I’m moving to Taiwan shortly, and will be living there without an ARC. I will leave Taiwan every 90 days and return to reset my visa-free entry as a US citizen. Is there any way for me to drive a scooter legally? I plan to marry a Taiwanese citizen within a year, but until then I’d like to be able to get around.
I’ve browsed the forum and can’t really find an answer that’s up-to-date on this issue. Is an IDL all I need (as issued from AAA)?
The AIT website explains it pretty good
and the Taipei motor vehicles office
tmvso.thb.gov.tw/English/Index.a … rs_license
It looks like you get 30 days without having to do anything where you can ride in Taiwan, but then you need to go to the motor vehicle office with a passport or ARC (so in your case just the passport) and they will give you a paper to extend your international license until your Visa expires. You cant get a Taiwan license until you get an ARC, so I guess every 90 days you will be going back to the motor vehicle offices.
Seeing as I won’t technically have a visa, I guess I’ll just need a passport and IDL? And then I’d have to return to renew my permit every 90 days upon returning to Taiwan… anyone else have any thoughts on this? I’ll be in Kaohsiung if that makes any difference.
Not sure if still the rule but you can use an IDL as long as you have it copied and stamped by a police station authority. Then you are good to go for as long as your IDL is valid.
I assume you have a motorcycle license in the USA first?
Every time you come back to Taiwan, the first 30 days you can drive with your IDP, no stamping required. (assuming you are licensed for a scooter/motorcycle back in your country) after the 30 days you need to go into the licensing office and they will add a permit to your IDP allowing you to continue to drive (as per the website I linked)
I guess they will stamp your IDP as valid until the last day of your allowed trip in Taiwan, then when you come back, you can drive another 30 days then go back and get another stamp at the license bureau…
If you want exact info, just call them 886-2-26884366 
Thanks, folks. I just realized I don’t have a motorcycle license here in the US… anything 50cc and under doesn’t require a license in Florida. So I guess I’ll be stuck unless I get a motorcycle license–which likely won’t happen. I really don’t wanna go through taking a weekend-long class and all that before leaving…
Uhmmmm you don’t need to take any classes here for getting a license. You can study a bit and try luck. It’s not difficult, I’d say.
Uhmmmm you don’t need to take any classes here for getting a license. You can study a bit and try luck. It’s not difficult, I’d say.[/quote]
It’s easy, but don’t you need an ARC?
Uhmmmm you don’t need to take any classes here for getting a license. You can study a bit and try luck. It’s not difficult, I’d say.[/quote]
It’s easy, but don’t you need an ARC?[/quote]
touché; sorry, I’m extra absent minded lately. I’m still looking for a doctor who can treat it. 
I’ve been driving a scooter here for 20 years using nothing but a note from my mother. You mean I need a license? 
Hahaha ok bear.
Are things really that lax? Any chance I’d be deported if I got pulled over without a license?
You won’t get deported but I think it is a $6000 NT fine for driving without a license. If you intend to live in Taipei I wouldn’t risk it because there are cops on every corner and they do do random license checks. In the south (read Taichung, Kaohsiung, Tainan) not so much problem 
But if you hit anyone without a license or insurance, you will be in a world of hurt.
I’ll be living in Kaohsiung. A 6000NT fine isn’t too bad… I mean if I have no other real alternative than to drive a scooter without a license. Do cops generally leave foreigners alone?
I live in Kaohsiung and know many foreigners who drive here without a licence. Not saying I would do it myself, but that’s just the way it is.
I drive my motorcycles a lot, around 14,000km since May this year, driving daily in the city and on longer rides at the weekends all over southern Taiwan, and I have never been pulled over by the cops or had my licence checked (except at the scene of a minor accident I was involved in, when I showed my licence to the police officer voluntarily - he didn’t ask to see it).
Thanks for the feedback!