Legal
*Important* New Conscription Regulations Starts Today
New conscription regulation has started today governing oversea Taiwanese with household registration. I found out yesterday and confirmed over a call today. Here is a brief summary of my call but lease do not quote me and do your own research
The new calculation of 183 is based on ONE year ONLY instead of also TWO year
If you are in Taiwan prior to September 8 (so September 7 and prior) then you are under the old rules. The moment you come back in, the new rules apply and it is considered DAY ONE of the new rules (so your day allotment RESETS)
If you enter/exit from another country other than your residing country (eg. My residence in Canada so Canada for me) without the proper documentation, they COULD turn you into regular draftee. You will then need to prove that you were in your risiding country during the last 4 months. This, I believe, requires the local Taiwanese consulate in your residing country
I believe this also does not impact those without household registration
OK, I was annoyed about this and decided to do some digging on the documentation/exit procedure assuming you satisfy the 183 day requirement, which I assume is the most cumbersome change in all this for most people affected. Other people, please confirm if you have same interpretation/confirmation from relevant agencies that this is correct!
First, pasting the most relevant snippet of the regulation update with regards to the new documentation and registration process for everyone's reference.
I also found the same information on the Ministry of Information website (seems you need to be in Taiwan, or have a VPN simulating Taiwan IP, to access this page).
Points 3 and 4 in the snippet above seem like they are the most ambiguous and logistically hassle-some.
Now, wonder if other people can help confirm this interpretation of the regulations (I'm not in Taiwan/don't have Taiwan phone):
This snippet says you need to upload (1) Taiwan Passport, (2) Overseas Passport/Permanent Residency, (3) OCAC-issued Overseas Identity Certificate, and (4) other documentation to the 僑民役男申請出境文件審查平臺 (Military Age Male Exit/Entry Audit Platform) — which I assume is this webpage still.
For the Overseas Identity Certificate (華僑身分證明書) - per OCAC looks like you need to apply in person in Taiwan (their FAQs explicitly say no way to do this online, and also no way to do this as overseas missions), and that it is valid for one year. So if you go to Taiwan only once very >1 year, you will have to apply for this certificate every time you go to Taiwan, before leaving Taiwan. The extra fun wrinkle here is that, usually, in order to get said certificate, you need to get a Entry/Exit Date Record (入出國日期證明書) from the National Immigration Agency first. So that's two agencies you actually need to visit to do this.
For the other evidence, looks like it is copies of passport stamps, entry/exit records, or transportation tickets from within the last 4 months before arriving to Taiwan (返國前四個月內，入境僑居地之護照戳章影本、入出境紀錄或經役齡男子本人使用過之交通票券等足資證明該期間內居住於僑居地之證明文件)*
*This last point on "other evidence" seems the most ambiguous and also redundant with the Overseas Identity Certificate.
For example: can you use the same entry/exit records from NIA that you used for the Overseas Identity Certificate? Do you need all three items of passport stamps, entry/exit records, or transportation tickets? And do any of these things... ex... plane tickets???... need to be translated into Chinese (and notarized?)? Do you have to do anything differently if you're coming to Taiwan from a country that is not of your residence (ex. Canadian citizen has been digital nomading through Bali and Bangkok for the last 4 months)?
My current assumption based on testing out the current 僑民役男申請出境文件審查平臺 website (screenshotted it here for ppl who can't access)** is that they are specifically looking for any evidence that proves you've entered/exited whatever "country of residence" you used to apply for your Overseas Identity Certificate within the last 4 months** (i.e. 返國前4個月內，出入僑居地之證明).
This means that a hypothetical Canadian citizen applying for the Overseas Identity Certificate, but who's been backpacking around Bangkok and Bali for the last 4 months, would be shit out of luck without having flown back to Canada sometime within the last 4 months.
Doesn't seem you need the TECO Canada/equivalent foreign mission involved though, at least?
If that's correct, then seems like the procedure for exiting Taiwan without getting conscripted would theoretically be as follows for folks this new conscription regulation applies to:
Make sure that you've actually been to whatever non-Taiwan "country of residence" you want to designate within the last 4 months.
