🇹🇼Taiwan

Decision flow

Check these in order; the first match is your regime.

1. Your travel document. An ordinary passport valid at least 6 months from the entry date. Only citizens of the United States and Japan are exempt, needing validity for the planned stay only. Emergency, temporary and other non-biometric passports cannot use visa-free entry and need a classic visa or a Landing Visa at the airport - not available for US emergency passports, which do qualify for visa-free entry.
2. Visa-free (Visa-Exempt, VF). EU member states, the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and Australia get 90 days. Singapore and Malaysia get 30 days. Thailand, the Philippines and Brunei get up to 14 days under a trial programme that runs until 31 July 2027, and Oman gets 14 days outside any trial.
3. e-Visa. For travelers outside the visa-free list, available with no special invitation to citizens of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, Oman and other Gulf states.
4. Travel Authorization Certificate (TAC / ETA). Free and online, for travelers from India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos and Myanmar who hold a valid - or expired within the last 10 years - visa or residence permit for the USA, Canada, the UK, the Schengen area, Japan, South Korea or Australia.
5. Otherwise, a classic visa applied for before departure at the nearest Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.
6. The clock starts the day after you land, and a visa-exempt stay cannot be extended or converted to a visa - with one exception worth knowing: British and Canadian passport holders can extend 90 days to 180.
7. Only British Citizen passports qualify for visa-free entry; other British nationality classes do not.
8. Every regime needs the same supporting documents: a confirmed return or onward ticket with a reserved seat, and proof of accommodation.

Entry formalities applicable to everyone

Paper arrival cards are gone. Since 1 October 2025 the National Immigration Agency (NIA) has run the electronic Taiwan Arrival Card (TWAC), free at twac.immigration.gov.tw.

• Who - everyone entering visa-free or on a short-term visa, minors of any age included. Only holders of resident certificates (ARC), resident visas and diplomatic cards are exempt.
• When - the window opens at the earliest 7 days before arrival; it was three days until June 2026.
• How - the submission code is generated after you verify your e-mail on the portal's landing page. Nothing needs printing: the data pairs automatically with your passport number in the border-control database.

Customs duty-free limits, per person:

• Cash - undeclared limits are 10,000 USD in foreign currency or equivalent, 100,000 NTD locally and 20,000 CNY. Anything above goes to a customs officer in the red channel, or faces immediate confiscation without compensation.
• Alcohol - over-18s only, 1 litre.
• Tobacco - over-20s only, 200 cigarettes, 25 cigars or 454 grams of tobacco.
• Other goods - personal gifts and purchases up to 20,000 NTD in total.

Meat is banned absolutely, and the fine is not symbolic. African swine fever protection bans any meat product, pork above all - heat-processed foods, cans, dried meat, mooncakes with meat filling, and the unfinished meal from your plane.

• First violation: 200,000 NTD. Repeat violations: 1,000,000 NTD.
• A foreign traveler without resident status who cannot pay on the spot is refused entry and repatriated on the next flight.

E-cigarettes are illegal to import, sell or even possess, nicotine-free ones included, under the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act.

• At customs the devices are seized and destroyed without compensation, with an administrative fine of 50,000 to 5,000,000 NTD.
• Using one draws 2,000 to 10,000 NTD under the law in force since 22 March 2023. Simple possession has no penalty of its own yet, which is the only soft edge in an otherwise hard regime.
• That is about to get harder, but it has not happened yet. On 25 June 2026 the Executive Yuan approved a draft amendment - the cabinet, not the legislature - which would make manufacturing, importing, selling, supplying or displaying e-cigarettes a criminal offence carrying up to 7 years and a 5,000,000 NTD fine, and would fine possession or use up to 100,000 NTD. It was sent to the Legislative Yuan and has not passed third reading, so it is not law today. Check before you travel rather than assuming either version.

