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Taiwan entry rules: visas, arrival card, meat, vapes and medicines

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Find your passport below, file the free online arrival card before you land, and leave meat and vapes at home. Undeclared pork costs NT$200,000; a vape up to NT$5 million.

Where’s your passport from?

  • Australia, New Zealand, the US or an EU country: no visa needed for up to 90 days.
  • The UK (British Citizen) or Canada: no visa needed for 90 days, extendable to 180.
  • The Philippines or Thailand: no visa needed for 14 days, on a trial until 31 July 2027. Bring a hotel booking or host details, and proof you can fund the stay.
  • India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar or Laos: apply for a free Travel Authorization Certificate if you hold a qualifying visa; otherwise, get a visa.
  • Anywhere else: check the Bureau of Consular Affairs list (opens in a new tab).

What every visitor must do

  1. Check your passport is valid for six months from arrival, and book a return or onward ticket.Bureau of Consular Affairs (opens in a new tab)boca.gov.tw
  2. File the arrival card at twac.immigration.gov.tw (opens in a new tab), up to seven days before arrival.National Immigration Agency, July 2026 (opens in a new tab)immigration.gov.tw It’s free and required for all foreign visitors.National Immigration Agency (opens in a new tab)immigration.gov.tw One person can file for up to 16 travellers.
  3. Leave meat, meat snacks and vapes at home.

If it doesn’t go to plan

  • Forgot the arrival card? Airline check-in counters have a QR code to file it on the spot.
  • No onward ticket yet? Book a refundable one: visa-free entry needs a confirmed return or onward ticket.
  • Over a medicine limit? Apply for a TFDA import permit before you fly.TFDA (opens in a new tab)fda.gov.tw

If you’re from India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar or Laos

Apply online for a Travel Authorization Certificate. It’s free and valid for 90 days, with multiple entries.National Immigration Agency (opens in a new tab)niaspeedy.immigration.gov.tw Each stay is limited to 30 days, counted from the day after you arrive.Bureau of Consular Affairs (opens in a new tab)boca.gov.tw

  • You need a current visa or residence permit, or one that expired less than 10 years ago, from Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, a Schengen country, the UK or the US.Bureau of Consular Affairs (opens in a new tab)boca.gov.tw Vietnamese applicants can’t use Japanese or Korean visas.
  • You can’t apply if you’ve worked in Taiwan as a blue-collar worker.
  • Cambodians are no longer eligible, since 1 August 2026.Focus Taiwan, July 2026 (opens in a new tab)focustaiwan.tw

If you take medicine

Pack it in its original labelled boxes, with your prescription. Limits from Taipei Customs (opens in a new tab):

  • Over-the-counter: up to 12 packs of each kind, 36 in total.
  • Prescription medicine: up to six months’ supply with a prescription, two months’ without.
  • Injectables, such as insulin or weight-loss pens, need a prescription.
  • Controlled drugs (some ADHD, sleeping and pain medicines): apply to Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration at least two weeks ahead. Send a doctor’s certificate, a passport copy and the drug labels by post; it takes about seven working days.TFDA (opens in a new tab)fda.gov.tw
  • More than these limits needs a TFDA import permit.

If you smoke or vape

If you’re bringing food

  • Leave all meat at home, including processed and vacuum-packed meat.Customs Administration (opens in a new tab)web.customs.gov.tw
  • Pork from African swine fever areas: NT$200,000 fine for a first offence, whatever your nationality. Foreigners who can’t pay at the airport are sent home.
  • Other undeclared meat: NT$10,000 to NT$1 million.
  • Declare fruit and vegetables for inspection, up to 6 kg in total.Taipei Customs (opens in a new tab)web.customs.gov.tw
  • Not sure? Declare it at the red channel, or bin it before immigration.