Things to Know Before Moving to Taiwan: A Pre-Departure Checklist
By Raytio Ray
What to sort out before moving to Taiwan: a 3-month, 1-month and 1-week checklist for documents, medicine rules, the arrival card, phones and health cover.
Before moving to Taiwan: the hard stuff happens before you fly
Moving to Taiwan is easier than most people expect, as long as you handle a few things before moving to Taiwan. Taipei is safe, transit is excellent, and you can buy almost anything once you land. The things that actually go wrong are almost all paperwork you could only have done at home: a degree that wasn't authenticated, a medicine that gets stopped at customs, a phone that won't take a local SIM.
This is the checklist we wish every newcomer had. It links to our detailed guides on packing, money, visas and your first two weeks, and focuses on the things those guides don't cover.
Photo: Wei-Te Wong via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
3 months before: documents you can't fix later
Get your visa route clear first. Everything else hangs on whether you're coming on a resident visa, a Gold Card, a student visa or visa-free. Our guide from visa to ARC walks through the path. Your ARC (Alien Resident Certificate) is the card that unlocks banking, phone plans and health insurance, so plan around getting it fast.
Authenticate your documents at home. Taiwan is not part of the Apostille Convention, so an apostille alone usually isn't enough. Documents generally need to be notarized or certified in the country that issued them, then authenticated by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) that covers that country. The exact steps vary by country, so check your local TECO's authentication page. The documents people most often regret not doing:
- University degree. Commonly required for work permits, and almost always for teaching jobs.
- Criminal background check. Standard for English teachers and some other roles. It often has to be recent, so time it with your employer.
- Marriage and birth certificates. Needed if a spouse or children will apply for residence based on your status.
- Transcripts, if you might study or apply for a degree-based permit later.
Doing this from Taipei means couriering papers back home and waiting weeks. Do it now, and bring the authenticated originals plus scans.
Book a health check and sort your prescriptions. Ask your doctor for a written prescription or letter in English listing your medicines by generic name. More on why below.
If you're bringing a pet, start now. The import process takes months. See bringing a pet to Taiwan.
Pick your arrival month on purpose. Typhoon season runs roughly July to October, and May to June is the plum rain season. Landing in a typhoon week means cancelled flights and a closed city for a day or two. If you have a choice, we like October to November or March to April: milder weather and easier apartment viewing. Our guide to the best time of year to rent in Taipei covers the rental side.
1 month before: money, phone, driving, health cover
Medicine: know the actual limits. According to Taiwan's food and drug authorities, travelers may bring:
- Over-the-counter medicine: up to 12 units (bottles, boxes, tubes) per type, 36 in total.
- Prescription medicine without paperwork: up to a 2-month personal supply.
- Prescription medicine with a doctor's prescription: the quantity on the prescription, up to a 6-month supply.
- Controlled drugs (for example sleeping pills like zolpidem): a doctor's diagnosis letter plus prescription, carried on your person, no more than 6 months' worth. You can't mail them to yourself later.
Some stimulant ADHD medicines that are legal at home are treated as illegal drugs in Taiwan. If you take one, check with the Taiwan FDA before packing, not at the airport. Fines for breaking the medicine rules start at NT$30,000.
Plan for the health insurance gap. Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) is excellent, but timing matters. If you arrive with a job and a work permit, your employer enrolls you from your first day of work. If you're coming as a student, a dependent, a freelancer or a job seeker, you generally wait 6 months of residence after getting your ARC before you can join. Buy private travel or expat insurance that covers those first months. Doctor visits are cheap even without insurance; a hospital stay is not. Details are in our NHI for foreigners guide.
Accept that local banking waits for your ARC. Most Taiwanese banks want an ARC before they open an account, and a lot of local apps and payments need that account or a local phone number. Before you leave, make sure you have a card with no foreign transaction fees, and enough accessible funds for a deposit plus two months of rent. Our money before you arrive guide covers cash, ATMs and transfers.