What matters in practice

• Have the onward ticket ready at check-in. Airlines verify a return or onward ticket out of Taiwan at the departure airport in Europe or the USA, and without a confirmed one they typically deny boarding.
• Use Gmail or Yahoo for the TWAC code. The system has run since October 2025 and travellers still report slow verification e-mails, occasional instability and strict airline-name matching; delivery to those two providers is the reliable route. If digital registration fails entirely, self-service tablets stand in the airport immigration halls - but using them at peak times costs significant time.
• Dual citizens: enter on the Taiwanese passport. Under Article 14 of the draftee exit regulations, every Taiwanese citizen with active household registration must enter and exit exclusively on the Taiwan (Republic of China) passport. Entering on a foreign passport to avoid military service is illegal and leads to exit restrictions.

• E-cigarettes and their liquids are illegal to import. Customs seizes and destroys them and the import fine runs NTD 50,000 to 5,000,000; using one is NTD 2,000 to 10,000, and simple possession carries no penalty of its own under the law as it stands. The ban covers heated tobacco devices that have not been approved as well. See the visa section for the draft amendment that would change all three figures.
• The allowance is 200 cigarettes and 1 litre of alcohol per adult, plus a value limit on other goods that is applied strictly at Taoyuan.
• Cash is declared at three separate limits: Taiwan dollars, foreign currency and Chinese yuan each have their own threshold, and gold has one too.
• Meat products may not be brought in. African swine fever controls mean sausage or ham in a suitcase draws a fine measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the beagles at arrivals are looking for exactly that.
• Fresh fruit, seeds and plants are prohibited without a permit, and the declaration form asks about them for a reason.

Health, insurance and where to be treated

No mandatory vaccination is required to enter Taiwan, and malaria does not occur here.

• Recommended - standard vaccination against hepatitis A and B, and tetanus.
• Dengue fever appears in the south, especially Kaohsiung and Tainan, during the summer months. Use high-DEET repellents and wear long clothing at dusk.

Do not drink tap water straight from the tap. Municipal water is filtered strictly and leaves the treatment plant as drinking water; the problem is secondary contamination in old, poorly maintained building plumbing. Most hotels supply free bottled water daily or have hot/cold filtered dispensers in the hallways.

Hospitals suitable for foreigners, with English-speaking staff:

• Taipei - Taiwan Adventist Hospital (TAH) - central Songshan, at 424, Section 2, Bade Road, Taipei. Its International Priority Care Center (IPCC) is fully English- and Japanese-speaking. Registration there is 1,700 NTD, with exams, lab tests and medication billed separately. Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) does not cover non-residents, so care is paid in cash, by card, or billed directly to your international insurer.
• Kaohsiung - Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital - a large teaching hospital whose International Medical Center (IMC) has English-speaking coordinators. No. 123, Dapi Road, Niaosong District, Kaohsiung.

Take out commercial travel insurance with adequate medical coverage before departure - care for uninsured foreigners at the international centres can reach very high amounts.

Accommodation

For the first days after arrival, choosing the right neighborhood matters most for logistical access from the airport and connection to city transit:

• Taipei - Ximending (Wanhua district):
• Best for: first-time visitors, young travelers, those interested in nightlife, street food and shopping.
• Logistics: direct connection to the Blue Line (Bannan Line), which crosses the entire city.
• Price level: low to mid; standard hotels run 1,500 to 3,000 NTD per night.
• Taipei - around Taipei Main Station (Zhongzheng district):
• Best for: travelers with heavy luggage, transit visitors, and those planning to take the HSR high-speed rail to other parts of the island in the following days.
• Logistics: the main transport hub - direct access from the Airport MRT express line, the crossing point of the Red and Blue metro lines, and the TRA and HSR rail stations.
• Price level: mid; clean international hotels and hostels run 2,000 to 4,000 NTD per night.
• Taipei - Xinyi (around Taipei 101):
• Best for: business travelers and discerning visitors looking for luxury five-star hotels, upscale restaurants and rooftop bars.
• Logistics: Red Line (Tamsui-Xinyi), excellent cleanliness and safety, right next to the Taipei 101 skyscraper.
• Price level: high; accommodation starts around 4,500 NTD per night and climbs from there.
• Kaohsiung - around Formosa Boulevard:
• Best for: an ideal base in Kaohsiung for any type of traveler.
• Logistics: Formosa Boulevard station (R10/O5) is the only interchange between the Red Line (direct connection from Kaohsiung Airport and Zuoying HSR station) and the Orange Line. Right next to the famous Liuhe Night Market.
• Price level: low to mid; prices run 1,200 to 2,500 NTD per night.

