Do foreigners legally have to carry ID?

[carlcarl1]

When I got my NHI card, they pretty much insisted my name be in Chinese, might be because my ARC has my Chinese name.

[Mick]

@carlcarl1

When I got my NHI card, they pretty much insisted my name be in Chinese, might be because my ARC has my Chinese name.

Plus if I recall correctly, the NHI card here carries the ARC number on it anyway.

[tommy525]

I only carried my Taiwan drivers license in my wallet. Was fine.

If you are phillippino or Thai or Indonesian they could suspect you are a runaway worker and bring you to the station and detained until deportation if you illegally stayed

[Dr_Milker]

@Mick

I’ve been asked for ID on a few occasions

I never carry any form of government ID on me, unless I need it for something specific that day, and in over 20 years I’ve never been asked for it (except license while driving).

[derpydogs]

I carry my ARC in my wallet. It’s a good idea to. I might or might not have been recently questioned by some police and they were very insistent that I stop fumbling around and show it.

[lostinasia]

Huh. I always carry it, and it never occurred to me to do anything else, but now I realize I’m not sure why I do it. I suspect just because I always needed to have my driving license in Canada, and the APRC here occupies the same niche in my brain.

Oh yeah, and it’s got my address on it. In Chinese. Rather depressing how often I need to reference that as a cheat sheet when writing down my address (or just show it to someone else who can write it out far faster than I can).

[SuiGeneris]

@carlcarl1

if a police officer is out to get you, which is so often the case here,

Seriously?
You must really be living on the edge or have seriously bad luck to warrant the police out to get you.

15 years on the Rock and not once have I ever been asked to produce ID by the police. Come to think of it, I have never even been talked to by the police other than a polite nod…which doesn’t even count as talking.

[tommy525]

Tw fuzz are pretty laid back

[henkka01]

You mean in penghu/kinmen, Matsu you don’t need to carry but on taiwan proper you need to ?

FYI, referring to China as mainland when discussing china/Taiwan makes as much sense as calling China mainland when discussing Japan/China

Not even in hk which arguably is part of China do people call China mainland(other than gov), China is China.

[henkka01]

What is this obvious reason why you don’t carry ID?

[CTaitung]

It is probably best to hold some form of ID or at least a cell phone on one’s body, so that if you’re run over by a cement truck or die suddenly that your next of kin can be contacted a lot quicker. fwiw

[yyy]

@henkka01

Not even in hk which arguably is part of China do people call China mainland(other than gov), China is China.

1. Yes people do say “mainland” in HK. Not everyone says it, and not everyone agrees with it, but everyone understands what it means.

2. Everyone understands what “mainland” means in Taiwan, especially in a legal context, which is exactly what the Legal forum is.

3. If you want to debate the issue from a non-legal angle, please do so in Politics instead of Legal.

@henkka01

What is this obvious reason why you don’t carry ID?

A passport is a valuable item. If it’s stolen, or if it falls out of your pocket, you can expect a lot of trouble replacing it. Even getting caught in the rain could damage it to the point that it won’t be accepted anymore.

A friend had his passport stolen twice within a few years (not in Taiwan). His embassy presumed he had sold it.

Who wants that kind of aggravation?

[Mick]

@henkka01

Well, having lived in hk for 8 years I can say for sure that locals never refer to China as mainland, unless you are a government official or similar

Anyway, I understand you don’t carry a passport but why not carry any id ?

It’s not that I don’t carry any ID. My wallet goes with me everywhere I go, in particular the ARC and a passport are particularly troublesome to replace so they are not items I carry. My wallet does have credit cards, various cards for this and that, my NHI card all with my name and name cards for myself and the company I work for with telephone numbers and addresses. Plus if driving my drivers licence, just on the last occasion I had forgot to put it in the glove compartment, it’s there now.

[Andrew0409]

You should avoid carrying your passport around unless you need it. But I would say at least one form of legal ID is good. Even a copy of your passport which is what I tell people coming here to carry.

You need it if you go to a club, they will detain you if you don’t have ID. The club or bar will be in trouble as well, so they wouldn’t let you in without one anyways unless you know someone.

[Dawud]

They gave me a choice of either the English or the Chinese, but not both.

[Charlie_Jack]

@carlcarl1

Do foreigners legally have to carry a form of ID such as a passport or an ARC?

This is an English translation of Article 28 of the Immigration Act:

An alien, at the age of fourteen (14) or up, who has entered the State for a visit, residence or permanent residence, shall always carry his/her passport, Alien Resident Certificate, or Alien Permanent Resident Certificate.

