Taiwan Arrival Card for Chinese Citizens

In practice, this mostly concerns residents of Fujian and Shanghai on narrow regional pilot programs, since general tourism from mainland China to Taiwan has been suspended since 2019. This guide covers who can actually travel, what the TWAC asks for, and the mistakes that trip up first-time filers.

Did you know? General tourism from mainland China to Taiwan has been suspended since 2019, with only narrow regional pilot programs allowing residents of specific cities — currently Fujian and Shanghai — to visit Kinmen and Matsu, not the rest of Taiwan. — Taiwan Travel Permit — Wikipedia

This is an independent guide, not an official government website. Below, you'll find everything Chinese citizens need to know about the Online Arrival Card · TWAC, plus how we can help you get it right.

What the Taiwan Arrival Card Is (and What Replaced It)

The Taiwan Arrival Card, or TWAC, is an online form that collects the personal, passport, travel, and accommodation details immigration officers used to gather from paper cards. It's managed directly by Taiwan's National Immigration Agency (NIA), and it's submitted through a single official portal rather than filled out by hand on a clipboard.

For Chinese Citizens, this means one less thing to juggle at the airport. There's no card to find a pen for, no illegible handwriting to worry about, and no risk of losing a paper slip between check-in and immigration. Instead, everything is entered online in advance, and immigration officers can pull up your information the moment they scan your passport.

Is the Taiwan Arrival Card the Same as a Visa?

No, and this is worth stating plainly: the Taiwan Arrival Card is not a visa. It doesn't grant entry, and it doesn't replace whatever visa or visa-exemption status Mainland Chinese passport holders already qualify for.

Think of it as an information form, not a travel authorization. If your nationality requires a visa to enter Taiwan, you'll still need to arrange that separately. If you're eligible for visa-free entry, you'll still need to complete the TWAC on top of that eligibility. Completing the form also doesn't guarantee entry — immigration officers still make the final call at the border, based on your passport, accommodation details, and other standard entry requirements.

Do Chinese Citizens Need a Visa to Enter Taiwan?

This is the one place where Chinese Citizens' experience differs sharply from every other nationality covered in this guide, and it's worth being direct about it: general tourism from mainland China to Taiwan isn't currently possible. Mainland China's government suspended its pilot program for individual travel to Taiwan in 2019 and has not approved mainland tour groups or individual tourists to visit the island since.

There are narrow regional exceptions. Residents of Fujian have been able to apply for an endorsement to visit Matsu since August 2024, and residents of Shanghai gained a similar pathway to Kinmen and Matsu in April 2026, both through qualified travel agencies. Outside those specific routes, a standard mainland Chinese tourist visit to the rest of Taiwan is not currently available, regardless of visa or permit paperwork.

If you're a mainland Chinese resident who qualifies under one of these narrow pilot programs, or you're entering through an eligible third-country or Hong Kong/Macao residency pathway, you'll still need a Taiwan Travel Permit and Entry Permit with the relevant endorsement — and the Taiwan Arrival Card is still required on top of that, the same as for every other entrant. Given how often cross-strait travel policy shifts, it's worth confirming the current status directly with a qualified travel agency or official source close to your travel date rather than relying on older guides.

Who Must Complete It: Chinese Citizens and Exemptions

Most Chinese Citizens entering Taiwan will need to submit the Taiwan Arrival Card. The requirement generally applies to:

• Foreign nationals entering with a visitor visa
• Foreign nationals entering under Taiwan's visa-exemption program
• Hong Kong and Macao residents with a multiple-entry permit
• Mainland Chinese residents with a multiple-entry tourist permit
• Nationals without Taiwan household registration who don't hold a Resident Certificate

Visa-free travel doesn't cancel out this requirement — plenty of visa-exempt travelers, including many Chinese Citizens, still need to submit the form.

That said, a few groups are typically exempt, including:

• Taiwanese nationals with full household registration
• Holders of a valid Alien Resident Certificate (ARC)
• Holders of a Resident Visa
• Holders of a Diplomatic Identification Card
• Passengers in direct transit who never pass through immigration control

If you're unsure which category applies to you, it's worth double-checking against the official site before you travel, since entry categories can shift.

When to Submit the Taiwan Arrival Card

Submit your Taiwan Arrival Card within 7 days of your scheduled arrival in Taiwan. This window was extended from the original 3-day rule, so if you've seen older guidance mentioning 3 days, know that it's since been updated.

A practical approach: submit it once your flight and accommodation details are confirmed, rather than the moment you book your trip. That way, you're not stuck editing every field if plans shift. And don't leave it until you're standing at the gate — while airport kiosks exist as a backup, submitting ahead of time is far less stressful.

