When I said that the system in Taiwan is designed to keep foreigners broke and stupid. I meant it. I just don’t have time lately cause I’ve been busy, otherwise I would have gone in more detail. Some of it is intentional, some of it is ignorance, some of it is lazy/accidental.
I still love Taiwan, but there remains a LOT of roadblocks.
I’m a likeable guy. What’s not to like?
FAQ via Focus Taiwan.
I’m not sure what changes.
Question : After I change to the new number, will I be able to purchase tickets for public transportation (such as trains, buses and the high-speed railway) in convenience stores?
Answer:
Train/bus tickets: Foreign nationals can use their passport number or their new or original ID number to book tickets in convenience stores.
HSR tickets: There is no need to input either a ID number or a passport number when purchasing HSR tickets in convenience stores.
■Question : Can I book air tickets with both the new and original numbers?
Answer: All international flights are booked with a passport number. Some domestic flights – those of Daily Air, Uni Air and Mandarin Airlines – can also be booked with both the new and original ID numbers.
corresponding to the format of Taiwanese citizen ID cards.
But you are able to do everything you could do before and can do now because systems that accept the new format will still accept the old format.
I feel like we’re being gaslighted here.
I silently tried to start a new Ruten account. It accepted my ARC where it didn’t before and didn’t take the new ID number.
We are definitely being gaslit.
Obviously in such cases, someone has paid someone in power, for this charade. Big money is talking
Why not ? Politics and corruption are 2 sides of the same coin the world over.
That might be the most poorly written article I’ve ever read. It is also factually wrong. The first letter of your ARC does not indicate where you live, but where you first applied for an ARC. For example, I live in New Taipei City (F), but my ARC number begins with an A because I registered in Taipei City.
Suppose I go and get my APRC updated with the new number format.
Will my old number format become invalid immediately?
How soon do I need to update all my documents, bank accounts, mobile, registrations, etc.?
Maybe the NIA will notify banks and such about the change so we don’t need to go there ourselves. That’s a big maybe though.
I think they will definitely notify them, but the question is whether or not they will follow through. If they don’t impose any penalty for not updating their system and turning people away as a result, they have little incentive to support the new numbers (just as they have little incentive not to turn away foreign residents as they often do).
I’m not referencing anything here because I don’t have it in front of me but I’ve read (I know) that the old number will continue to work on gov’t website and we need to update inside of ten (yes, ten) years.
I read that too, but it might mean that our old numbers will work for ten years if we don’t update them, and that they will become invalid after being updated to the new number. Their system might have been set up so that your new number replaces the old one, not that you have two valid numbers. In fact, having two valid ID numbers probably introduces a lot of opportunity for fraud.
Haha. Yeah in a world where they understand the problems. Ain’t this one. Don’t be surprised if many banks have no idea of the change even months later and actually reject you because
of “incorrect furreigner id format”!
What will happen with NHI cards ?
That makes sense.
The wording has been vague and could be understood either way.
