After a period of relative ease in international travel, countries are becoming increasingly restrictive and adding new entry requirements that make going abroad more complicated, as well as more expensive, in some cases.
From imposing visas on Americans to travel abroad, to the much-dreaded Electronic Travel Authorizations, it’s like we’re living through the chaos of ever-changing entry rules all over again.
To make things easier for you as a U.S. passport holder, we’ve launched the new TOP Entry Checker, where you can verify the latest requirements at your destination, including for Taiwan, one of the most popular destinations in Asia right now.
Unsurprisingly, Taiwan is jumping on the bandwagon and updating its border policy real soon, and as part of the shakeup, a mandatory digital entry form is in the cards:
Taiwan Updates Border Rules For Tourists
After Malaysia introduced its MDAC, Thailand followed suit with their TDAC, and even typically lax Cambodia rolled out an e-Arrival form, it’s Taiwan’s turn to bring in a digital arrival card.
Following an Asia-wide trend, the Taiwan National Immigration Agency (NIA) announced that, starting October 1, 2025, tourists visiting the island nation will be required to complete an online Taiwan Arrival Card (TWAC).
Now, this isn’t exactly new for Taiwan: If you’ve ever been to the Asian hotspot before, you know foreigners have always been required to fill out a paper form when landing.
Usually, it involves giving your passport details, ticking a few boxes here and there, and informing authorities of your intended place of residence while in Taiwan and travel plans.
Starting in the fall, this all goes digital. The difference here is, while the paper form could be completed on arrival, the new TWAC can now be submitted before you set foot in Taiwan.
This applies to tourists, business travelers, and all other short-term visitors who do not hold a residence permit for Taiwan.
How To Submit Your Information Safely
The TWAC will be available via Taiwan’s official web portal for immigration affairs, at twac.immigration.gov.tw.
It’s already functional, and if you haven’t brushed up on your Chinese in a while, you can apply in English (as well as Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indonesian).
As the National Immigration Agency (NIA) has reported, the revamped TWAC has been ‘upgraded with a more intuitive, user-friendly, and efficient interface‘.
If you’ve ever applied for e-Visas, or attempted to complete digital entry forms traveling around Asia, you know how complicated those websites can be to navigate. Well, Taiwan is aiming to make it simple, and very straightforward.
Once you access the portal, and the form itself, all you need to do is fill in the blanks as indicated:
- Passport number
- Fight number or ship details
- Arrival date
- Address and contact details during your stay
- Reason for travel
When traveling as a group, you can also register up to 16 people in a single entry form, and if you need to effect any changes, don’t worry: the TWAC may be mandatory, but it isn’t a paid requirement (as of yet), so you can simply resubmit the information again.
How To Use Your Taiwan Entry Form
Every submitted form will result in a QR code being issued. Save it to your files, or take a screenshot, as you will need it when checking in for your flight, or arriving at the airprot.
Lastly, Taiwanese officials advise travelers to complete the form ‘within three days of their planned departure’.
If you choose not to complete the form in advance, you will still be able to do so arriving in Taiwan, though it will cause an unnecessary delay at the border, as you will not be able to enter the country without presenting a valid QR code.
Nevertheless, there will be staff readily available to assist tourists who aren’t faithful Travel Off Path readers.
Once again, the best way to keep up to date with the various changing regulations, and avoid unpleasant surprises at the airport is… you guessed it: keeping an eye on the TOP Entry Requirement Checker.
Vinicius Costa
Vini, our senior lead writer at Travel Off Path, has over 60+ countries under his belt (and currently weaving tales from Paris!), and a knack for turning off-the-beaten-path experiences into informative stories that will have you packing your bags.
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