Taiwan Arrival Card: How to Fill Out the TWAC Online

Do you need a Taiwan Arrival Card? If you are flying in as a foreign visitor, yes. That includes US citizens, even though you don't need a visa for Taiwan. The only people who can skip it are those living in Taiwan with an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC), a resident visa, or a diplomatic ID card.

It is free, it takes about five minutes, and you can do it up to 7 days before you land. In this guide, I will walk you through who needs the Taiwan Arrival Card, when to submit it, how to fill it out, and what happens if it slips your mind.

What Is the Taiwan Arrival Card (TWAC)?

The TWAC is basically the old paper arrival card moved online. Taiwan's National Immigration Agency (NIA) runs it, and the paper version was retired for good on October 1, 2025.

You fill in your passport details, your flight, and where you are staying. That information gets attached to your passport, which is why the officer at the counter won't ask to see anything. They scan your passport, and your TWAC shows up on their screen. No printout, no digging through your inbox for a confirmation email.

Note: It is not a visa. If your nationality needs a visa for Taiwan, the TWAC won't replace it.

Do You Need a Taiwan Arrival Card as a US Citizen?

Yes. US passport holders get 90 days visa-free in Taiwan, but that has nothing to do with the arrival card. A lot of travelers mix these two up.

The NIA's rule is pretty blunt: without a submitted TWAC, they can't process your entry. Tourists don't get a pass on this one.

Who Is Exempt From the Taiwan Arrival Card?

A few groups don't have to fill it out. And one group that many people assume is exempt actually isn't.

Residents and Diplomats

If you have an ARC, a Taiwan resident visa, or a diplomatic ID card, you can skip the TWAC. The same goes for Taiwan nationals with household registration.

Transit Passengers

This one comes down to whether you leave the airport. The TWAC is part of immigration clearance, so if you are connecting at Taoyuan and staying in the transit area, you are not technically entering Taiwan. Planning to head into Taipei during a long layover? Then you will pass through immigration, and you will need one.

Global Entry and e-Gate Members

This is the group that gets caught out. US citizens with Global Entry can enroll in Taiwan's e-Gate, but that does not replace the arrival card. According to the NIA's e-Gate FAQ, members still have to submit a TWAC for every single visit. Skip it, and you will be sent to the regular counter.

Taiwan Arrival Card: Who Needs It vs. Who Doesn't

When Should You Submit the Taiwan Arrival Card?

Any time within 7 days of your arrival, whether you come by plane or cruise ship. Technically, you can even do it right before you reach the immigration counter, though I wouldn't leave it that late.

The window was only 3 days until July 2026, when the NIA stretched it to a full week. That is why you will still see "72 hours" in older blog posts and even on a few older government pages. Seven days is the current rule.

Tip: If you have a connection or a cruise with several stops, I recommend submitting it before your first leg, while you are still on reliable Wi-Fi at home.

How to Fill Out the Taiwan Arrival Card Online?

Budget 5 to 10 minutes. It works on a phone or a laptop, and you can fill it out in English or Chinese (each field also has short explanations in seven languages).

Before you start, grab your passport, your flight number and arrival date, your hotel address in Taiwan, and an email inbox you can check right away.

• Step 1: Type twac.immigration.gov.tw into your browser yourself (more on why below) and click "Submit Arrival Card."
• Step 2: Enter your email. A verification code gets sent to your inbox, so keep it open.
• Step 3: Fill in your passport details. The fastest way is to upload a photo of your passport's photo page and let the system fill in the fields for you. Check the passport number anyway, since that is what links your record.
• Step 4: Add your trip details: flight number, arrival date, why you are visiting, and your address in Taiwan.
• Step 5: Look everything over once more, then submit.
• Step 6: A confirmation email lands in your inbox. Save it if you like, but nobody at immigration will ask for it.

Filling Out the TWAC for Family or Group Travel

One person can submit for the whole group, up to 16 travelers in total. If you are the trip planner in your family, that is probably you. Just collect everyone's passport info before you sit down to do it.

How to Update or Correct Your Taiwan Arrival Card?

You can edit your TWAC online as many times as you need until you go through immigration.

Head to the official site and pick the update option. It will ask for your arrival card number (you will find it in the confirmation email), your date of birth, your passport number, and your nationality.

Most people update theirs because a flight got rescheduled, they switched hotels, or they spotted a typo in their passport number.

Important Note: Renewed your passport after submitting? Update the TWAC with the new number. Officers find your record by scanning your passport, so an old number won't match.

What Happens If You Forget to Submit the Taiwan Arrival Card?

Officially, no TWAC means no entry processing. In practice, though, you can still submit it at the airport, so forgetting it is more of a hassle than a trip-ruiner.

• At your departure airport: Airlines have TWAC QR codes posted at their check-in counters, so you can scan one and fill it out before boarding.
• After you land in Taiwan: There are QR codes at Taiwan's airports and seaports too, and immigration officers will help if you get stuck.

The catch is that you will be doing it in a crowded arrival hall, probably on spotty airport Wi-Fi. And if you are an e-Gate member, you lose the fast lane and end up in the manual line with everyone else.

Taiwan Entry Requirements for US Citizens

The arrival card is just one piece. Here is the rest of what US citizens need for a visa-free visit of up to 90 days.

Taiwan's Bureau of Consular Affairs only requires a US passport to be valid for the length of your stay. Most other visa-exempt nationalities need six months of validity, but US citizens get an exception. However, your airline might still apply its own six-month rule at check-in, so if your passport is close to expiring, call them before you fly.

You will also need a confirmed return ticket (or an onward ticket plus any visa for your next stop) and a confirmed seat on your departure flight.

Tip: Those 90 days can't be extended. Only Canadian and UK passport holders get that option, so book your flight home inside the window.

How to Avoid Fake Taiwan Arrival Card Websites?

The real TWAC costs nothing, and the only official site is twac.immigration.gov.tw. If a site wants a processing fee close the tab right away. There are no ifs, ands, or buts here.

Copycat sites do show up in search results, and some charge for a form that is free. In December 2025, Taiwanese media reported that a Japanese traveler paid $50 after scanning a QR code at a Taiwan airport. The NIA checked all of its airport and port QR codes after that and didn't find a single fake one. Still, the simplest way to stay safe is to type the address in yourself.

Tip: Taiwan's airports and ports don't put up TWAC banners at all, for security reasons. So if you see a banner with a QR code on it, it is not official. Use the website or the code at your airline's check-in counter instead.