Instructions on Submission of Documents for Foreign Nationals to Apply for and Change UI No.
- Date：
- Source：General Planning Section
- Hit：3010
(1) Foreign nationals: Foreigners, nationals without household registration in the Taiwan Area, people of the Mainland Area, and residents of Hong Kong and Macau.
(2) Original-format UI No.: The UI No. issued by the National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior (hereafter referred to as “the NIA”) up to and including January 1, 2021 (two English letters followed by eight digits, hereafter referred to as “Origianl UI No.”).
(3) New-format UI No.: The UI No. issued by the NIA on and after January 2, 2021 (one English letter followed by nine digits, hereafter referred to as “new UI No.”).
(4) First-time application for the new UI No.: Not having applied for a UI No. at any time up to and including January 1, 2021.
(5) Changing R.O.C. UI No. Basic Information Form (hereafter referred to as “BIF”): A change in the information other than UI No. in the BIF of a visiting foreign national (such as a change in Chinese or English name, date of birth, nationality, or passport number).
(6) Simply applying to change to the new UI No.: At the time of applying, the applicant’s period of stay has not expired, the applicant is not at the same time applying for an extension of the period or change of address or name or other information, and is applying only to change to the new UI No.
(7) Simultaneous replacement mechanism: Changing to the new UI No. simultaneously with extension, change of information or reissuance/replacement of certificate.
2. To Whom Applicable:
(1) Visiting foreign nationals: First-time application for the new UI No., changing BIF, or simply applying to change to the new UI No.
(2) Resident foreign nationals: Simply applying to change to the new UI No.
(3) Permanent resident foreign nationals: Simply applying to change to the new UI No.
3. Issuing Authority: NIA Service Centers in all special municipalities, counties and cities.
4. Replacement Method and Required Documents: (Please see Appendix 1 and Appendix 2).
5. Other Matters for Attention:
(1) Regarding the change from original to new UI No.’s, the principle is to adopt a simultaneous replacement mechanism whereby applications are variously processed according to existing rules and applicable fees, and upon an application being approved, the NIA simultaneously assigns a new UI No. to the applicant. Examples are as follows:
a. Example 1: Xiaomei is a person of the Mainland Area whom a transnational corporation has internally transferred to Taiwan. To apply for extension of her Entry & Exit Permit period of stay, she should follow the rules and fee payment set out in the Instructions for Online Applications by People of the Mainland Area to Come to Taiwan to Engage in Business Activities. Upon approval of her application and fulfillment of fee payment, she will simultaneously be assigned a new UI No. in place of her old one.
b. Example 2: Lee is a foreign national residing in Taiwan. To extend her ARC, she should follow the rules and fee payment set out in the Instructions on Submission of Documents by Foreign Nationals Applying for an Alien Resident Certificate, or for Extension or Reissuance Thereof, or for Change of Reason for Residence. Upon approval of her application, she will simultaneously be assigned a new UI No. in place of her old one.
c. Example 3: Lee is a foreign national residing in Taiwan. To proactively change to the new UI No. before the expiration of her ARC, and at the same time change the address recorded on her ARC, she should follow the rules and fee payment set out in How to Apply for Change of Registration of a Foreign National (Migrant Worker). Upon approval of her application, she will simultaneously be assigned a new UI No. in place of her old one.
d. Example 4: Lee is a foreign national residing in Taiwan. To simply apply to change to the new UI No. before the expiration of her ARC, she should follow the document requirements and fees set out in these Instructions.
(2) For those simply applying to change to the new UI No., the original ARC validity period will not be changed.
(3) The original UI No. will stay usable until December 31, 2030, and will cease to be usable as of January 1, 2031.
(4) After an original UI No. is replaced by a new UI No., the original UI No. will be recorded on the back of or in an annotation to the certificate, for provision of comparison.
(5) If you wish to confirm whether a new UI No. has been assigned, you can check this on the “NIA UI No. History Query” webpage.