Taiwan Expat Forum

Retired. Not seeking work. How about Taichung?

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joskel

From: Mexico

4/2/2014 15:52 EST

Our interest is not in working in Taiwan. We are retired and are looking for a place to live, at least for some several months. NOT interested in buying a place to live; not interested in working.
We would like to be in a city with good services (i. e., the light comes on nearly every time the switch is flipped; water flows when the tap is opened). Being able to interact with others of our age and language from time to time would be great.
Learning Chinese is beyond me. My Chinese friends here have tried to teach me some over the past year and have recommended I study something else.
Taipei seems to be larger and more spread out than we would want to deal with daily. But Taichung seems to be a more manageable size and is close enough to the capital when we would want to go to the symphony, or some other special event, or to fly somewhere else for a time.

Any full-time retirees living in Taichung willing to offer input and advice?

TIA
Joseph

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Steve4nLanguage

4/2/2014 21:53 EST

Hello Joseph,

I'm not a retiree (but I will be in about 15 years); however, I am a permanent resident of Taiwan.

If you are not an ROC citizen, spending any length of time legally in Taiwan requires a Residence Visa/ARC (Alien Resident Certificate). There are only a few ways to obtain this:

1) Full-time employment
2) Full-time student (Chinese language or other)
3) Business investor (US$200,000 minimum)
4) Missionary
5) Married to an ROC citizen
6) Government sponsored "special talent"

If you don't have a Resident Visa, then you would need to follow the regulations for a "visitor."

For example, depending on your country of origin, as a visitor you can enter Taiwan visa-free for up to 90 days, but then you would be required to leave and re-enter the country for another 90-day cycle.

More information can be found here:

http://www.boca.gov.tw/lp.asp?ctNode=778&CtUnit=76&BaseDSD=7&mp=2

I mentioned earlier that I'm a permanent resident. This status can be obtained by possessing a Resident Visa for at least 5 years, which in my case was based on employment.

It seems that Taiwan is a bit more difficult than some other countries for exapats to retire to. I wish you the best!

Stephen

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joskel

From: Mexico

4/3/2014 21:22 EST

Thanks for the input, Steve.

We will be in Taiwan most of April. We arrive in Kaohsiung on the 9th and will work our way northward checking out the major metropolitan areas for the possibility of a longer stay.

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friddle

4/14/2014 19:41 EST

We are "retired" and living in Taitung.
Check it out.
friddle

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