National Immigration Agency or public servants under other laws and orders can demand aliens to produce the documents stated in the preceding Paragraph while performing official duties. With respect to requirements and a procedure for requests for production of certificates and production of certificates, the provisions of Chapter 2 of the Police Duties Enforcement Act shall apply mutatis mutandis.

https://law.moj.gov.tw/Eng/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=D0080132

The original Chinese-language version of the above appears to be located here:

系統訊息-全國法規資料庫

This is an English translation of Article 16 of Regulations Governing Visiting, Residency, and Permanent Residency of Aliens:

In accordance with paragraph 1, Article 28 of the Act, aliens over 14 years of age inside Taiwan’s national border, shall carry on his/her person the passport, the Alien Resident Certificate, or the Alien Permanent Resident Certificate.

Should an alien have none of the documents stated in the preceding paragraph, another identification document designated by the competent authorities shall be carried upon his/her person.

https://law.moj.gov.tw/Eng/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=D0080129

系統訊息-全國法規資料庫

@SuiGeneris

15 years on the Rock and not once have I ever been asked to produce ID by the police.

Some years ago, when I used to frequent Internet cafes, police occasionally entered the premises of my usual Internet cafe and asked people for identification. In each instance, I assumed they wanted my ARC, so I presented it to them, except for one time in which I’d left it at home. On that occasion, the police officer was satisfied by my showing him my NHI card.

This happened to me several times back then.

All the above having been said, I don’t know what, if any, are the legal consequences of not having one’s ARC or passport on one’s person when asked to produce it by police or other government authorities.

EDITED TO ADD:

Elsewhere in the thread, @tempogain and @tando have addressed the issue of possible consequences for not carrying or not producing one’s ARC, APRC, or passport when required by the authorities:

@tempogain:
Do foreigners legally have to carry ID? - #9 by tempogain

@tando:
Do foreigners legally have to carry ID? - #12 by tando

[yyy]

@tempogain

With respect to requirements and a procedure for requests for production of certificates and production of certificates, the provisions of Chapter 2 of the Police Duties Enforcement Act shall apply mutatis mutandis.

I don’t immediately see that last act,

because the translators didn’t bother talking to each other, again.

Police Power Exercise Act

[yyy]

@tando

Article 85 of Immigration Act?

If a person meets one of the following circumstances, he shall be fined between NT$ 2,000 and NT$ 10,000:

1. Refuses to produce his/her passport, Visit Permit in the Taiwan Area, Alien Resident Certificate, Alien Permanent Residence Certificate, Entry permit or other identification documents.

一、經合法檢查，拒絕出示護照、臺灣地區居留證、外僑居留證、外僑永久居留證、入國許可證件或其他身分證明文件。

The translation seems to omit 經合法檢查, i.e. through a lawful inspection process, which brings us back to the Police Powers Exercise Act:

The police may verify the identity of the following people in public places or public-accessible places:

1. People who are reasonably suspected of having committed a crime or having the likelihood of committing a crime.
2. People, who according to the known facts, are believed to be aware of the crimes that has already been committed or is to be committed imminently.
3. People whose identity, according to the known facts, must be verified in order to prevent concrete hazards from endangering lives and physical safety of themselves or others.
4. People who stay in places where according to the known facts, serious crimes are being conspired, prepared, or committed or where fugitives are being harbored.
5. People who have no permit for a temporary stay or residence and stay in places where a stay requires the said permit.
6. People who pass through designated public places, road sections, and check points.
   The designation stipulated in the subparagraph 6 of the preceding paragraph shall be made only when considered necessary to prevent crimes or deal with events that may effect major public safety or social order.
   The designation shall be determined by supervisors in charge.
   The police can enter public-accessible places only during business hours and shall not arbitrarily obstruct business operations.

Also “refuses to produce” (拒絕出示) implies that you can but don’t want to, not that you left your passport/ARC at home.

@Charlie_Jack

Some years ago, when I used to frequent Internet cafes, police occasionally entered the premises of my usual Internet cafe and asked people for identification. In each instance, I assumed they wanted my ARC, so I presented it to them, except for one time in which I’d left it at home. On that occasion, the police officer was satisfied by my showing him my NHI card.

@Andrew0409

You need it if you go to a club, they will detain you if you don’t have ID. The club or bar will be in trouble as well, so they wouldn’t let you in without one anyways unless you know someone.

It sounds like nightclubs in general – and internet cafes back in the day – are considered hotbeds of crime.

[Charlie_Jack]

So this was all resolved 'way up there. That’s what I get for not reading the whole thread.

I might add that I think I was just lucky that that police officer was okay with just me showing my NHI card. I don’t think it would be a good idea to count on that working every time.