Common accommodation practices: By law, at check-in every accommodation must register foreign guests, which requires presenting the physical passports of everyone staying. Most mid-range and upscale hotels require a guarantee for incidental costs at check-in, either a credit-card pre-authorization hold or a cash deposit (typically 1,000 to 2,000 NTD). Standard check-in time is 15:00, and check-out is by 11:00.

SIM and eSIM: what to buy immediately after arrival

If you would rather land connected, a Saily profile installs by QR code before you fly. It is data-only and costs more per gigabyte than the airport counters below, and it saves you the queue.

Pre-order online 24 hours ahead instead of walking up to the counter. Discount platforms like Klook or KKday cut 20–30%: Chunghwa Telecom's standard 10-day unlimited 5G package is 800 NTD at the airport but 580 NTD pre-ordered.

• Chunghwa Telecom dominates on network quality, with the island's densest 5G coverage as of January 2026 - 95%, which is what matters once you leave the capital for Taroko or Sun Moon Lake.
• Taiwan Mobile is the second most reliable, at 92% 5G coverage.

Comparison table

Comparison of the main Taiwanese operators' standard 10-day tourist 5G packages (prices as of January 2026):

Where exactly to buy

• Taoyuan Airport (TPE), Terminal 1 - official operator kiosks in the arrivals hall on the 1st (ground) floor. Far EasTone and Taiwan Mobile counters open 06:00–23:30; the ezfly and Unite Traveler counters handling pre-orders run 04:30 to 23:00.
• Taoyuan Airport (TPE), Terminal 2 - kiosks on the 1st floor arrivals hall, on the left after customs. Hours track the main international arrivals, and most close between 22:00 and 00:00 depending on the operator.
• Taipei Songshan Airport (TSA) - far more limited: only a Chunghwa Telecom kiosk in the international terminal (T1) arrivals hall, 07:00–23:00. Klook-style pre-orders are collected at the Pelican counter, ground floor near exit E, between 05:00 and 22:00.
• Kaohsiung Airport (KHH) - no branded kiosks from the three national operators at all. The only airport option is the Fast Communication stand on the 1st floor of the international terminal, between the Chunghwa Telecom branch and exit 5, open 09:00–20:00. Outside those hours, buy in the city centre at a partner convenience store - 7-Eleven sells a 5-day 4G ibon mobile for 350 NTD.

Registration is real-name and strict, under NCC telecommunications law.

• Minimum age 18, and up to 20 for some contract types.
• Two original identity documents. The first must be a valid foreign passport; the second can be proof of legal entry (entry stamp), a boarding pass, a valid visa, a national driving licence or an APEC card.
• The phone must be unlocked for foreign networks before you insert the SIM.

Brief verdict

The Chunghwa Telecom 10-day 5G package, pre-ordered on Klook or KKday for 580 NTD. It removes the risk of airport sell-outs, cuts counter time to under two minutes, and gives the most stable and fastest connection across Taiwan, mountain areas included.

Sockets in Taiwan are Type A and B at 110 V, 60 Hz - the American flat-pin standard at a slightly lower voltage than the United States.

• Older buildings have unearthed Type A sockets only. New construction fits the three-hole Type B, but two slots and no earth is still a normal sight.
• American, Canadian and Japanese plugs fit straight in. Everyone else needs an adapter.
• 110 V is the thing to check. European and Australian 230 V-only appliances will not work properly; anything marked 100-240 V is fine.
• Air conditioners and ovens run on 220 V through separate outlets, which is not something a visitor plugs into.
• Adapters are sold in every 7-Eleven and FamilyMart for a few tens of dollars.