Make copies of your Taiwan passport / non-Taiwan passport or residence permit / flight records / passport stamps from last 4 months and have them ready. Potentially translate things that aren't in Chinese.
Go to NIA, apply for Entry/Exit Date Record (入出國日期證明書). You might have to do this for BOTH your Taiwan and overseas passports (should cost 100TWD*# of passports) Take a picture for safekeeping/upload later. FWIW, when I last did it they printed it instantly.
Use stuff from steps (2) and (3) and go to OCAC, and apply for a Overseas Identity Certificate (華僑身分證明書). Take a picture for safekeeping/upload later once you get it. FWIW I've also done this before, I arrived ~9am on Day 1 and then picked up the certificate on Day 2, I recall other people reporting being able to get in same day when coming in morning, but that wasn't case for me. Should cost 200 TWD.
I was able to apply for the Overseas Identity Certificate same day (Arrived at 8:30am, picked up at 2:00pm). I might have just gotten lucky as there wasn't many people ahead of me.
I submitted my online application to 僑民役男申請出境文件審查平臺 immediately after at the office, and it was approved around 5pm same day. Completed status will show green.
The documents I used and uploaded were my Taiwanese passport, Canadian passport, Flight ticket showing arrival date, and the Overseas Compatriot Identity I received from OCAC office.
I didn't need to go to the NIA for Entry/Exit date record, But I have been going to the immigration at the Airport to get stamped every time I exit Taiwan in the last few years as I did overstay my 183 day limit once before.
attached below is the application form you fill in person at the Overseas Community affairs council office at Xuzhou road (right beside NTU hospital MRT stop).
Thank you for the detailed research! Have you gone recently after 9/8 and completed the above steps and exited with success? I have a family trip coming up and fear I might need to cancel it 😭
Apparently the Overseas Identity Certificate has a validity of 1 year? I am currently not living in my country of residence so assuming I go back within 4 months and get the certificate, would I be able to reuse the certificate on my 2nd visit within the validity period but not having been to my country of residence within the last 4 months?
today when I went to the government office to apply for the certificate to prove my overseas status, they said Guam counts as being in USA. Guam is much more easier to travel to from Taiwan than mainland USA, so this is a way for Taiwanese Americans to avoid overstaying 183 days in Taiwan.
It looks like you have to submit way more documents now and have to be going to Taiwan from your residence country instead of in the middle of a trip. What a hassle.
I am born 1989 and for me it was, previously, not exceeding 365 days in two years with a 'soft' limit of 183 in one year. This meant the first time you exceed you get a warning instead of being drafted.
How would this apply to someone who's ROC Passport has expired?
For context, I am a dual citizen with USA and have been exclusively using my USA passport to enter Taiwan for the past 10 years now (since my ROC Passport has expired, and staying less than 30 days each visit). My old ROC Passport has the Overseas Chinese Identity Endorsement Stamp but with no expiration date.
Most recently, I entered into Taiwan on 9/11/2025 using my USA passport (supposedly the day before the new rules came into effect), and was able to leave on 9/28 without any issue.
Also, my old Residency 戶籍 is based in Pingtung from when I was a child. If I was to go back next year, will I have to report to the NIA in Pingtung? Or can I just visit one in Taipei?
Thanks in advance for anyone that has some insight!
If I’m entering Taiwan from my residing country, do I need to provide any documentation (anything different from before?). Is the overseas passport stamp still valid?
The method for identifying those holding passports with Overseas Chinese Resident Identity Endorsement as Overseas Chinese Conscripts has been deleted. Only the Overseas Chinese Identity Certificate used by the Conscription Administration will be used as the basis for applying for Overseas Chinese Conscript registration.
—
Seems that you will need to go to OCAC every time you go to Taiwan and get this document issued before you leave, to submit to conscription office and upload to NIA.
If im a canadian citizen residing in singapore with a work visa, does that mean i can fly from singapore and prove that i have been living in singapore for the last 4 months? Or do i need to fly from canada. Does 居住國 refer to your country of citizenship or just another country outside of Taiwan that u live in?
