Taiwan
Employment Gold Card: health insurance requirements
No insurance mandate for this visa
Not in the usual way. Taiwan has no classic digital nomad visa, and the route in, the Employment Gold Card (an open work permit + residence + re-entry, valid one to three years), does not require private insurance: it routes you into National Health Insurance instead. The catch is timing, self-employed holders wait about six months to enrol in NHI, so you bridge that gap with private or international cover. You qualify by professional field or, in some, a recent monthly salary of at least NT$160,000 (about US$5,000).
The requirements at a glance
| Local-licensed insurer required | No: compliant international IPMI is accepted |
|---|---|
| Accepted proof | No private-insurance requirement: Gold Card holders enrol in Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI). Self-employed holders must complete about six months of continuous residence before NHI enrolment, so carry private or international cover for that initial gap. |
Qualify under one of several professional fields (science and technology, economy, education, culture and arts, sport, finance, law, architecture, plus national defence) or, in several fields, by a recent monthly salary of at least NT$160,000 (about US$5,000) gross. The card bundles an open work permit, resident visa/ARC and re-entry permit, valid one, two or three years, with a path toward permanent residency. Apply online at the official Gold Card portal.
Our take
Taiwan is the rare place where the visa does not ask for insurance, because it hands you one of the world's best public systems, but only after about six months.
Bridge that window with private or international cover; before NHI you self-pay, which is cheap for routine care but not for a serious admission.
What happens if you get it wrong
Going bare during the six-month NHI wait is the real risk: a serious admission before enrolment is self-pay.
Tourists and short-stay nomads are not NHI-eligible at all, so they need their own cover.
Interactive
Verified pricesWhat would it cost in Taiwan without insurance?
You pay, out of pocket
$95–$250
A self-pay hospital bed per day; a serious admission multiplies this.
Bars to scale. A flight home is in another league.
That is the bill you carry alone. Insurance exists for exactly this.
See what cover costsTypical private-care estimates for illustration, not a quote. Actual bills vary by hospital, city and severity.
FAQ
Not a classic one. The route is the Employment Gold Card, an open work-and-residence permit valid one to three years; you qualify by professional field or, in some, a recent monthly salary of at least NT$160,000 (about US$5,000).
No private-insurance mandate; you enrol in National Health Insurance instead. But self-employed holders wait about six months to enrol, so bridge that gap with private or international cover.
You self-pay, which is cheap for routine care, but a serious admission is on you, so carry private cover for the first six months.
One, two or three years (your choice), with a path toward permanent residency.
No. Tourists and short-stay nomads are not NHI-eligible and self-pay (at low rates).
Reviewed by Lukas Schönberg, Founder & researcher, Nomad Insurance Broker OÜ
Nomad Insurance Broker OÜ (Estonia) is an information and matching platform, not currently registered as a regulated insurance intermediary in any jurisdiction. See /how-it-works for the full disclosure.
Source: goldcard.nat.gov.twLast verified
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