Local rules and cultural differences

• Strict ban on eating and drinking in the metro (MRT): Across the entire metro system in Taipei, Kaohsiung and other cities, there is an absolute ban on eating, drinking, chewing gum or betel nut. The ban starts at the yellow line on the floor before the turnstiles (the paid area) and applies on platforms and inside trains alike. It even covers plain bottled water. The only exceptions are breastfeeding mothers and people with an acute medical condition (e.g. diabetics) after notifying station staff. Violating this rule is punished without exception by inspectors or metro police with a fine of 1,500 to 7,500 NTD. The rule exists to keep the system perfectly clean and prevent rodents that could damage the electrical wiring of the safety systems.
• Strict drone regulation: Operating a drone in Taiwan is subject to strict rules from the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA). Any drone with a maximum take-off weight of 250 grams or more owned by an individual must be registered in the national registry at drone.caa.gov.tw.
• Registration for foreigners: Foreign tourists (non-residents) must register by entering their passport number and uploading a valid drone license/registration issued in their home country (e.g. a registration issued by your national civil aviation authority). Registration for non-residents is valid for a maximum of 6 months, and the administrative fee is 150 NTD. The registration number must be clearly and permanently marked on the drone body (e.g. with a QR-code sticker).
• Penalties: Flying an unregistered drone weighing over 250 g carries a fine of 30,000 to 150,000 NTD. Flying in no-fly zones (airport perimeters, military sites, government buildings, national parks without a permit) is punished with an extreme fine of 300,000 to 1,500,000 NTD and immediate confiscation of the device.
• Flight rules: Maximum flight altitude is limited to 122 meters (400 feet) above ground level. Flying is only allowed in daylight (sunrise to sunset), within the pilot's direct visual line of sight (max. 900 meters horizontally), and is strictly forbidden over crowds, outdoor gatherings or demonstrations.

Everyday practical information

• Power outlets: All of Taiwan uses Type A and Type B electrical outlets (matching the US and Canadian standard). Mains voltage is 110 V at 60 Hz. European travelers need a physical adapter. For appliances that don't support dual voltage (marked 100–240 V - typically hair dryers or travel kettles), a voltage converter is required, or the device will underperform or be damaged. Phone and laptop chargers typically support dual voltage.
• Time zone: Taiwan Standard Time (TST) is UTC+8. Taiwan does not observe daylight saving time, so the time difference from Central Europe is +6 hours during Central European Summer Time and +7 hours during winter time.
• Opening hours: Taiwan has an exceptionally developed network of round-the-clock services. Convenience stores - 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life and OK Mart - are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in urban areas. Regular retail stores and shopping malls typically operate daily from 11:00 to 21:30 or 22:00. Government offices and banks are open Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 15:30.
• Public restrooms: Available free of charge at every metro station, train station, department store and temple, and kept to a high standard of cleanliness. In older buildings and public parks, toilet paper should not be flushed directly into the bowl (narrow pipes clog easily) - it goes into the bin next to the toilet (watch for the pictograms).
• Public Wi-Fi: The free national iTaiwan network has thousands of hotspots across public buildings, metro stations, libraries and tourist attractions. Foreigners can activate free access by showing their passport at any Travel Service Center counter (e.g. at airports or main train stations), where staff will set it up using the passport number.

Money and payments

The official currency is the New Taiwan Dollar (TWD, written locally as NT$ or 元). Approximate rates as of July 2026:

• 1 TWD = 0.027 EUR (1 EUR = 37.07 TWD)
• 1 TWD = 0.031 USD (1 USD = 32.20 TWD)

Use a Cathay United Bank ATM and pay nothing.

• Most Taiwanese ATMs charge foreign cards a fixed operator fee of 100 to 200 TWD per transaction, and the widespread CTBC Bank network inside 7-Eleven stores typically takes 100 to 150 TWD. Most banks cap a single foreign-card withdrawal at 20,000 NTD.
• Cathay United Bank (CUB) machines, also in most 7-Eleven branches, are among the very few that charge no fee at all on foreign debit or credit cards. Only your home issuing bank may still charge its own.

