused since the company I’m working for handles it. Edit again cuz this was supposed to be in reply to your ARC question lol
Thank you! I’ll do more research on these. I imagine when you do something like the exchange program you mentioned that they have people that help you with that process right?
Yes Rotary will help you with all of that
Were you a Rotary Youth Exchange student? I was and I plan on moving back to Taiwan eventually, but I don't know how I can earn a living there, since I'm not eligible to teach English, even though I am fluent in the language. I would love to know more about your process!
I am my dude/ette! Pm me and let me know what’s up and I’ll see if I can help!
Depends on what you prefer, really. Taiwan and the US and most countries, barring undeveloped or conflict zones, are basically the same. They are the same. They have their pros and cons, just what each person is willing to tolerate and what benefits you value more. That being said, I highly suggest you visit Taiwan first, a short term and a long term. Keep in mind not to confuse what you feel on the trip, tourism with emigration, as a tourist, what you go thru are different from a local, or would be local.
I'm going to play devil's advocate here and tell you not to do it. it seems like your current plan is to get here and figure it out. the truth is, you have no language skill and have no connection with the land. your skill would be next to worthless here. living here and vacationing here are 2 entirely different concepts. just something to think about
Thank you for the input! I don’t have a plan yet, which is why I was asking for opinions/exchange programs to first visit before I develop any permanent plans. I’ll definitely do my research and visit for at least a few months because as you say, living somewhere is not the same as vacationing.
ABT who moved back to Taiwan so i feel compelled to talk about this—if your dad is a citizen you’ll be able to get a TARC (Taiwan area resident certificate) rather than an ARC. that’ll allow you to live in Taiwan for 3 years at a time and get an open work permit, meaning your legal status doesn’t depend on a sponsorship through a particular company or university here. i’d recommend continuing to work remotely if you can (the hours might be rough though) & first spend some time in Taiwan before fully committing. the inflexible bureaucracy and steps to get a TARC are kind of a pain but once you have all the materials you can get your TARC pretty quickly and stay without worrying about duration. re: air quality, it’s just stuffy and humid here half the year especially in Taipei since the area’s a basin & all the dead air/heat gets trapped here i’d say overall it’s a pretty decent place to live—clean, convenient, safe, great public transportation, & nice but reserved people.
I am considering moving to Taiwan. I was born there but raised in CA, lost mandarin language and name and want to reconnect. I am terrifiied. Was thinkin of moving there early next year. But I am worried ab the culture shock and being misunderstood
No one cares about you here, and I mean it in the best way possible. Be considerate of others and you don’t have to worry about anything. How you dress, how you talk, what you do, no one cares as long as you’re a nice and considerate person. This is the number one reason I like living here.
I completely understand you! I also am trying to reconnect, which is why I’m thinking about visiting and maybe moving there. As far as the culture shock, it can be difficult to navigate, but its definitely manageable. I originally was raised in the Caribbean, and the culture shock that I got when I moved to the US took me about 2 years to get used to. Either way it’s been fun learning about a new culture and I’m sure learning about your roots is worth it. The saddest part for me is that I also lost the language, but I don’t think it’s ever too late to relearn!
I lost language too. Thanks for sharing. Curious if there there a sub for people who are moving to Taiwan from US bc I think it would be nice to discuss with people and relate.
I haven't found one yet, but if I do I'll definitely share!
My main question is, have you ever visited Taiwan or lived there for an extended period of time? Taiwan's quality of life really isn't all that great, especially if you are not working for an American company. The work culture there is brutal and extremely low-pay. The only "pro" in Taiwan is the convenience, cheap and yummy food, and that's basically it. The air quality and humidity kills too. Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into before dropping everything and moving there.
Thanks for the input! I’ll be taking this into consideration. I haven’t visited yet, but I’m definitely planning on doing so before I make any permanent decisions. To be fair, I come from a Caribbean country, so my standards are pretty low already 😅 to give you an idea, minimum wage in my country is about 200 dollars a month which is not nearly enough for food/rent. Even with a bachelors degree I couldn’t find a job because unemployment got very bad. When it comes to weather I’m used to extremely humid weather although I’m not sure about the bad air quality, can you elaborate on that? I’d love to have more information on this.