What Information Chinese Citizens Need to Have Ready

Before you sit down to fill out the form, gather the following:

• Passport details: full name exactly as it appears on your passport, date of birth, nationality, passport number, and expiry date
• Contact information: a valid email address and phone number
• Travel details: flight number, airline, arrival date, port of entry, and intended departure date
• Purpose of visit: tourism, business, visiting relatives, and so on
• Accommodation in Taiwan: the full hotel name and address, or your host's name, address, and phone number
• Visa details, if applicable: your visa number and expiry date (visa-exempt travelers can skip this)

If you're visiting relatives, you'll also need their full name and a Taiwanese mobile number. Having all of this on hand before you start will make the process quick — most travelers finish in around five to ten minutes.

How to Submit the Taiwan Arrival Card Step by Step

1. Go to the official portal at twac.immigration.gov.tw.
2. Select your language. The form supports seven languages, including English.
3. Start your submission and, if you like, upload a photo of your passport's data page to auto-fill some fields.
4. Enter your personal and passport details, making sure your name matches your passport exactly.
5. Add your travel details: flight number, arrival date, port of entry, and purpose of visit.
6. Enter your accommodation information in Taiwan.
7. Review everything carefully. Small errors, like a mistyped passport number or a nickname instead of your legal name, are among the most common mistakes travelers make.
8. Submit the form. You'll receive a confirmation email shortly after.

Keep that confirmation email accessible during your trip. You likely won't need to show it at immigration, since your passport scan will pull up your TWAC record automatically, but it's a useful backup if there's ever a lookup issue.

Traveling as a Family or Group (Multiple Travelers per Submission)

If you're traveling with family or as part of a tour group, you don't need to fill out a separate form on separate devices for everyone. One person can submit the Taiwan Arrival Card on behalf of up to 16 travelers in a single session.

Each traveler's own passport and travel details still need to be entered accurately within that shared submission, so have everyone's passports on hand before you start. This makes the process considerably faster for families and larger groups heading to Taiwan together.

Beware of Unofficial "Taiwan Arrival Card" Websites

Here's something worth taking seriously: the Taiwan Arrival Card is completely free on the official government portal, twac.immigration.gov.tw. Some unofficial, look-alike websites have attempted to charge travelers a fee to "process" the same form, and Taiwan's National Immigration Agency has issued a direct warning about this exact scam.

Before you enter any personal or passport information online, check that the URL ends in .gov.tw. If a site asks for payment to submit a standard arrival form, close the tab. There's no legitimate reason to pay for something the government provides at no cost.

What Happens at Immigration After You Submit

Once you've submitted your Taiwan Arrival Card and arrive in Taiwan, the process at immigration is straightforward. An officer scans your passport, and your TWAC information is automatically retrieved from the system. You typically won't need to present a printed form or a confirmation email unless there's a specific issue.

You should still be prepared to show your passport, and possibly your return or onward ticket, proof of accommodation, or proof of sufficient funds, depending on the officer's discretion. The Taiwan Arrival Card streamlines the paperwork, but the standard entry checks still apply.

Common Mistakes Chinese Citizens Make

• Entering a nickname instead of your legal name. Your TWAC details need to match your passport exactly.
• Submitting the form before your travel details are finalized. A flight or accommodation change after submission means going back to edit it.
• Assuming visa-free entry means no TWAC is needed. It doesn't — the Arrival Card applies to most visa-exempt travelers too.
• Paying a third-party website to "process" the form. The TWAC is free on the official .gov.tw portal — any site charging a fee is not official.
• Assuming general tourism to Taiwan is currently open to mainland Chinese residents. It isn't — outside the narrow Fujian/Shanghai-to-Kinmen/Matsu pilot programs, mainland Chinese tour groups and individual tourists have not been approved to visit Taiwan since 2019.
• Filling out a separate form per traveler when one submission would do. One person can submit for up to 16 travelers in a single session.

How TravelDeclaration.com Can Help Chinese Citizens

You're always welcome to complete the Online Arrival Card · TWAC yourself directly through the official channel. Where we come in is everything around the process: reviewing your entries for the mistakes covered above, coordinating multiple passports and travelers in one household, and making sure nothing gets missed before you're standing at the gate.

We know there are other assisted-filing services out there — what we're focused on is being the most accurate and transparent one, not the only one.

More Taiwan Arrival Card Guides by Nationality

• Taiwan Arrival Card for Hong Kong Residents
• Taiwan Arrival Card for Japanese Citizens
• Taiwan Arrival Card for Malaysian Citizens
• Taiwan Arrival Card for South Korean Citizens
• Taiwan Arrival Card for US Citizens

FAQ for Chinese Citizens

Sources & Further Reading

• Taiwan Travel Permit — Wikipedia