If a person has an unxpired drivers license (scooter) but loses their ARC, are they still legal to drive ?
yes, but they are illegal to stay in TW 
you might be ok for driving, but if the police find out you are here without arc you might get into a different situation…
tourist visa… 90 days per entry
not an expert, but as far as i know, as long as you have a valid driver license (not expired), you should be able to drive legally.
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A driver’s licence is always connected to your ARC. AFAIK, if you don’t have an ARC, you will not be issued a driver’s licence. So, if your ARC has been cancelled or revoked, your driver’s licence will also automatically be cancelled. Check the ID number on your licence (駕照號碼), does it have your old ARC number on it? If it does, then its invalid and you’re not legal to drive.
Check if the license has an expiry date, too.
nope, u need a valid unified ID number, which happens to be also your ARC no, but u can get a unified ID number on a tourist visa or even visa-exempt short stay by just going to NIA and applying for it.
This logic was actually challenged quite some time ago by another good chap who argued, and won against the MOTC and DMV, that the licence is something completely detached from the ARC, it is not dependent on your permit of stay and hence cannot be linked to the expiration or revokation/issuance of an ARC.
That’s why now when you get a licence issued/converted here in TW the licence is valid for 7 yrs even if your ARC is valid for just one, and when you get an APRC your licence will updated and will expire around your 70th bday if I recall correctly, since after that you need periodic health fitness exams to keep your licence.
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The Unique ID which a tourist can get from the NIA is basically useless (It’s a piece of paper with the number printed on it). Theoritically speaking, Govt. Depts and banking institutions must accept this number but almost all the time they refuse to. You can fight for it with the banks by going to the FSC and sometimes they give in but I doubt the DMV will even budge if one doesn’t have a physical ARC card. They also check to see if your ARC has at least a year’s validity left on it. I saw many complaints on FB from ppl with 11 mths on their ARC and they were refused a licence. Even the Motor Vehicles website clearly states:
1.What are the requirements for aliens wishing to take the driver’s license test, and what documents should they prepare?
First, an alien must be 18 years or older and pass the health and physical examination at a government hospital, health center, or hospital appointed by the motor vehicle authorities (the health check is not necessary for a general light motorcycle or general heavy motorcycle license). Then, he or she should submit the following documents to a motor vehicle office to apply for the test:
- An ARC with a term of more than one year (most aliens, citizens of Hong Kong or Macau); permit for sojourn or residence for a term of more than one year (citizens of the PRC)
https://tpcmv.thb.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=10249
This is probably a one in a million case and I doubt any Tourists or Visa Exempt Visitors coming to TW on short notice will have the time and money to fight with the DMV or MOTC just to get a licence issued without an ARC. The DMV will argue if you’re here less than 3 or 6 mths, then you should get an International Driver’s licence instead of trying to get a local one.
It’s best if the OP go to the DMV himself/herself and ask if it’s legal to drive without an ARC but still have a licence that was issued due to that ARC. We’re all speculating here and will never know unless the OP finds out by himself/herself by going to the DMV or worst case scenario, get caught by the cops and see what happens when he/she says “But but Sir!!! The genuises on Forumosa said I could drive without an ARC!!!” 
It involves an argument
This is incorrect and the part that causes the argument. ARC is not a requirement for a licence and the 1 year requirement was plucked out of thin air.
- Nationals, foreigners, people from mainland China, and residents of Hong Kong or Macao who do not have household registration in Taiwan should submit proof of permission to stay or reside for more than six months.
三、臺灣地區無戶籍之國民、外國人、大陸地區人民、香港或澳門居民，應檢附經許可停留或居留六個月以上之證明（件）。
ARC is not required but ability to reside legally for 6+ months is required. There are a few ways to achieve this without an ARC.
ARC has absolutely 0 to do with driving legally. If the OP has a valid license s/he can drive.
I was issued my scooter licence and converted my Victorian (Australian) car licence without an ARC and never having held an ARC at that time. I provided my passport, uniform ID number with my address hand written and stamped by NIA (stupid request but one that I could deal with). Hsinchu vehicle Office outright refused and wouldn’t listen and I couldn’t speak Chinese at all back then. I did it all in Taichung somewhere but can’t remember where now
https://egate.immigration.gov.tw/NIA_OnlineApply_inter/foreignApply/foreignApplyForm.action
It’s also one of the reasons specifically mentioned as a reason to apply for a UI number
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I guess u mean “without”
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Thanks, watching The Block at the same time
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This also isn’t correct. I came back to to Taiwan over a year after my visa had expired, no ARC, never had an ARC, licence still valid. They’re separate documents. Licences expire on whatever date it says it expires on the licence
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yep, NIA has no authority whatsoever on licences, that’s exclusively under DMV purview.
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I feel like I’ve had nearly every immigration status possible in Taiwan 
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U r a hero Sir!
Yup! It was why I wrote in my post, “Theoritically speaking”…they should abide by the law but do they? Why should a Tourist or a non citizen holding ARCs (mostly having little to no chinese ability) argue with Govt officials about a law that they themselves do not follow?
This shows how Govt. Depts don’t care about the actual law or follow the law. Hell, they even blatantly splashed something illegal all on their official website and no foreigner can do a thing about it or even dare to complain. If I was a newbie here in TW and they told me “Hey buddy, where’s your ARC?? You want a licence? go get an ARC with more than a year on it and then come back, bye bye!” I would just nod and leave.
Interesting…so to get the licence without an ARC one must hold at least a visa with 6+mths on it. If I’m not mistaken, most ppl get a visa for 60 days or less. US, UK, Canada, Australia etc Citizens get 3 mths visa exempt which is not extendible, so they are out too. So how does one get a legal visa for 6+mths?
Thanks for the clarification…so you held a visa that had 6+mths on it?
Here we go again! Gotta argue and fight with officials about the law that they do not uphold and then gotta leave embarrassed and go to another city 100kms+ away just to get something which the law says you can. 
. A tourist or a short term visitor just want to see the Taipei 101 or the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall and not skip from DMV to DMV to get their licence!!
Just curious, how exactly did you know your licence was still valid? Did you go to the DMV and ask? Did the cops stop you at a checkpoint, saw your licence and waved you away? Did they run your UID on their hand held PDA and determined you were ok? Not trying to contradict you here or anything, just curious. Nowadays, we don’t even have to carry our ID or Licence, if the cops stop you, we just tell them our ID numbers and they can check everything on their PDA which will let them know if this person is an overstayer, have their ARC revoked etc.
working holidays for instance, or visiting relatives you can get up to 1 yr.
irrelevant, all of this discussion started from your assertion which is wrong:
That’s it. Is it easy to get a licence without ARC? It is not. Is it useful to short term visitor? No, since they most likely can stay on a visa/permit less than 6 months.
So all of our debate was just to show you said something wrong and it has been shown that you can actually do what the law allows you to do, albeit (unfortunately) inconveniently.
So all the rest of your “rant” is irrelevant and not concerning the crux of the issue.
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it has an expiry date, as long as it is not expired it is valid. Indeed police when (at least the better informed ones, and I met a few) will ask your licence and “passport or ARC”.
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This is why things never get fixed
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