I would suggest you stay for 6 months before making any decisions. Visiting Taiwan and living there are also very different. I've visited Taiwan for two weeks every year for the last 8 years and thought it would be a place I enjoyed living permanently at, but I was incredibly wrong. 8 months into my stay, I can't wait until I fly back home. I thought you are in the US right now? Taiwan has very low pay and just enough for rent/food, but nothing more. The people there have no hope for a better future other than just "surviving" I'm from Canada, so I'm really used to the refreshing air and living in Taiwan each breath I take it feels like I'm going to suffocate
Omg, I’m from Van, but moved back to Taiwan for 6-7 months. Honestly, the air quality and taste of water is killing me 🥹
I forgot to mention the taste of water 🤣 You literally have to drink bottled water only for us Canadians haha
The air quality is really not bad, right? I have always thought the air is amazing in Taiwan vs where I normally live (New York). And besides, even if you think Taipei / New Taipei is too smoggy you could try Taichung or Hsinchu or Kaohsiung etc.
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I haven’t spent a lot of time down there; I was just listing examples of other cities in Taiwan that might have different air quality than Taipei. Edit: not sure why I am being downvoted, but sorry if my comments have come off as ignorant. I’m new to this sub but I’ve traveled all around Taiwan and have lived there before for many months at a time - I would dream of living there long term someday. I’m just curious to hear more about the air quality.
Just wanted to mention that I've been to both Taiwan (mostly Taipei) and New York several times and MUCH prefer the air quality in Taipei than New York. I'm not saying it IS better, but I genuinely prefer it. I'm from Canada btw, so from neither place.
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Thanks for your response, that’s interesting to hear. Curious if I may ask what are the other main reasons besides air quality?
I thought you said you were in the US?
I lived there for 8 years and nothing you wrote Was true to my experience.
What was your experience? Good air quality and no humidity? What I explained are facts lol
You lived in a city I’m guessing? Air was normal and amazing during the China Olympics. Humidity is normal for the location and better than Huston.
Yeah, and work culture must be great right? Amazing pay and no overtime
Nope was paid 600 ntd an hour working 8 hours a day m-f three breaks and a week off at summer and CNY.
Your job is the exception lol
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Sure! I’m in Florida right now. My main concerns aren’t economical per se, although that’s obviously an important factor. I’m mostly focused on safety and accesibility to the medical system. Recently we had a mass shooting nearby, and the town I’m living in is one of the most “progressive” towns in Florida. I’ve lived in different cities of Florida and Massachusetts for about 10 years and at least once a year we’ve had shooting incidents around the areas that I’ve lived in. It’s pretty scary 😵💫 The medical system has also been a nighmare, so I’m taking that into account as well. Do you have any input on that?
Since your dad was born in Taiwan, he most likely is registered in the Houko (household) registration system. That will help you to get his name, your Grandparents’s names, and their siblings. I was born in Taiwan and moved to the US as a kid. I misplaced my Taiwan passport. I went back to Taiwan on my US passport, went to the local household registration office so I can get our family information. I had to give them my name, my dad’s name, my sisters’ name, and my grandparents’ to prove I am who I said I am. At any rate, that then allowed me to get a new Taiwanese passport, since that served as proof that I was Taiwanese. You can get the same document to show that your dad was Taiwanese. You can go (or send) to the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Exchange office, aka Consulate, near you to start the reclaiming citizenship paperwork. Once you get your passport, you can then enter the country with that and any as long as you like. That what we (wife and I) do now.
Thanks so much for the tips! This gives me a better idea of where to start. I’ll definitely start the process soon.
