Border control at Taiwan airports: what happens to travellers and their data

Arriving: the steps at the border

Taiwan started online filing of the Taiwan Arrival Card (TWAC) on 1 October 2025. The Ministry of the Interior says filing is free and no fee is charged under any circumstances. After filing, the traveller gets an email receipt. Officers do not need to see it, as the system pulls the data up when the passport is scanned ³.

The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said in February 2026 that visitors may file the card within three days before arrival ³. A Bureau of Consular Affairs page says within seven days before arrival ¹. The NIA has warned travellers about fraudulent websites that copy the TWAC ⁹.

Under Article 91 of the Immigration Act, the NIA must obtain and keep biometric data from foreign nationals, nationals without household registration in the Taiwan Area, people from the Mainland Area and residents of Hong Kong and Macau when they pass inspection. People under 14 are exempt, along with some others. The NIA may refuse entry to people who do not give biometrics ⁶.

Visa-exempt visitors need a passport valid for at least six months, a confirmed return or onward ticket, and must not be found ineligible by officers. The permitted stay starts the day after arrival and cannot be extended in most cases ¹.

Entry permission: visa exemptions and the Travel Authorization Certificate

The Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists the visa-exempt countries. Nationals of the US, the UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, the Republic of Korea and most EU states can stay up to 90 days. UK and Canadian passport holders can apply to extend to 180 days. Oman nationals get 14 days and can apply for an eVisa for longer stays ¹.

The Philippines, Thailand and Brunei have 14-day exemptions valid until 31 July 2027. Their nationals must show a hotel booking, a host's contact details and enough funds ¹.

The NIA runs an online Travel Authorization Certificate (TAC) for nationals of India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Applicants need a passport valid for six months from arrival and an onward ticket. They must never have worked in Taiwan as a migrant worker and must have no record of immigration violations there ².

Applicants must hold a residence permit or visa from the US, Canada, the UK, an EU or Schengen country, New Zealand, Australia, Japan or Korea. An expired one counts if it lapsed less than 10 years before arrival. A Taiwan visa or resident certificate from the past 10 years qualifies, with exceptions for migrant worker visas. Vietnamese nationals cannot use Japanese or Korean documents ².

An approved TAC is valid for 90 days with multiple entries. Each stay can last 14 days. Holders can enter on a TAC no more than six times in a calendar year. Travellers print the certificate and show it with their supporting documents at entry ².

Only holders of valid regular passports can apply online. Holders of temporary, emergency, official or diplomatic passports cannot. On a first entry with the certificate, the traveller does not need to file the online arrival card. Later entries need one ².

Biometrics and e-Gate

The NIA runs a new generation e-Gate at Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Songshan Airport, Taichung Airport, Kaohsiung International Airport and the Kinmen Shuitou Harbor terminal. Users must be aged 10 or over and at least 120cm tall. Eligible travellers can enrol at the gate itself in as little as 10 seconds, with face only or face and fingerprints. The gate uses moving face recognition ³.

Foreign residents with an Alien Resident Certificate and a multiple re-entry permit can enrol at the gate. The gate asks them to agree to store their face image, and fingerprints are optional. Diplomats and passengers from partner countries enrol at a counter, where officers capture face images and fingerprints. All foreign persons can use e-Gates to leave ⁴.

Partner countries in the reciprocal scheme are the US (Global Entry members only), the Republic of Korea, Australia, Italy, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand. Visitors who are not resident certificate holders must file an online arrival card before each use. People barred from entry or exit by law cannot use the gates ⁴.

For US Global Entry members, the NIA describes e-Gate as a risk-based scheme for pre-approved travellers. Applicants can be refused for false information, criminal convictions, pending charges or customs and immigration violations in any country. They pay by credit card and must complete an interview within 180 days of approval ⁵.

Passenger data: API and booking data

Article 48 of the Immigration Act requires the captain or carrier to notify the NIA in advance of arrivals and departures. The notice covers flight details and a list of crew and passengers with names, dates of birth, nationalities, genders and document numbers. It covers booking information held in the reservation systems of the carrier or its agents. The Ministry of the Interior sets the content, methods, use and retention period by regulation ⁶.

Under Article 49, carriers must report passengers who have no passport or who were deported or refused entry by other countries ⁶. Article 47 bars carriers from carrying passengers without entry permits. Article 82 sets a fine of NT$20,000 to NT$100,000 for each such passenger ⁶.

Watch lists and checks

Article 18 of the Immigration Act lists grounds on which the NIA must refuse entry to a foreign national. They include forged or borrowed passports, false statements, a criminal record in Taiwan or abroad, earlier deportation or refusal, overstaying and being believed to endanger national interests or public security ⁶.

Article 68 lets NIA staff use electronic equipment to recognise biometric data when checking a person's identity ⁶.

Your data: the law and how to ask for records

The Personal Data Protection Act names the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) as its competent authority. The law database lists the Preparatory Office of the PDPC as the body in charge, with amendments dated 11 November 2025 ⁷.

Personal data under the act includes passport numbers, physical characteristics and fingerprints. Data subjects can ask about and review their data, get a copy, correct it, stop its use and have it erased ⁷.

An agency must decide on an access request within 15 days, with one 15-day extension. It must decide on a correction or erasure request within 30 days, with one 30-day extension. An agency can refuse access where national security or the performance of its statutory duties would be harmed ⁷. Agencies must erase data or stop using it when the purpose of collection no longer exists, with exceptions for official duties ⁷.

Who runs the systems

The National Immigration Agency of the Ministry of the Interior runs border inspection, the e-Gates and the TWAC. Officers of its Border Affairs Corps help travellers at the gates ³. BOCA publishes visa rules ¹.

Under the Civil Aviation Act, the Aviation Police Office of the National Police Agency is the security authority of each airport and draws up airport security programmes for approval by the Civil Aviation Administration. The transport ministry writes the national civil aviation security programme ⁸.

Security screening on departure

Article 47-3 of the Civil Aviation Act says passengers and baggage that the Aviation Police Office has not screened may not board or be loaded, with limited exceptions. Crew and their bags are screened too ⁸.

Guns, knives and other items that could endanger flight safety may not be carried on board. The Civil Aviation Administration publishes the list of such items. A passenger who carries them or dangerous goods faces a fine of NT$20,000 to NT$100,000 ⁸.