Aiko Tanaka
Yes, the Taiwan Arrival Card is now online only, and for most foreign visitors it is not optional. Since 1 October 2025, Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency has replaced the paper arrival card with the online Taiwan Arrival Card, known as the TWAC. It is free, it is filed only at twac.immigration.gov.tw, and immigration processing cannot proceed without it. File it inside the official filing window before you travel, watch for the confirmation email, and never pay a third-party site for a form the government gives away.
Quick Facts About the TWAC
- What it is: The online Taiwan Arrival Card, or TWAC, run by the National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior.
- Since when: Online only from 1 October 2025. Paper arrival cards were withdrawn on the same date.
- Cost: Completely free. Any website that charges a fee is not the official site.
- Official website: twac.immigration.gov.tw. There is no official app.
- When to file: Within the filing window before arrival, which opened at three days at launch and has since been widened to seven days before arrival, counting the day you land. Check the portal for the window that applies to your trip.
- Confirmation: The system emails a confirmation after submission. You do not need to show it, because the officer retrieves your TWAC automatically when your passport is scanned.
- Group filing: One person can submit forms for up to 16 travellers, which is designed for families and tour groups.
- Not a visa: The TWAC replaces the arrival card only. It does not grant entry permission, and visa or visa-exemption rules apply separately.
Who has to file the TWAC?
The National Immigration Agency lists four groups who must complete the card before immigration clearance. First, foreign nationals entering Taiwan on a visitor visa or under the visa-exemption programme, which covers most tourists and business visitors. Second, Hong Kong and Macao residents holding a multiple entry permit. Third, mainland Chinese residents holding a multiple-entry tourist permit. Fourth, Republic of China nationals without household registration in Taiwan who do not hold a Resident Certificate.
Just as useful is who does not file. Travellers holding a Taiwan Resident Certificate, a resident visa or an Alien Resident Certificate are outside the requirement, as are holders of diplomatic identification cards issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Passengers who remain in transit and never pass through immigration control do not file either. Everyone else should assume the card applies to them, including children. Each traveller needs their own submission, although one adult can complete the group function for up to 16 people travelling together. Digital arrival cards are becoming the regional pattern, and travellers combining Taiwan with nearby stops will meet similar systems in our guides to the Thailand digital arrival card and the South Korea e-arrival card.
When exactly should you submit it?
Timing is where travellers trip up, because the window has changed since launch. When the TWAC went live in October 2025, the National Immigration Agency required submission within three days before arrival. The agency later widened that window, and the portal now works on a basis of within seven days before arrival, counting the arrival day itself. In practice, that means you can file while you pack rather than in a scramble at the airport. File too early and the submission falls outside the window. File on arrival and you can still use the QR codes posted at check-in counters, airports and seaports, but you will be completing the form standing in the arrivals flow instead of walking straight to the immigration desk, and travellers whose required card is missing are not eligible to use the automated e-Gates.
One submission covers one entry. If you leave Taiwan and return later in the same trip, or come back on a future visit, file a fresh card inside the window for that arrival. If your flight, hotel or passport details change after submitting, the system lets you review and edit the submitted record online, which is a genuine improvement on the paper era, when a mistake meant starting a new card with a pen borrowed from a seatmate.
How do you complete the TWAC, step by step?
Start on the official portal and nowhere else. The form itself runs in Chinese and English, with guidance available in seven languages: Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian. You will enter personal and passport details, travel information including your arrival flight or vessel, and contact and stay details in Taiwan. The quickest route is the passport upload feature: photograph or upload the data page of your passport and the system imports the details automatically, which reduces the transcription errors that used to slow down paper cards.
Review every field before submitting, especially passport number and dates, because the record is matched to your passport at the desk. Submit, then look for the confirmation email in the inbox of the address you registered. You do not need to print it or present it on arrival. When the immigration officer scans your passport, the system retrieves your TWAC data automatically. Keep the confirmation email accessible on your phone anyway, because it is your proof of submission if anything needs checking.
What should you have ready before you start the form?
Have four things open before you begin: your passport, your arrival flight or ferry details, the name and address of your first place of stay in Taiwan, and an email address you can actually check while travelling, because that is where the confirmation lands. Travellers entering on a tour or visiting friends should confirm the stay address with their host or operator first, since an incomplete or guessed address is the most common reason a submission needs editing later. If you are filing for a group, gather every traveller’s passport in advance rather than starting and stopping, because the group function works best when all sixteen or fewer records are entered in one sitting.
How do you spot a fake TWAC website?
The National Immigration Agency has repeatedly warned about lookalike sites, including reports of travellers being charged around 50 US dollars after scanning codes or following search results to unofficial pages. The defences are simple. Check the address bar: the only official site ends in immigration.gov.tw. Refuse any payment step: the official process never asks for card details or any fee. Ignore any app store listing claiming to be an official TWAC app, because none exists. If you are already at the airport, use the QR codes displayed by the agency at airports and seaports, which the agency says it verifies, rather than a code from an advertisement or an unfamiliar poster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the TWAC really mandatory, or just recommended?
It is mandatory for the traveller groups listed by the National Immigration Agency. The agency states that completing the TWAC is required before immigration clearance and that, without submission, entry processing cannot proceed. The paper alternative no longer exists.
Does the TWAC replace a visa for Taiwan?
No. The agency is explicit that the TWAC is not a visa. Whether you can enter visa-free, and for how long, depends on your passport and the separate visa-exemption rules. The arrival card and entry permission are two different requirements, and most visitors need to satisfy both.
What happens if you arrive without filing?
You will need to complete the form before your entry processing can proceed, using the airport or seaport QR codes or the official site on your phone. That costs time at the desk and rules out the automated e-Gates, so filing inside the window before departure is strongly advised.
Can one person file for a whole family?
Yes. The system allows one person to submit forms for up to 16 individuals, which suits families and groups. Each traveller still has their own record, matched to their own passport at immigration.
Do you need to print the confirmation email?
No. The agency confirms travellers do not need to present the confirmation during inspection, because the data is retrieved automatically when the passport is scanned. Keeping the email on your phone is still sensible as a backup.
Can you edit the TWAC after submitting it?
Yes. Travellers can review and edit submitted data online after submission, so a changed hotel, flight or corrected detail does not require starting again. Make edits before you travel so the record the officer sees is the current one.
