Set up a company
We assume the foreign investor’s nationality is not China, Hong Kong, or Macau after checking the disclosure of UBO, the steps are as below:
1. Reserve the Chinese name in Taiwan
Chinese name of the Taiwanese company is required and cannot be identical to any other company’s name in Taiwan. On the contrary, the English name is optional. The application for reserving the Chinese name usually takes 2-3 days, and the Chinese name will be reserved for six months. If the company cannot be set up within six months, the term can be extended once for one month.
2. Sign, notarize, apostille, and legalize POA
When setting up a Taiwanese company, the foreign investor may need to sign a power of attorney (“POA”) to engage a Taiwanese CPA as his investment agent in Taiwan. Since usually the POA is signed in a foreign country, Taiwan government requires the POA notarized, apostilled, and legalized.
3. Apply for investment approval
The foreign investor is required to introduce himself to the Taiwan’s government, including his background, business plan in Taiwan, source of funding, etc. And the foreign investor cannot remit the capital into Taiwan until obtaining the investment approval. This procedure would usually take 2-3 weeks.
4. Open a preparatory bank account in Taiwan
After receiving the investment approval, the company needs to open a preparatory bank account with the reserved Chinese name. Please note that most banks in Taiwan require the Taiwanese company’s representative to meet in person. Therefore, appoint a person based in Taiwan as the representative would be more convenient.
5. Remit the capital into Taiwan
With the investment approval and preparatory bank account, the investor now can wire the capital into Taiwan. Please note that the remittance must be made from the investor’s bank account outside of Taiwan into the preparatory bank account in Taiwan. Besides, it should be converted into TWD equivalent to the approved amount on the investment approval. Additional amount due to difference in exchange rates is acceptable.
6. Inform Taiwan government to check the capital
After the remittance, the company needs to collect documents from the bank and submit to the government to check. This procedure usually takes 2-3 weeks.
7. Company registration
With the approval of step 3 and 6, the investor can proceed to the last step. This step usually takes 1 week.