Always settle in TWD, never in your home currency. When an ATM or store terminal spots a foreign card and offers Dynamic Currency Conversion, accepting it hands the exchange rate to the machine's operator, who adds a hidden 5% to 10% markup over the standard Visa/Mastercard rate.

Exchanging cash is safe here.

• Best rates - official bank counters in the airport arrivals halls, Bank of Taiwan and Mega Bank.
• In the cities - physical bank branches only, Monday to Friday, 09:00–15:30.
• No street booths exist in the country, which removes the counterfeit-note and hidden-fee risk entirely.

Carry cash: daily life still runs on it.

• Cards work at hotels, department stores, international chains and better restaurants.
• Cash only at smaller local eateries, night market stalls, traditional taxis and temples.
• Topping up EasyCard and iPASS takes physical banknotes, at metro machines or convenience-store checkouts. Contactless payment for transit top-ups is not technically supported.

Tipping has no tradition in Taiwan and is not expected from foreigners. Higher-end restaurants and hotels add an automatic 10% service charge to the bill. Leave loose change on a table at an ordinary eatery and staff may well run after you down the street to return the "forgotten" money.

• Solo travelers and budget travelers: The clear choice is the express MRT (Taoyuan) or city metro (Songshan, Kaohsiung). It offers the lowest price, fully predictable travel times, and avoids traffic jams. If a solo traveler lands at Taoyuan Airport at night (00:00–05:30), the best option is the 24-hour Kuo-Kuang bus line 1819 for 140 NTD.
• Families with children and travelers with bulky luggage: An official airport taxi or a pre-booked private transfer (e.g. tripool) is recommended. This removes the need to navigate large transfer hubs (especially Taipei Main Station, which is extremely confusing for newcomers). At Kaohsiung Airport, a taxi is highly cost-effective, since the fare split between 3–4 people is close to the metro fare.
• Night arrivals (after midnight): At Taoyuan Airport, head to the bus ticket counters on the ground floor and take the 24-hour line 1819, or take an official yellow taxi. At Songshan and Kaohsiung airports the metro closes after midnight, so the only legal option is an airport taxi or ride-hailing (Uber).

Buy a smart card first; everything else follows from it. Transit across Taiwan is fully integrated and highly digitalized, and the backbone is the contactless EasyCard (悠遊卡) or iPASS (一卡通). The two work the same way and are interchangeable.

• Where they work - the metro in Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung and Kaohsiung, all city buses, TRA regional rail on ordinary unreserved trains up to 70 km, and the light rail networks.
• Where to buy - metro station counters and vending machines, or any major convenience store (7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life, OK Mart).
• Cost - a fixed one-time 100 NTD for the physical card, non-refundable. A new card starts at zero balance.
• Top up with banknotes only, at station machines or convenience-store checkouts. Paying by card to top up a transit card is not technically possible.
• Why it is worth it - roughly 20% off versus single tokens on the metro, plus discounted metro-to-bus transfers within 60 minutes.

YouBike is the short-hop option, and since 2026 it needs insurance. The citywide bike-share (generation 2.0 and electric 2.0E) needs the YouBike app, a linked EasyCard/iPASS, and an active Taiwanese phone number for the verification SMS.

• Effective 1 January 2026, every user - including one-off unregistered credit-card rentals - must activate mandatory public bicycle injury insurance in the app before unlocking a bike. Without it the system will not release a bike anywhere in Taiwan.

Apps worth downloading:

• Uber - works with a foreign phone number and a foreign payment card. The first choice for talking to drivers with no language barrier.
• Taiwan Taxi (55688) - the official app of the largest national yellow-taxi fleet. Registration needs a Taiwanese phone number, but it gives the fastest pickup outside city centres and supports dozens of payment types.
• LINE GO / yoxi - local ride-hailing platforms. LINE GO is built into the LINE chat app, which most of the population already uses.
• YouBike - for finding available bikes and docks, and for activating the insurance made mandatory on 1 January 2026.