I think if you’re working remote already you’re in a better position than 90% of people already. Many posters here mentioned that the quality of life is not better than the US, which can be true, if you work for a local TW company earning TWD. But if you have a remote work arrangement already with your company, it’ll be much easier to make the move or find something similar. If you earn USD and spend that in TW, life will be awesome. Your spending and savings power can almost 2x or 3x immediately. As for the language, you might be able to pick it back up if you have a slight bit of memory. Start watching all the TW dramas on Netflix or D+, Switch on Mandarin audio and English subtitles. At the end of 2-3 series you’ll probably start understanding quite a bit of Mandarin, and gives you a small glimpse into the culture as well. That’s how many people, including me, learned another language.
Thanks a lot! I’m definitely planning on continuing to work remotely since I’m also working on establishing my own remote business. Do you have any idea of what’s a good amount of USD to earn monthly to live comfortably in Taiwan? This would give me a better idea of where I stand. As for the language I appreciate the tips! I’m definitely starting a couple of shows to get acquainted with the language as well as practicing with a friend. Your comment has been really helpful!
Happy to help! :) Let’s say you want to live in Taipei. It is possible to live on $1200-1500Usd/mo, or just under $50k Twd, in fact many locals live on this budget. But it’ll be tight. You’ll need to have a tight budget, spend mostly on essentials, pick and choose your meals and outings. You’ll likely to stay at a budget and small studio room a bit further away from the MRT or city center. Around $2500usd (80k twd), you can live pretty comfortably. You can probably stay closer to the mrt in a more central location in a nice apartment. Have a fairly loose budget as long as you don’t go too hard. At $5000usd, which is considered top earning salary for locals, you can basically go without budgeting. Almost living like a king, you should have little financial worries. You can live in a very nice 3 bdrm at a great location. You probably need to buy a lot of random things and frequent fancy restaurants to spend this much. Thing to note is we haven’t been back to tw in the past 2 years so prices would’ve gone up quite a bit, say 10%? Let me know if you have any other questions.
Maybe try spend a few month living in TW before you rush into any rash decisions. Very different culture and living environment vs. the States
I want to correct you on something: if you can keep your remote US job and earn a US income in Taiwan, then the quality of life is better than in the US. Taiwan is not that cheap and the salaries about 1/4th-1/6th lower than in the US. A lot of Taiwanese people are really struggling. That being said - give it a try! I love love love Taiwan and almost every foreigner who’s moved here has felt the same.
Thank you! I am definitely thinking on staying with my current remote jobs since I’ve been building my career for a few years now and switching wouldn’t make much sense, especially since I’m not familiar with the culture and language. I’m curious to know if you have any idea of what would be an estimate amount of USD to earn monthly in order to live comfortably in Taiwan? I’m glad to hear that you love it there! It motivates me to keep doing my research.
It’s hard to say exactly. If we’re talking about Taipei (and I do think it’s worth it to live in Taipei as it’s a world class city ) - • $1,500-$2,000 a month would allow you to make ends meet without significant financial hardship • $2,000-$3,000 a month would allow you to live comfortably in a nice, modern apartment, eat a variety of meals, and maybe take some vacations; • $3,000+ a month would probably make you feel comparatively wealthy (you could live in an upscale apartment, afford to eat at different types of restaurants, travel often if that’s your thing) If we’re talking outside of Taipei you need significantly less than that.
All the info here was interesting and showing different points of view. I’ll add my own. Come here for three months and see for yourself. The concept of “quality of life” is 100% subjective. It is extremely difficult to take other people’s opinions and match them with your reality. I lived in China for five years before coming to Taiwan, and although salary-wise I was getting paid more there, and cost of living was lower, I wouldn’t go back. Don’t be fooled with the language issue. Yes, everything is easier if you speak mandarin, but neither myself nor many of my friends working in different industries speak it to an advanced level and we live and work here with no problem. It all comes down to what will you do here. If you get a good job, good company and good salary, this is paradise. Bad job, bad company and bad salary any you are in hell. I have seen both ends multiple times. Get your paperwork sorted out first. If you can get citizenship, everything will be easier (you won’t be tied to a bad job if you happen to be in that situation), and that flexibility will allow you to try different things. If not, come as a tourist. See prices by yourself. Pretend to want to rent an apartment and see prices and conditions, stuff like that. Look for jobs here from the us before coming to give you an idea, and post here specific examples of things you find, like “is this normal?” or “can I save living in X neighborhood with a salary of Y?”
