Hey there,
I’m moving back home for a while but plan to come back to Taiwan frequently.
I currently have a TW driver’s license. Does the Taiwan motor vehicles office allow you to keep your TW license if you exchange it for a foreign one?
Depends on reciprocracy with your home country, check the DMV website. Or simpler, did you pass a test for your Taiwan license or exchange your home license for it? If the latter then there’s your answer.
I exchanged my home country license for the TW one.
When you are resident back home, then you can exchange TW license to domestic one. Usually one can not keep the other one. It depends if they enforce it or not.
You can get IDP (International Driving Permit) for your TW license to drive when you get back before you have time to exchange it.
My wife regrets exchanging her Taiwan driver’s license for an Oregon license rather than just taking the written and driving test for an Oregon license because she has to get an international license yearly now to drive in Taiwan and Japan, where we spend most of the year. She tried to get a replacement Taiwan license issued when back in Taiwan but because Oregon sent her old Taiwan license back she’s “in the system” now in both countries and can’t have two licenses.
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Why do you need two licenses? You only need one.
The Australian one allows me to keep both under the reciprocal agreement. However, I didn’t bother renewing it… because it is useless in Taiwan.
Sounds like a problem with Oregon and NOT with Taiwan. Taiwan is just abiding by the terms set by Oregon
What ticked her off is finding out you can actually drive in Oregon using a Taiwan license without an IDP:
Visitors from foreign countries may drive in Oregon using a foreign‐issued driver license.
Visitors must carry the foreign driver license and, in addition, it is suggested that
visitors carry an International Driving Permit issued by officials in their country of
residence.
b. It is not mandatory that visitors have the International Driving Permit; it is merely a
suggestion to aid law enforcement officials and others who need to know the actual content
of the license.
If you have a car or motorcycle in more than one country it’s cheaper on insurance.
Long term rental can be cheaper with domestic licence.
Some countries don’t recognise other countries licences or you need extra permits, some countries you don’t need a permit at all.
There are probably more but thats just what I can quickly think of.
This might be a beginner question, but do they not return the old license to you along with the Taiwanese one?
It may vary where you’re from. My jurisdiction asks me to surrender the old licence to be sent back for destruction
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Why not give up the Oregon license and get her Taiwan license back? Tell them she’s moved back to Taiwan.
Me too. BC Canada. But they didn’t ask, they just stole a foreign governments property and said tough shit. Which was quite entertaining.
As far as I have seen, they don’t really check, so it’s easy to maintain both. If they don’t ask, and you don’t tell them, you are not telling a lie. I have both now.
Also note many international licenses may expire after many years, but can only be used for xx amount of days. A visa run type scenario can reset the internatil permit back to 0. For example, BC license with foreign drivers license lasts 1 month here. But expires in 5 years if I remember right. Days may have changed since. Can be a costly stupid mistake 
For Germany the answer is no - they require you to give up your TW license in exchange for a German Führerschein.