Distance-based eTag tolling on the freeways, and scooters in every gap.

• Freeway tolls are charged per kilometre by gantry through the eTag system; hire cars carry a tag and the charge is settled at the end.
• Scooters occupy the inside lane, the shoulder and the space you were about to use. In cities they also queue in front of cars at traffic lights - that box is theirs, not yours.
• The alcohol limit is 0.03 %, and penalties escalate steeply above it.
• Mountain roads are superb and slow. The Central Cross-Island and the road to Alishan take hours longer than the distance suggests, and typhoon damage closes sections for months.
• Scooter hire usually needs a local licence even where a car does not; an International Driving Permit alone is often refused for anything over 50 cc.

Safety and common scams

Taiwan is rated globally as one of the safest destinations, with an exceptionally low crime rate. Pickpocketing and violent robbery are extremely rare, even at night or in side streets. There is no aggressive tourist-targeted crime or organized gangs preying on foreigners. Still, a few isolated scams can occur:

• Taxi meter scam: While the vast majority of taxi drivers are honest, near major tourist attractions (e.g. around Taipei 101, the Xinyi skyscrapers, or the Grand Hyatt hotel) some dishonest drivers may deliberately not switch on the meter and then demand an inflated flat fee at the destination (e.g. 500 NTD for a ride that normally costs 180 NTD).
• Protection: Before setting off, make sure the driver has switched on the meter. If they claim it's broken and refuse, get out immediately. If a dispute arises, photograph the driver's license (always displayed on the dashboard) and the vehicle's license plate. Simply photographing the license is usually enough to make the driver back down and accept the real fare, since a third reported meter violation results in permanent license revocation in Taiwan. The safest prevention is booking through the Uber app, where the price is fixed in advance.
• False scooter damage claims: When renting a motorbike or scooter, a dishonest rental shop may try to charge the customer high repair fees for scratches that were already on the vehicle before rental.
• Protection: Never leave your original passport as a deposit at a rental shop - this is illegal and exposes the traveler to extortion - always insist on providing a photocopy of your passport instead. Before taking the scooter, photograph and video the entire vehicle in detail in front of a rental-shop employee. Use only licensed, highly rated rental shops.
• Tea house scam: This scam - where foreigners are lured by fake students under the pretext of practicing English or attending a festival into private tea rooms and then hit with an astronomical bill (running into hundreds of USD) - is typical of mainland China (Shanghai, Beijing) but practically does not occur in Taiwan. Even so, caution is advised when strangers on the street offer to accompany you to opaque venues.

Emergency numbers

The tourist hotline is the one worth saving: it handles emergencies, lost documents and interpretation around the clock in English.

• Police: 110

• Fire and ambulance: 119

• Free tourist hotline (Tourism Administration): 0800-011-765 (provides round-the-clock assistance in English, Japanese and Chinese for emergencies, lost documents, or interpretation).

National Health Insurance does not cover non-residents, so care at an international centre is paid in cash, by card or billed to your insurer.

One number that covers the whole trip

Taiwan is an easy country to travel in until something goes wrong in a language you do not read. The Tourist Hotline on 0800-011-765 is the state's answer to that: toll-free, staffed around the clock, and answered in Mandarin, English, Japanese and Korean by operators whose job is visitors specifically.

What people actually use it for:

• Emergencies, as an interpreter between you and the service that turned up.
• Lost documents and lost property - Taiwan has an unusually good record of things being handed in, and the hotline knows which office holds what.
• Transport and accommodation questions at hours when no information desk is open.

It does not replace the emergency numbers

For anything urgent the order is unchanged: 110 for police, 119 for fire and ambulance. Those lines are answered in Chinese, so if you can, have someone nearby speak - a hotel desk, a shop, a passer-by; help is offered readily here.

Then call the hotline. The part of an emergency that goes wrong for a visitor is rarely the ambulance; it is the hour afterwards, in an admissions office, with forms.