Welcome to the first newsletter of Option Asia! 🎉

Welcome to the first newsletter of Option Asia! 🎉

• a newsletter with golden nuggets for nomading and remote working in Asia

• tips and tricks on how to make the big move

• spotlighted programs, visas, city guides, and interviews

• Enter your salary in this tool to find out which digital nomad visas you can apply for based on your earnings

• Follow Option Asia’s Instagram

Hi, I’m Emily Fang!

After working 4+ years in San Francisco, I was burnt out and left the states for time off and travel. I spent the majority of the covid pandemic in Singapore, fought to find a job for an employment pass, and ended up working in tech news and fintech. In my career, I have worked and built communities for Google, OmniSci, and Booking.com. I currently head an international nomad community called Asian Wander Women, which houses 1300+ tightly knitted members. Now I am consulting a startup, getting paid to create content on YouTube, and practicing my writing chops with newsletters to teach others how they can make Asia an option too.

There are 48 countries in Asia—your opportunities are endless! 🎉

Thanks for reading The Emily Quotient! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe

Nomad and Travel News in Asia

• Tourists visiting Indonesia will not be charged under a new law which will criminalizes sex outside marriage, officials say. The UN says the new laws could erode human rights in the country, but Indonesian officials maintain that the legislation will uphold "Indonesian values.”

• According to SCMP, under the “Visit Korea Years” five-year master plan, the South Korean government plans to attract 30 million annual visitors, including K-culture enthusiasts and digital nomads. The K-culture training visa, which will be introduced during the first half of 2023, targets young foreign nationals eager to learn about South Korea’s entertainment industry and create content. The “workation” visa will allow foreign travelers to stay in South Korea for two years while working as an employee of a company from their home country.

• Quoting Citizen Remote, “Thailand has a digital nomad visa, but it’s referred to as the Long Term Residence Visa and allows people to stay in the country for up to 10 years while paying only 17% tax.”

Featured Cool Visa: The Taiwan Gold Card Visa

Taiwan 🇹🇼 (not to be confused with Thailand, seriously people) holds a 4-1 visa which allows an open work permit so you can work for any company. Launched in 2018, The Taiwan Employment Gold Card is a combined visa, work permit, and residence permit. The card gives you the right to stay and work in Taiwan for 1 to 3 years, and you can apply online without sponsorship. It comes with open-work rights, so you can work for any (or multiple) companies in Taiwan or start your own business.

• Qualification is based on an assessment of your professional skills. You don’t need to have already secured a job in Taiwan. The Gold Card costs anywhere between USD 100 and USD 310 depending on your nationality and the duration of the card. Email [email protected] for questions.

Featured Companies that are Still Hiring Remote Roles

• Deel - as of January 23rd, they have 219 open positions and you can work from anywhere! With a $5.5 billion evaluation, they’re the future of Global HR, helping companies hire from anywhere around the world.

• Top 100 Remote Companies Hiring - a sequential list of global companies that have the most experience hiring remote workers by We Work Remotely

• wellfound (formerly Angellist) - a job board for remote tech and startup jobs

• My own advice: don’t discount working for startups either; some of them work lean and have runway $$ for a while—ask those hard questions when interviewing though. As we’ve seen with the major job cuts from Google, Salesforce, Twitter, etc., no one’s job is guaranteed. If you’re looking for a remote job, consider all your options.

Like my content? Follow Emily on social media

Instagram | YouTube | My Blog | Support the newsletter

Disclaimer: like always, do your due diligence and research as programs change. All content and information in this newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only.