While the high-profile visa troubles of two foreign influencers highlight government missteps in Taiwan’s Gold Card system, they also reflect the individuals’ own misjudgments.

For Lawrence Farley, receiving a Taiwan Employment Gold Card in February brought no new career opportunities. Instead, it plunged him into a Kafkaesque nightmare.

An American YouTuber known to his almost half a million subscribers as Lele Farley, he spent a month preparing for his move to the island. The preparations included selling his car and filming equipment, and terminating the lease on his apartment. Once this was all done, he headed to Los Angeles International Airport with his bags packed, hoping to start a new life in Taiwan.

But after his passport was scanned, an airport staff member said, “The holder of this passport is not allowed in Taiwan.” No other explanations or clarifications from the Taiwanese government were offered.

“This is the most devastating thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my adult life,” Farley said in a YouTube video watched by more than 500,000 people. “This blindsided me.”

Farley, who speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese after studying in China, uploads videos with comedy acts and criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party in both Chinese and English.

At the end of 2023, he visited Taiwan and fell in love with its young democracy, he said. He resolved to make it his home. During that trip, he appeared on several Taiwanese political talk shows, where, by his account, he “naively accepted a small amount of compensation.”

Farley said he cannot recall the exact amount, but estimated it at about US$55 to US$60 (around NT$1,800) a day for three days’ work. At the time, he believed he was doing nothing wrong. Only later did he learn that Taiwan had revoked his Employment Gold Card on the grounds that his paid appearances on political talk shows constituted unauthorized work.

Foreign professionals who have previously worked illegally in Taiwan or violated its labor laws are not eligible for the Gold Card. The program is a combined visa and work permit designed to attract highly skilled professionals, allowing them to work across sectors without limitation.

Farley pleaded ignorance of Taiwanese laws. “I admit it, I’m a fool,” he said in the video. “Do you think I am willing to throw away my Taiwanese dream because I want 60 bucks?”

Soon after, a similar case dominated Taiwanese headlines. Yoo Yoon-jin, a South Korean influencer better known to her 1.1 million Twitch followers as Jinnytty, or “Penguin Girl,” said she had been barred from entering Taiwan despite holding an Employment Gold Card. Authorities informed her that the card had been revoked after they determined she had worked illegally for a day as a manager at a video game event in 2023.

Yoo recounted the saga to hordes of followers on a Twitch livestream. In 2023, she had drawn international attention to Taiwan by livestreaming a walking tour around the island, showcasing its scenery and food.

“They’re like, ‘Oh, you’re banned from entering Taiwan for three years.’ That’s like insane, because I go to Taiwan every year and I have a lot of Taiwanese fans,” Yoo, speaking English, said on Formosa Television. “I love going to Taiwan.”

Government response

In separate interviews, Taiwan’s National Development Council (NDC) Deputy Minister Jan Fang-guan and Ministry of Labor (MOL) Vice Minister Chen Ming-jen say these incidents had provoked much soul-searching in government circles, and they are looking for ways to prevent them from occurring again.

Jan notes that Taiwan has issued more than 10,000 Gold Cards to foreign professionals and that cases like these are “very rare.” Introduced in 2018, the Employment Gold Card combines a resident visa with the right to work across industries without restriction, distinct from standard visas that only allow employment with a single sponsoring company or in a specific role. Applications can be filed online, and candidates are evaluated against strict professional criteria. The card is valid for up to three years.

Vice Minister Chen says it’s a typical requirement throughout the world for foreign nationals to obtain governmental permission before they begin work in a new country.

“I think it is common sense around the world that if you stay somewhere and start working, you need a work permit,” Chen says. “The criteria to get work permits in Taiwan are not very stringent for foreign professionals, and it’s quite easy to get one.”

So what went wrong with Farley and Yoo? The senior officials acknowledge that the two should not have been granted Gold Cards at all, citing administrative errors. Ordinarily, applicants are vetted for past labor violations. In both cases, Taiwan’s central government approved the applications, only for local authorities to later report that the two had engaged in unauthorized work.

