Taiwan Plum Blossom Card
A permanent resident certificate granted up front, on day one, rather than after years of temporary residence. Three streams: major investors, senior professionals Taiwan wants, and people with special contributions to the country.
The investment stream is the one people ask about, and it has a feature nothing else in Asia offers. The three year qualifying period is a holding period, not a residence period. You do not have to live in Taiwan while it runs.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Major investors, senior professionals, and people with special contributions to Taiwan |
| Route family | investment |
| Validity | Permanent from issue |
| Stay per entry | Unlimited, subject to re-entry rules |
| Threshold | NT$15,000,000 (about USD 469,000, 2026) in a profit-making Taiwan business plus 5 or more Taiwanese employees for 3 years, or central government bonds above NT$30,000,000 (about USD 938,000) held 3 years. Senior professional and special contribution streams have no capital test |
| Renewal | None. Issued for life |
| Settlement | Direct. This is the permanent residence |
| PR clock | None |
| Citizenship clock | 5 years of residence, and for the senior professional and special contribution streams, citizenship without renouncing your original nationality |
| Family | Yes, including adult children who cannot support themselves |
| Local employment | Fully open |
| Tax headline | Ordinary resident taxation, no investor exemption |
| Processing | 3 to 6 months before an inter-ministerial committee, fee NT$10,000, waived for the professional and contribution streams |
Application flow
- Choose the stream: investment, senior professional, or special contribution.
- For the investment stream, hold the qualifying equity or bonds for three years and maintain five insured full-time Taiwanese employees throughout.
- Assemble the evidence: MOEA investment approval, payroll and insurance records, audited accounts.
- Apply to NIA. The file goes to an inter-ministerial review committee.
- Attend an interview if called. The committee may refuse without giving reasons.
- Collect the card. It is permanent from issue.
Good fit
A founder or investor with about USD 470,000 and a real operating company that can carry five Taiwanese employees for three straight years, who values not having to live in Taiwan during the qualifying period. A senior professional whom a ministry actively wants, who gets the card free and keeps their original nationality on the way to citizenship.
Poor fit
A passive investor, a property buyer, or anyone who wants to park money in bonds and forget it. The bond route ties up roughly USD 938,000 for three years at Taiwanese government yields, which is a poor trade unless the residence is the point.
Watchpoints
- The five jobs must be real. Insured, full-time, Taiwanese, held for three continuous years. Payroll subsidy arrangements fail review.
- The three years is holding, not residence. This is the most attractive feature of the route and the one most often missed.
- The NT$15,000,000 is equity at risk, not a deposit. It sits in an operating business that has to keep trading.
- The review is discretionary. The committee can refuse without explanation and the fee is not refunded.
- Citizenship without renunciation applies to two streams only. Senior professionals and special contributors get it. Investors still renounce their original nationality.
- The bond route is expensive residence. Run the opportunity cost against the Gold Card’s three year APRC before committing USD 938,000.
Sources
- National Immigration Agency, Plum Blossom Card categories and thresholds. Checked 2026-10-22.
- Taiwan talent portal, Plum Blossom Card guidance. Checked 2026-10-22.
- Immigration Act Article 25 and the alien residency regulations. Checked 2026-10-22.