Guidelines for Online Application for Residence, Extension of Residence, and Change of Residence Reasons for Overseas Compatriot Student(s) Nationals without Registered Permanent Residence in the Taiwan Area
- Date：
- Source：Residency Section 2
- Hit：481
(I) Subparagraph 12 of Paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 9, Article 15, Paragraph 2 of Article 74-1, and Subparagraph 3 of Article 85 of the Immigration Act (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”).
(II) Articles 12, 16, 17, and 19 of the Regulations Governing the Stay, Residence, and Registered Permanent Residence Permits for Nationals without Registered Permanent Residence in the Taiwan Area.
II. Required Documents:
Documents produced overseas must be authenticated by the embassy, consulate, or office (hereinafter referred to as the overseas mission); those produced domestically by foreign embassies or their authorized representative agencies in the ROC must be further authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If the documents are in a foreign language, the NIA may request the applicant to provide a Chinese translation verified by the overseas mission or notarized by a domestic notary public.
(I) Residence:
1. Application Form.
2. A recent, color, uncovered head photo taken within the last two (2) years (following the same specifications as a national ID photo).
3. Proof of residence or domicile (referring to the passport of the country of residence). However, for those who have not obtained citizenship in the country of residence, proof of permanent residency or long-term residency in the country of residence is required.
4. The ROC passport or documentation certifying ROC nationality, such as a nationality certificate, Overseas Chinese identity certificate (excluding documents certifying Chinese ethnicity issued by the Overseas Community Affairs Council).
5. A nationwide criminal record certificate from the country of residence or domicile, valid for one (1) year from the date of issue (e.g., for individuals residing in the United States, a nationwide criminal record certificate issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation should be provided); individuals under the age of eighteen (18) are exempted (the determination of being under the age of eighteen (18) is based on the application date for residency).
6. Health examination certificate issued within the last three (3) months.
7. For individuals born in mainland China, in addition to providing supporting documents according to Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 7 of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, one of the following documents should be submitted:
(1) The original certificate verified by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) proving that the individual is not registered in mainland China.
(2) The original certificate of cancellation of mainland China household registration verified by the SEF.
(3) The document certifying the loss of mainland China citizenship, verified by the overseas mission.
(4) Other documents sufficient to prove the loss of mainland China citizenship.
8. Notification of overseas joint admissions or official documents certified by the Ministry of Education for self-enrollment.
(II) Extension of Residence or Change of Residence:
1. Application Form.
2. A recent, color, uncovered head photo taken within the last two (2) years (following the same specifications as a national ID photo).
3. Original Resident Certificate.
4. Certificate of enrollment or student ID.
5. Other supporting documents (e.g., lease agreement).
III. Application Method:
Applicants may apply through one of the following methods before the expiration of their permitted stay or within three (3) months before the expiration of their residence permit:
(I) Application by the School: Applicants may authorize their school to apply on their behalf. Please use your account or certificate to access the “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/ (hereinafter referred to as “the online system”).
(II) Application by Applicant: For applicants submitting their own applications, they must log into the online system and enter the academic year, passport number, English name, and date of birth in the specified fields within the personal application section. Upon verification of the accuracy of the overseas student data imported by the school, the applicant can then proceed to apply for the residence permit for overseas students through the online system.
IV. Fees and Method of Collection:
(I) Fees:
1. Residence: NTD 500.
2. Extension of Residence or Change of Residence: NTD 300.
(II) Method of Collection:
1. For residence permits, applicants are required to submit the fees within five (5) working days upon approval through methods such as credit card, online ATM, virtual account, Taiwan-issued credit card, or e-Bill national payment network. Once the processing of the permit is completed by the NIA, the applicant will be notified via email to bring their personal identification documents and payment receipts to the service stations of the administrative corps under the respective municipal or county governments for permit collection.
2. For extension of residence or change of registration, after completing the required information and uploading relevant documents on the online system, overseas students should submit the fees within five (5) working days upon approval through methods such as credit card, online ATM, virtual account, Taiwan-issued credit card, or e-Bill national payment network. Upon completion of the permit processing by the NIA, the school or the overseas student will be notified via email to bring their personal identification documents and payment receipts to the service stations for permit collection.
V. Processing Time: Five (5) working days.
VI. 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, or BMP. 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) In case of discrepancies or deficiencies in the uploaded documents, applicants are required to rectify them within fifteen (15) days from the day following the notification. For applicants requiring overseas submission of application materials, the period for rectification is 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.
(III) The validity period of the Resident Certificate is determined based on the duration of the applicant's study, with a maximum period not exceeding three (3) years. If the original reason for applying for residency still exists before the expiration of the residency period, an extension may be applied for, with a maximum duration not exceeding three (3) years and not exceeding the following academic year's limit. For those who have reached the academic years limit, each extension of the residency period shall not exceed six (6) months:
1. Completion of five (5) years in a doctoral program.
2. Completion of three (3) years in a master's program.
3. Completion of four (4) years in a bachelor's program (excluding two-year programs). However, if the duration of study is extended by law due to the nature of the department, college, or program according to the law, the extension of residency shall be granted after the completion of the extended study period.
4. Completion of a two-year bachelor's program or a two-year associate degree program is required after two (2) years of study.
(IV) In case of a change in residential address or educational institution, the individual shall prepare the necessary documents for registration within thirty (30) days from the date the change occurs. Failure to comply shall result in a fine ranging from NTD 200 to 10,000.
(V) According to Paragraph 2 of Article 15 of the Immigration Act, if an overseas student overstays for less than thirty (30) days and the original reason for residence still exists, they may reapply for residency after being penalized in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Article 74-1 of the Immigration Act. However, if an overseas student overstays for thirty (30) days or more, they shall depart the ROC after being penalized and may reapply for residency only after re-entering the ROC.
(VI) Inquiries:
1. For inquiries related to the use of the online system, please contact the Customer Service hotline of the Immigration Information Division at 02-2796-7162 (service hours are from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM, Monday to Friday), or utilize the email address CSservice@immigration.gov.tw for online consultation. Customer service representatives will respond during office hours.
2. For application-related inquiries, please contact the service station in the location of the school (service hours: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM), or refer to the Immigration Agency website for relevant information (website: http://www.immigration.gov.tw).
Related File(s)
- 0315 Guidelines for Online Application for Residence, Extension of Residence, and Change of Residence Reasons for Overseas Compatriot Student(s) Nationals without..... pdf