“It’s really unfortunate that these two cases took place,” Chen says. “Procedure-wise, there were some errors.”

Chen says top government officials have learned from these incidents that they need to strengthen “horizontal coordination and horizontal communication” to avoid these kinds of mistakes in the future. Communication between government agencies must improve, and delays need to be minimized, he says, adding that Farley’s case was especially unusual, since normally the Taipei City Government notifies violators and issues fines. But officials were unable to reach Farley because he had already left Taiwan.

Under an MOL ruling, both Farley and Yoo have been barred from working in Taiwan for three years. Whether that penalty also leads to the loss of their Gold Cards or limits future tourist entry, however, is up to the National Immigration Agency (NIA), which comes under the Ministry of the Interior.

Jan says the NDC and MOL have discussed instituting a new grading system that would make the length of the ban on working in Taiwan proportionate to the seriousness of the work violation. That would mean foreign nationals found to have done only a few hours of unauthorized work would no longer face an automatic three-year ban. But Jan notes that such a change would require an overhaul of existing labor laws, and winning Legislative Yuan approval will be difficult in a chamber where opposition parties hold the majority.

Asked whether Taiwan should do more to warn visiting foreigners about the risks of taking unapproved work, both Jan and Chen dismiss the idea of raising awareness among tourists. Jan notes that there are already many warning signs at the airports, such as cautions not to bring in prohibited meat products like pork due to African swine fever. The government is wary of discouraging tourism by posting too many warnings, which could make visitors feel unwelcome.

“It’s going to be bizarre if we keep reminding tourists and people who come here that you cannot work,” Chen adds.

Chen says a much better approach would be for the government to thoroughly educate Taiwanese employers who may wish to hire foreign nationals, including talent agencies and entertainment companies, about the relevant regulations.

“These agencies should know that even if it’s for a short period, they have to get a work permit in accordance with Taiwan’s labor laws,” he says.

In addition, Chen notes that the MOL has set up websites such as “EZ Work Taiwan” and the “Foreign National Labor Rights Portal” that can provide foreign professionals who want to work in Taiwan with ample English-language information about their rights and opportunities.

Hope on the horizon

Are there remedies for Gold Card holders caught in situations like Farley’s and Yoo’s? Several, at least in theory.

Individuals can file a written appeal to the central government, where an independent committee reviews whether a ministry’s decision was appropriate. If not, the committee has the authority to overturn it. In practice, applicants may pursue appeals through two different ministries: they can acknowledge the violation but petition the NIA to block the revocation of their Gold Cards or entry bans, or they can contest the MOL’s finding that they worked illegally.

The final recourse is to pursue a legal challenge through Taiwan’s administrative court system. “The administrative courts do provide professional interpretation services,” Chen says.

Jan notes that the government especially needs to strengthen warnings for holders of Taiwan’s digital nomad visa, which now permits professionals employed by overseas companies or running international businesses to stay for up to two years. Those visa holders, he says, must be reminded that they are barred from taking local jobs in Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Chen acknowledges that the way many social media influencers work “does not align totally well with our current labor laws.” Accepting donations from subscribers is not deemed illegal work, and income received from ads on YouTube is also acceptable. But he notes that when Taiwanese organizations invite influencers to participate in events and compensate them, those activities fall under Taiwan’s Employment Service Act and are subject to local labor laws.

The two government officials caution that foreign professionals working in Taiwan on visas tied to traditional employer-sponsored permits are barred from taking on any unapproved jobs. These visas, Jan says, remain the most common form of work authorization. Employment contracts under the system strictly define professional duties, and any outside work is prohibited. An engineer hired under such a permit, for example, cannot legally tutor English on the side.

Chen notes that one of the key principles guiding these traditional work permits is the protection of the rights of local workers. “The details of the work are regulated, the scope is regulated, you are not free to work in any sector,” he concludes.