Guidelines for Online Application for Residence, Extension of Residence, and Registration of Changes for Foreign Students and Overseas Compatriot Students
- Date：
- Source：Residency Section 2
- Hit：408
(I) Articles 22, 23, 23-1, 31, and Subparagraphs 2 and 3 of Article 85 of the Immigration Act (hereinafter referred to as "the Act").
(II) Articles 5, 6, 9, and 12 of Regulations Governing Visiting, Residency, and Permanent Residency of Aliens.
II. Applicable Subjects:
(I) Students permitted to study in the ROC by schools approved by educational administrative agencies at various levels to admit international students.
(II) Overseas compatriot students permitted to study in the ROC by educational administrative agencies at various levels, universities, or overseas joint admission committees formed by universities.
(III) Overseas compatriot students who return to study in the ROC and are distributed by the competent authority of overseas community affairs, then forwarded to various levels of educational administrative agencies for allocation.
(IV) Those who have reached the age of eighteen (18), who were originally granted residency based on the reason of being dependent lineal ascendants, and who are students enrolled in schools approved by educational administrative authorities at all levels to admit foreign students, or overseas students studying in the ROC.
(V) Students who have studied for a minimum of four (4) months at Mandarin teaching institutions affiliated with higher education institutions accredited by the Ministry of Education and continue their registration for more than three (3) months.
(VI) Students originally permitted to reside for the purpose of learning Mandarin, and are permitted to study in the ROC by schools approved by educational administrative agencies at various levels to admit international students.
III. Required Documents:
(I) Joint Documents:
1. Passport.
2. A recent, 2-inch, half-body, uncovered head photo taken within the last two (2) years (following the same specifications as a national ID photo).
(II) Individual Documents:
1. Applicants for residency:
(1) Applicants under Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of the preceding point: Resident visa or visitor visa for the purpose of study, admission permit or proof of enrollment (including student ID), proof of residence address in the ROC. Applicants holding a visitor visa must also provide a health examination certificate issued within the last three (3) months.
(2) Applicants under Subparagraph 3 of the preceding point: Resident visa, visitor visa or Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) of sixty (60) days or more without any restrictions endorsed, admission permit or proof of enrollment (including student ID), proof of residence address in the ROC. Applicants holding a visitor visa must also provide a health examination certificate issued within the last three (3) months.
(3) Applicants under Subparagraphs 4 or 6 of the preceding point: Alien Resident Certificate (ARC), admission permit or proof of enrollment (including student ID).
(4) Applicants under Subparagraph 5 of the preceding point: resident visa or visitor visa for the purpose of studying Mandarin, proof of enrollment and registration (proof of enrollment must indicate completion of at least four (4) months of study and continuous registration for at least three (3) months, with attendance records showing a minimum of fifteen (15) hours of classes per week from Monday to Friday, with absences, including leave hours, not exceeding one-fourth of the total class hours), evidence of residence in the ROC. Applicants holding a visitor visa must also provide a health examination certificate issued within the last three (3) months.
2. Applicants seeking to extend their residence: Alien Resident Certificate, proof of enrollment (including student ID). Applicants applying for the purpose of studying Mandarin shall additionally provide proof of attendance for the most recent semester (with absences, including leave hours, not exceeding one-fourth of the total class hours). The duration of the residence permit shall be issued based on the validity period of the proof of enrollment (not exceeding six (6) months at maximum), with a general principle of a total residence extension period not exceeding two (2) years.
3. Applicants requesting registration of information changes: Alien Resident Certificate (ARC), documentary evidence of the change(s) (depending on the nature of the change), including relevant proofs such as proof of residence address, updated passport, or, in the case of lost or replaced documents, a declaration of loss or a police report.
IV. Application Procedure and Certificate Collection:
(I) Applicants shall register an account and apply for the Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) through “Online Application System for Foreign and Overseas Chinese, Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao, Nationals without registered household in the Taiwan Area Students” of the National Immigration Agency (NIA), accessible via the website: https://coa.immigration.gov.tw/coa-frontend/student/entry (hereinafter referred to as “the online system”).