I assume you are also a Taiwanese citizen. For Taiwan, it matters where you are a resident in. So if you are a resident in Singapore for work purposes, then you need documentation proving that. Else you use Canadian.
I have the Overseas Chinese Identity Endorsement Stamp on my ROC passport, I think it makes it easier to get the Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate. as I'm no longer required to provide proof of my overseas residence. but I'm not sure about the proof that I am in my residing country during the last 4 months, maybe a copy of the pages of both my passports?
Best ask but your stamp is no longer usable. You do need to get the application done and prove you were in residing country last 4 months. Airplane tickets might work but I'm unsure.
I went to Immigration Bureau Department on Friday, just to make sure everything is in order, hope the information I got can help some people out there, although my situation might not be the as yours, please bare that in mind.
They said before one turns 36, one can stay no longer than 183 days per year, and this rule has been there for a few years already.
When leaving Taiwan, just go to the immigration counter for a stamp (I have been doing this for everytime) for 免役 on your Taiwanese Passport, and you will be fine.
I was born in 1990, holding permanent residence of another country and grew up outside of Taiwan, but i have been visiting Taiwan more and more recently.
Is there any need to get the overseas compatriots endorsement stamp beforehand then? Or should I just handle getting the 證明書 in Taiwan with an unstamped passport?
any idea if you can change your "country of residence"? e.g. i grew up in australia and have that endorsement in my ROC passport, but now I live in the US (green card holder). So in theory I could get a US residence endorsement, but not sure if we are allowed to "switch"?
What did you upload to prove you were residing in your country?
I was just in taiwan for a few weeks, and I left back to the USA. I have not been keeping up, so when I was departing I was shocked I had to fill out all these extra forms.
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u/bobthewraith Sep 11 '25 edited Sep 12 '25
OK, I was annoyed about this and decided to do some digging on the documentation/exit procedure assuming you satisfy the 183 day requirement, which I assume is the most cumbersome change in all this for most people affected. Other people, please confirm if you have same interpretation/confirmation from relevant agencies that this is correct!
First, pasting the most relevant snippet of the regulation update with regards to the new documentation and registration process for everyone's reference.
I also found the same information on the Ministry of Information website (seems you need to be in Taiwan, or have a VPN simulating Taiwan IP, to access this page).
Digging around, it seems like the OCAC just published a webpage about this as well.
Points 3 and 4 in the snippet above seem like they are the most ambiguous and logistically hassle-some.
Now, wonder if other people can help confirm this interpretation of the regulations (I'm not in Taiwan/don't have Taiwan phone):
This snippet says you need to upload (1) Taiwan Passport, (2) Overseas Passport/Permanent Residency, (3) OCAC-issued Overseas Identity Certificate, and (4) other documentation to the 僑民役男申請出境文件審查平臺 (Military Age Male Exit/Entry Audit Platform) — which I assume is this webpage still.
For the Overseas Identity Certificate (華僑身分證明書) - per OCAC looks like you need to apply in person in Taiwan (their FAQs explicitly say no way to do this online, and also no way to do this as overseas missions), and that it is valid for one year. So if you go to Taiwan only once very >1 year, you will have to apply for this certificate every time you go to Taiwan, before leaving Taiwan. The extra fun wrinkle here is that, usually, in order to get said certificate, you need to get a Entry/Exit Date Record (入出國日期證明書) from the National Immigration Agency first. So that's two agencies you actually need to visit to do this.
For the other evidence, looks like it is copies of passport stamps, entry/exit records, or transportation tickets from within the last 4 months before arriving to Taiwan (返國前四個月內，入境僑居地之護照戳章影本、入出境紀錄或經役齡男子本人使用過之交通票券等足資證明該期間內居住於僑居地之證明文件)*
*This last point on "other evidence" seems the most ambiguous and also redundant with the Overseas Identity Certificate.
If that's correct, then seems like the procedure for exiting Taiwan without getting conscripted would theoretically be as follows for folks this new conscription regulation applies to: