Who has to fill in the TWAC
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) made the online card mandatory from 1 October 2025, when paper arrival cards were withdrawn. Its announcement lists four groups who must submit one:
- Foreign nationals entering with a visitor visa or under the visa-exemption programme.
- Hong Kong and Macao residents holding a multiple-entry permit.
- Mainland Chinese residents holding a multiple-entry tourist permit.
- Nationals without household registration who do not hold a Resident Certificate.
Without a submitted card, the NIA says entry processing cannot proceed. It is not a visa or a travel authorisation; it is the immigration declaration that used to be written on paper.
When to submit it
You can submit from 7 days before arrival. The NIA extended the window from 3 to 7 days with effect from 15 July 2026 (press release in Chinese), citing travellers on multi-leg journeys and cruises. The Bureau of Consular Affairs' visa-exemption page also says "within seven days prior to arriving". Older guides and the NIA's English pages from 2025 still say three days; the newer 7-day rule applies.
The NIA reported that more than 99% of arriving visitors were already filing online when it made the change.
If you board without filing, airlines and shipping companies display TWAC QR codes at check-in counters, and QR codes are posted at Taiwan's airports and seaports. You must finish it before you reach the immigration officer.
How to fill it in
The NIA pages do not list every field of the form. Have your passport, flight or ship details and the address of your first night's accommodation to hand before you start.
At the airport you do not show the confirmation. The NIA says the officer scans your passport and the system retrieves your TWAC data automatically.
Do you need a visa as well?
The TWAC sits on top of the visa rules. The Bureau of Consular Affairs' visa-exempt entry page (updated 17 July 2026, checked 8 October 2026) sets the visa-free stay by nationality:
| Visa-free stay | Nationalities (selection) |
|---|---|
| Up to 90 days | All 27 EU member states, United States, United Kingdom (British citizens), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Republic of Korea, Israel, Switzerland, Norway |
| Up to 30 days | Malaysia, Singapore, Dominican Republic, Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Up to 14 days | Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines (each until 31 July 2027), Oman |
The page lists further countries, so check your own nationality there. The main conditions for visa-free entry are:
- A passport valid for at least six months on the date of entry. US and Japanese passports need only be valid for the intended stay.
- A confirmed return or onward ticket (with a visa for the next destination if needed) and a booked departure seat.
- For Thai, Bruneian and Philippine passports: proof of accommodation, a host or sponsor's contact details and sufficient funds.
- Only ordinary, official or diplomatic passports qualify; emergency and temporary passports do not, except US emergency passports and the Brunei Certificate of Identity.
The stay starts counting the day after arrival and is not extendable. It can be converted to a visa-based stay only in listed cases, such as a severe illness or natural disaster that prevents departure, or certain work permits. British and Canadian visitors can extend from 90 to up to 180 days under a separate procedure on the same page.
Can visitors use the e-Gates?
Most first-time visitors queue at the staffed counters. The NIA's e-Gate rules for foreign persons (updated 23 September 2026) open arrival e-Gates to residents and to e-passport holders from partner countries: the United States (Global Entry members only), South Korea, Australia, Italy, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand.
Visitors from those countries must first enrol in person with an immigration officer, which the NIA says takes about a minute, and enrolment criteria vary by country. At Taoyuan Airport the arrival-hall NIA counters inside the control area are listed as open 8:00 to 23:00 in Terminal 1 and from 5:30 or 10:00 to 23:00 at the two Terminal 2 counters (enrolment locations, checked 8 October 2026). Even enrolled visitors must complete the online arrival card before every use. Any foreign traveller can use the e-Gates to leave Taiwan.
After immigration
Once through passport control, the next decision is the ride into the city: Taoyuan Airport to Taipei compares the Airport MRT, bus and taxi, and late arrival at Taoyuan covers landings after the last train. To pay for that first journey, see EasyCard vs iPASS.