Last Updated on: 18th September 2025, 11:15 pm
Up till now, Taiwan required foreign visitors to fill out an arrival card on paper when they arrive.
From October 1st 2025, the paper version will be phased out, and visitors will now have to fill out the arrival card online within 3 days of arrival.
The process is free and can be quickly done on the TWAC (Taiwan Arrival Card) website. Although the paper version will be phased out in October, you can start using the digital version right away.
What is the Taiwan Arrival Card (TWAC)?
Many countries require visitors to fill out a short form on a small piece of card upon arrival with their details and information about their visit and stay. The form will ask questions like your passport number, the number of the flight or vessel you arrived on, where you intend to stay, expected departure date and current questions like whether you are experiencing any flu symptoms. Other questions are whether you are carrying anything that needs to be declared like meat, plant material, cash or valuables etc. The form you fill upon arrival is the Arrival Card (there is also another one upon departure).
Why is the Arrival Card needed?
Governments use Arrival Cards to:
- track travel patterns and trends, like numbers of actual arrivals (since not all arrivals require visas and not all who apply for a visa end up arriving, so arrival cards become the only formal record of entry for these visitors)
- collect real time data such as whether people are sick and what flight they arrived on
- screen for biosecurity risks
- hold the visitor to legal accountability, see below
Visas are pre-approval, giving the visitor permission to visit a country. Arrival cards are real-time indicators of arrival. Visas are about permission, arrival cards are about accountability and notification upon entry.
Isn’t it just a piece of paper/it doesn’t look very formal/mine never got checked/do my answers have to be accurate?
In some countries, the card isn’t immediately checked by a human and simply placed in a container, or briefly shown to an officer when passing quarantine. It might look like no one checks it, but in actual fact, it does get checked. No only does it get checked, you might get randomly selected to be checked at quarantine to see if you are carrying anything that needs to be declared or quarantined. Quarantine doesn’t just check for biohazards, but also other items that need to be reported, such as items over the allowed duty-free limit, or illegal items. The card is a legal immigration declaration made by you, and you need to sign it (parents and guardians sign for children). If you purposely lie on your arrival card and purposely state you have nothing to declare, and are randomly chosen to be inspected, and they discover that you have things you were supposed to declare, then losing the item will be the least of your worries – you may be charged for purposely lying on an official immigration document, fined, jailed, or deported.
As for itineraries, the point of the card is that you cannot purposely lie with the intention to deceive. Circumstances change and if you listed one hotel and had to check out early or change hotels, that is different.
Who needs to fill out the Taiwan Arrival Card?
See their website for a full list.
How do I apply for the Taiwan Arrival Card?
You need to have an email that you can access to receive a verification code before you start, receive confirmation, and to log in to update your card if there are changes. For parties up to 10 people, only one person needs to create an account. Each traveller in the party can then be entered separately. For each person, you will need to upload a photo of their passport, the purpose of travel, and any visa information.
The website can be accessed on desktop or on mobile. For mobile, you can use the smartphone camera to take a photo of the passport, for desktop, you will have to upload a photo taken and moved to the computer.
How much does it cost?
The service is free and you should be wary of anyone charging you a fee for it. Only do it on their official website.
Check out their official website, available in English:
https://twac.immigration.gov.tw
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