Registering a Company in Taiwan as a Foreigner: What the Guides Leave Out

The first question we get is almost always about money: how much capital do I need?

It's the wrong opening question. What actually governs how your case runs is the order of the steps — and that order is not the one most founders assume.

The costliest mistake: assuming you incorporate first

A Taiwanese resident can go straight through: reserve the name, incorporate, register for tax.

A foreign investor has an extra step wedged in front, and it blocks everything behind it: prior approval from the Investment Review Division of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Without that approval letter you cannot remit funds from abroad, and you cannot incorporate.

Two details most online guides get wrong:

• There is no de minimis exemption. Whether you're investing NT$100,000 or NT$100 million, prior approval is required.
• The agency was renamed. The Investment Commission (投審會, MOEAIC) was folded into the Ministry of Economic Affairs in September 2023 and became the Investment Review Division (投資審議司). A great deal of published guidance still uses the old name and the old contact points.

The truth about "NT$500,000 minimum capital"

Taiwan's Company Act sets no minimum capital for either a limited company or a company limited by shares. The NT$500,000 figure is real, but it belongs to a different question: it is the threshold that qualifies a foreign director or manager for a work permit.

The basis is Article 38 of the qualification and review standards for foreign workers issued under Article 46 of the Employment Service Act. For a company less than one year old, any one of four tests suffices: paid-in capital or local operating funds of NT$500,000 or more, or revenue of NT$3 million or more, or import-export volume of US$500,000 or more, or agency commissions of US$200,000 or more.

So: if you don't intend to relocate to Taiwan yourself, you are not obliged to tie up NT$500,000. Size the capital to what the business actually needs.

Choosing an entity type

• Limited company (有限公司) — one shareholder minimum, simplest structure, the default for small operations.
• Company limited by shares (股份有限公司) — two individual shareholders minimum, or a single corporate shareholder. Choose this if you anticipate raising capital.
• Closely-held company limited by shares (閉鎖性股份有限公司) — share transfers are restricted; useful for keeping founder control.
• Branch of a foreign company (分公司) — not a separate legal person; profits and losses sit with the parent.
• Representative office (辦事處) — limited to liaison and market research. Cannot trade and cannot issue Taiwanese uniform invoices.

The representative office looks attractive because it's quick, but it cannot sell anything. The moment there are transactions and receipts, you need a company or a branch.

The full sequence, in order

1. Company name reservation. Confirm the name is available. If the responsible person is a foreign national, settle on a Chinese name at this stage — a phonetic transcription is fine. It will be carved into the representative's personal seal, and long Western names physically do not fit.

2. Investment approval application. File with the Investment Review Division, together with your investment plan and authenticated identity documents.

3. Preparatory office account and inbound remittance. Only after the approval letter arrives. Funds must originate abroad and be wired directly into the company's preparatory office account — never a personal account — in an amount matching the application. Register an English account name at the same time: without one, an overseas bank may be unable to process a wire to a Chinese-character beneficiary, and fixing it afterwards is slow and chargeable.

4. Investment amount verification. File again with the Investment Review Division, attaching the inward remittance advice and exchange settlement slip.

5. Company incorporation. Submit the approval letter and verification letter to the company registration authority. You receive your unified business number.

6. Tax registration. With the National Taxation Bureau. The responsible person is generally required to appear in person to sign and collect the invoice purchase certificate.

7. Work permit and residence (if needed). Apply to the Ministry of Labor, then take the approval to the National Immigration Agency for the ARC. The first permit typically runs one year, renewed against operating results.

Processing times vary widely by industry, investor nationality and deal structure. Rather than relying on the timelines floating around online, query your case status with the reviewing office directly.

Document authentication: the step people discover too late

Documents issued in your home country — certificate of incorporation, articles of association, powers of attorney, parent-company identity papers — are not accepted as they stand. They must be translated into Chinese and authenticated by the Taiwan representative office or embassy in your jurisdiction.

Because Taiwan is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, an apostille on its own is not sufficient — consular authentication is still required. That chain takes weeks, and it has to run before you file the investment application, not after.

The business address: what it solves, and what it doesn't

Every Taiwanese company needs a registered address. This is not a formality — it is the legal address for service used by the tax authority, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the courts.

The practical problem when you're running things from abroad is simple: who collects the mail? Response deadlines on official notices are not extended because the director lives overseas. An unopened letter is still binding on the company.

That is the real value of a business centre: not the address itself, but someone watching it for you — receiving, sorting, notifying you the same day.

What we should say plainly:

• Not every business activity can be registered at a business centre. Licensed industries (business codes ending in 1 — medical device distribution, alcohol and tobacco importing, real estate brokerage and others) carry premises requirements and need case-by-case assessment.
• We supply the address documentation your filing requires, but we cannot guarantee your investment approval or your bank account opening. Both decisions rest entirely with the authorities and the banks.
• If your sector sits on the negative list of industries closed or restricted to foreign investment, changing your address will not help.

651IBC is located at 22F-8, No. 56, Minsheng 1st Road, Xinxing District, Kaohsiung (Pao Cheng Century Building). The premises are owned by us, not sublet: the lease, property tax bill and letter of consent are handed over at signing and can be filed directly. Full service details: Kaohsiung business registration address and virtual office. Licensed industries: pre-filing assessment.