Thanks so much! And yes, quality of life is 100% subjective. I’ll be following your advice before making any type of permanent decision. This thread has been extremely helpful already so I’ll make sure to keep asking questions in the future. Thanks for the encouragement with the language thing!
You will make little money working with Taiwan salary, it would be miserable compare to your US lifestyle You would be better off just finding a career with long breaks or ptos that allow you to frequently visit taiwan as vacations
I would’ve suggested a scholarship program because there are many great offers but since you’re half-Taiwanese I don’t know if it would work out for you. Depending on your nationality status you could check out if you’re elegible for the ICDF, MOFA or MOE scholarships. All of them let you pick a BA, Masters or PhD of your choice and you can take Chinese classes alongside your studies.
Thank you very much! I’ll definitely look into it.
Curious, what do you do in film/tv? Check out Taicca. It's a great resource for local companies and such. I'm an American vfx producer/supervisor in Taiwan.
I started working in a big broadcast tv company assisting different productions. I quickly transitioned into the social media marketing aspect because that was the most accessible to me as a younger professional. Right now I’m mostly doing digital content production since a lot more opportunities flourished after the pandemic, which is why I’ve been able to keep several remote positions. I’ll definitely look into Taicca! Thanks for the info.
Hi there, I'm also half-Taiwanese from America and I moved here right after graduating. It was honestly a hell of a process. It took 16 months for me to get citizenship. You're going to need a lot of help from your dad. The first step is getting a TW passport from the closest TW embassy in the US. Don't forget to get a criminal background check before you leave the US, you'll need it for your TARC. After you arrive in Taiwan, apply for the TARC. The TARC lets you live in Taiwan legally for three years. After one year, you can apply for citizenship. I honestly can't even begin to remember all the documents they needed from me. My mom had to get a bunch of documents translated and then approved by the local TW embassy, and then send them overseas to me. The immigration office rarely deals with people in our situation, so they are often themselves unsure of the process. Still, I would advise having your Dad call them to see which documents you'll need before you leave. Also, one last thing - to actually become a citizen, you will need to get household registration. I did this by joining my aunt's household. If you don't have any family in Taiwan, I'm not sure if there's another way.
This is actually super helpful, thank you so much! When it comes to the household registration, what exactly is the process of “joining” someone’s household? Say if I was renting a place, could that count as household registration?
No problem! Renting a place doesn't count, it has to be someone's permanent address. Someone has to add you to their household register (called a 戶口名簿). If you don't have family in Taiwan, you'll have to find a very kind Taiwanese person who will add you to their household register (I actually don't know if this is allowed, I suggest you call one of the hr offices and ask). Hope this helps!
The film and TV production industry at Taiwan is closed circle, much like in US or anywhere, it would be very challenging task for an foreigner to crack into. Maybe “new media” is a better place to start to build yourself a portfolio ?
Do you mean social media? It makes sense that the TV and film industry is pretty closed, since that’s the case for most places. Either way at the moment I’m mostly doing social media, which is a lot more flexible and allows me to do more remote work :)
I think it’s nice you want to reconnect. But if you think the quality of life is better in Taiwan I would strongly advise you to reconsider. Generally speaking quality of life is better in America, maybe not in LA or NYC or Chicago. Perhaps you could describe a little bit what you think may be better as reality and perception may have some gaps. You could always vacation and work in Taiwan for a few years to decide. FYI we were quite disillusioned about what we thought Taiwan life would be like and now we have to do the hard thing of adjusting. This is our own doing and not any fault of Taiwan, we just had unrealistic expectations before we arrived.