Unlock your phone. A carrier-locked phone will not take a Taiwanese SIM. Call your carrier and confirm it's unlocked, and check whether it supports eSIM.
eSIM vs local SIM: our pick is both, in that order. Buy a travel eSIM before you fly so you have data the moment you land. Then get a local SIM or plan with a Taiwanese number (Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile or FarEasTone), because bank verification, delivery apps and landlords all want a local number. Carriers usually ask for your passport plus a second photo ID for prepaid SIMs, so pack your driver's license. After you get your ARC, you can switch to a cheaper monthly plan. See opening a bank account and getting a phone plan.
Driving: decide if you even need to. In Taipei, most people don't. If you will drive, get an International Driving Permit at home. It covers your first 30 days in Taiwan. After that, if your country has a reciprocity agreement with Taiwan, you register it at a Motor Vehicles Office to keep driving. More in driving and scooters as a foreigner.
Book your first two weeks of accommodation. Don't sign a lease from abroad. Book a short stay near the MRT and view apartments in person. Our guide to where to stay your first two weeks compares the options, and best area to live in Taipei helps you pick the neighborhood.
1 week before: apps, arrival card, the last details
Install these apps while you still have your home app store and Wi-Fi:
- Google Maps: works well in Taiwan, including MRT and bus routes. Use it.
- LINE: Taiwan's main messaging app. Landlords, agents, clinics and even your building manager will use it.
- Taipei Metro Go: the official Taipei MRT app, with real-time train info and exit maps.
- Bus+: live bus arrival times across Taiwan.
- Uber and 55688 (Taiwan Taxi): Uber works with a foreign card; 55688 is the biggest taxi company's app.
- Uber Eats and foodpanda: the two food delivery apps. Both may ask for a local phone number.
- A translation app with camera mode, such as Google Translate. You'll use it on menus and letters daily.
Fill in the online arrival card. Since 1 October 2025, Taiwan's paper arrival cards are gone. If you're entering visa-free or on a visitor visa, you must complete the Taiwan Arrival Card online at twac.immigration.gov.tw within 3 days before you land. It's free; ignore any site that charges a fee. If you hold a resident visa, check the site before you fly, since the National Immigration Agency's list of who must file names visitors and visa-free travelers.
Empty your bag of meat. This is the one people get caught on. Bringing pork or any meat product into Taiwan, including the ham sandwich from your flight, can mean a NT$200,000 fine on the first offense. Foreigners who can't pay on the spot have been refused entry. Bin it before customs.
Pack the right plugs. Taiwan uses 110V with Type A and B flat-pin sockets. Our packing guide covers what to bring and what to buy after you land.
Save your first address in Chinese. Taxi drivers and delivery riders may not read English. Screenshot it.
Plan the airport trip. Taoyuan Airport is roughly 40 minutes to an hour from central Taipei. Our guide to Taoyuan Airport to Taipei compares the MRT, buses, taxis and pickups. If you're landing with a lot of luggage, with family, or late at night, our airport transfer service can meet you at arrivals at Taoyuan or Songshan and take you straight to your first address, so the address-in-Chinese problem is solved before you even reach a taxi rank.
Photo: 4300streetcar via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
What not to worry about
- Safety. Taipei is one of the safest big cities you can move to. See is Taipei safe for foreigners.
- Not speaking Chinese. It helps, but the MRT, Google Maps and big chains all work in English. You'll get by.
- Buying household stuff. Bedding, kitchenware and fans are cheap at IKEA, Carrefour, PX Mart and local shops. Don't ship them.
- Cash running out. Convenience store ATMs are everywhere and most take foreign cards.
- Costs. Rent is the big number; food and transit are cheap. Our cost of living guide helps you build a budget.
The short version
Three months out: visa route, authenticated documents, prescriptions, pet paperwork, pick your month. One month out: health cover for the NHI gap, a no-fee card, an unlocked phone, a short-term stay. One week out: apps, the online arrival card, no meat in your bag. Then land, check your first 72 hours checklist, and start viewing apartments.
If you'd like help with the apartment search once you land, see our services.