(II) After completing the online application and uploading relevant documents, applicants shall make the payment within five (5) working days from the approval date, using various methods such as online ATMs, virtual accounts, or e-Bill nationwide payment network.
(III) Method of Collection:
1. Electronic Alien Resident Certificate (ARC): After completing the payment on the online system, applicants can download and print the electronic ARC with a residency validity of six (6) months.
2. Smart-chip Alien Resident Certificate (ARC): Applicants should download and print the online payment receipt from the online system. They can then collect the smart-chip ARC at the designated NIA service center specified at the time of application, three (3) working days after submission (applicants applying for extension must return the old certificate).
V. Fees:
(I) The fee for the Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) is NTD 1,000 per item per year. However, for applicants entering the ROC with a visitor visa, an additional NTD 2,200 is charged. However, applicants applying under the status of overseas compatriot students are subject to a fifty percent (50%) reduction in fees.
(II) For the reissuance of the ARC due to damage, destruction, loss, or for updating personal information such as changes in name (in both Chinese and English), date of birth, gender, photograph, etc., a fee of NTD 500 per item is charged (new document issuance is required).
VI. Processing Time: Five (5) working days. Applicants with incomplete or insufficient documents must rectify the issue within fifteen (15) days from the day of notification. For those who need to apply from overseas, the rectification period is extended to three (3) months. Failure to rectify or incomplete rectification by the deadline will result in the rejection of the application. After rectification, the processing time will be recalculated with a duration of five (5) working days.
VII. Notes:
(I) The required documents must be uploaded to the online system as color images with a file size of no more than 512KB, formatted as JPG, JPEG, PNG, BMP, or PDF. The content must be clear and legible, and the file names should correspond to the type of document. The applicant's photo uploaded must be a color image with excess blank space cropped out to form a file. The face should occupy approximately two-thirds of the image area, and it must be recognizable as the same person as shown in the passport.
(II) Documents produced overseas must be accompanied by a Chinese translation and verified by the overseas mission. If the overseas mission only verifies the document and not the Chinese translation, then the Chinese translation must be notarized by courts (or notary public) in the ROC.
(III) Any ROC national residing in the Taiwan Area with a registered household, who has entered the ROC with a foreign passport and is applying for residency or an extension of residency, shall first apply to a household registration office for household de-registration. Applications from individuals who are either approaching the age of mandatory military service or are already of military service age, but do not possess proof of exemption or residency endorsement in their ROC passport, or who have resided in Taiwan for over a year as overseas compatriot military conscripts, or are subject to mandatory conscription but have not fulfilled their military service obligation, and are subject to travel restrictions, will not be processed.
(IV) Foreign students and overseas Chinese students should apply for residency within thirty (30) days from the day after their entry into the ROC. Failure to apply within the specified period shall result in a fine ranging from NTD 2,000 to NTD 10,000.
(V) When there is a change in the residential address, the applicant must prepare the necessary documents and apply for registration of the change within thirty (30) days from the day after the change occurs. Individuals who fail to apply for registration of changes as required shall be subject to a fine ranging from NTD 2,000 to NTD 10,000.
(VI) For the extension of the Alien Resident Certificate (ARC), it should be applied for within three (3) months before the expiration of the residence period. If the individual overstays their residency period for less than thirty (30) days and the original reason for residency still exists, they may reapply for residency after being penalized according to Paragraph 2 of Article 74-1 of the Act. If the individual overstays their residency period for thirty (30) days or more and has been penalized accordingly, they must reapply for a visa to enter the ROC after departing.
(VII) The health examination certificate must comply with the health check items announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. For examinations conducted domestically, individuals must visit the designated hospitals for health checks on foreigners, as announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. If the examination is conducted overseas, it should be verified by the overseas mission. If the examination items are incomplete, individuals must supplement the unexamined items domestically.
Related File(s)
- 0929 Guidelines for Online Application for Residence, Extension of Residence, and Registration of Changes for Foreign Students and Overseas Compatriot Students pdf