Canadian CPA CA in Taipei

With the previous posts covering my lead up to the move, it seems logical to move on to the process of flying into TPE. Please note, that the following is based on Covid conditions. Step 1 - get a Covid test performed within 72 hours of the flight. In Ontario and B.C. this can be done through Life Labs, and details can be found  here . It's a fairly straight forward process. Their website as a calculator to determine the period during which the test can be taken. Can book the test online. For Taiwan need the PCR/NAAT test which has a cost of $199+tax. The test itself is done at a Shoppers Drug Mart location in Toronto, and there's a listing where you can choose the closest location. After paying for the test online, there will be a form available to print that you will need to take with you along with your passport to the test location. They use a nose swab which takes a few seconds, and they email the test results within 24-48 hours after the test. Step 2 - within 48 of la...

With my flight booked for March 11th (original date), I began making final plans on the actual relocation. It was now November 2020 and there were only three months left to finalize everything, and we all know how fast time flies when you need to get a lot done. I won't bore you with all of the details, but here's a summary list of things I had to deal with: Business wise: Set up office to be fully remote Set up Voip phone system Set up fax, mail, courier services Personal items: Rent a place in Taipei Arrange for home office set up in Taipei, including internet Arrange for basic household necessities in Taipei Prepare cat and necessary paperwork  Decide whether to sell or rent my home Sell household items and furniture that was not going to be placed in storage Arrange storage Arrange shipping for personal items I was planning to take to Taiwan Get all paperwork in order Part of getting all of the paperwork in order was to have my degrees and designations authenticated. This i...

As a follow up to my previous post, as to why Taiwan, came the part of how to make Taiwan work for a relocation. Just as I was heading home on December 11, Covid was taking a hold in Asia. Unlike western nations that wouldn't realize the potential impact Covid would have until around mid-March, in Asia precautions were being implemented everywhere in December. Landing back in Toronto it seemed that the reaction in the pacific rim was just an exaggerated response to a problem that did not exist. This obviously all started to change. As I was heading back to Canada, I began making plans to relocate around July 2020. I started looking into the different visas, and how to be able to stay in Taiwan for a minimum of five years. I figured out that being Canadian meant I could spend up to 180 days in Taiwan on a visitor visa. As I work remotely, I figured this would work for me, as it would provide me with sufficient time to find a local job or something similar for me to obtain an ARC (...

Why Taiwan? Is probably the most common question I get when I tell people I have chosen to relocate to Taipei. The answer to this question will most likely surprise you. I considered moving to Asia starting in 2016, and at the time I was focused on relocating to Thailand. Who hasn't seen all of those amazing pictures of beautiful beaches, mountains, jungles, elephants, temples, and of course the food. I was pretty certain that nothing would deter me from making my way to Thailand. That said, I took the advice of others and started looking into it in detail, and decided to go see the country for myself in November 2019. On November 9, 2019 I set out from Toronto to Bangkok to start a 29 day Thailand adventure that would take me to 11 various spots in the country. At the time I booked my flight, the best deal I was able to find was using Eva Air. As my goal was to get to and from Bangkok, I didn't give much thought to where my layover would be as there were no direct flights ...