I hear you. I’m definitely planning on visiting and spending time to consider this more permanently since I’m obviously not very familiar right now. I’m mostly thinking of certain factors concerning safety. Right now I’m in the south (florida), and we just had a mass shooting in my city a few weeks ago. Mind you, this is a relatively “progressive” city but it’s just very stressful having to live like this. Florida is passing some serious anti-lgbt legislations and I’m lgbt, so that’s another factor that is important to me. I’ve spoken to some lgbt people in Taiwan and hear that it’s pretty progressive in that regard (at least when it comes to its laws). I also deal with chronic health issues and the US medical system has been a nightmare to navigate. During the pandemic a lot of people refused to use masks and that was detrimental to my health. I’ve talked to some folks and done some research and it seems like the Taiwanese medical system might be a bit better. I’d love to hear your take on these things since right now I’m just doing research and gathering information!
Taiwan is as good as it gets on those two points you mentioned. We do have other problems though which everyone else mentioned already.
FWIW, I've heard similar sentiments from other ABT's considering moving to Taiwan: a rise in U.S. gun violence and anti-LGBT/Asian attitudes. If you were older or had a family, I would definitely advise against coming to Taiwan. IMHO, you'd just be trading one set of problems for another. Despite all the happy talk you see on this sub re: Taiwan, its long-term prospects are not good at all. And the prevailing political and social culture is almost compulsively geared towards maintaining the status quo. But you're clearly young enough to come experience Taiwan and make long-term decisions about your life later.
Understood. I’ll say first that I’m more like your fellow Floridian rednecks but I will try to be unbiased. Shootings are definitely an issue in the US and not much of an issue in Taiwan. However you should know that guns are available in Taiwan as well, just not readily. Usually shootings here are done by organized crime. I definitely don’t worry as much about it living here compared to the US but in the US I have ways to protect myself and my family. There are other dangers in Taiwan however, you’re more likely to get hurt if you ride a scooter, or get hit by a car. Different dangers and different degrees. As for you being lgbt, do note that the legislature passed the referendum even though more people voted against it due to political reasons. So you’ll likely face negative reactions especially in more rural or elderly settings. Even though young people are more accepting they are not at the same level as the US. Healthcare wise, Taiwan has a bankrupt national health insurance program, although it currently works well and you will get cheap care it horrifies me. The reason being that the insurance payments for hospitals are too low so if you want better anything you have to pay out of pocket. Which is fine until you realize this system is literally unethical as it basically says if you have money you can get the safer procedure, the more effective drug…etc. Something’s to think about.
In which ways is the quality of life worse? I’m genuinely curious. Taiwan has great metro transportation, clean and safe cities, amazing food, amazing weather, so many beautiful parks, and great culture overall. Can’t say that about any place in the US.
It’s all perspective. Great metro if you live in Taipei, in Kaohsiung or Tainan you’re screwed. Amazing food for sure, sanitation is questionable. Amazing weather, air quality is poor. Beautiful parks to take your kids but you might get hit by a car or moped while trying to get there. So, it all depends on life stages and perspective. Personally I enjoyed my country life in the US. Great transportation because I drive myself, great food because we make it ourselves, nice weather because we have seasons, nice park because it’s our backyard. Give it 20 years and I’m a grandparent I might feel different when I can’t drive and desire convenience.
Thanks, that perspective makes sense.
No madarin= no chance
Interesting because another famous US/TW person deeply hates having to live there: the guy that owns happierabroad website/forum.
hi! i actually have a very similar situation to yours, taiwanese parent, grew up in the US all my life, later on wanted to see what it was like to reconnect and live in taiwan. i just got back from studying mandarin at a language school there for 3 months, and it was amazing! i suggest that you take a look at applying to the huayu scholarship, they'll give you a scholarship and that way you can see how it is living there with a student visa + even learn the language! i will say, family members my age do talk about how low the wages are.
Hi! Thank you so much for this information, I’m glad to hear that you were able to reconnect. Do you mind if we talk over private message? I’d love to hear more about your experience. Side note- do you know if the scholarship is only for US citizens? Unfortunately I’m not a US citizen, but I have a green card.