The problem I have with banks finding out about this automatically is that it seems to imply either that immigration is proactively informing banks about customers having a new number (and that immigration knows where the foreigner has bank accounts) or that banks are periodically checking the ARC number is valid, and neither seems very likely…
Also, if it were the first one, you would have thought that immigration could just tell the banks “this is their new ARC number, please update” and save us all the hassle.
Oh there’s no hope for that possibility. Every pore on my body with seethe with hate and vengeance for the entire Taiwanese bloodline if I’m even slightly inconvenienced. This is a mathematical certainty.
Yes, they do inform banks when your ID number changes!
But that does not seem to work with every bank. Most banks will contact you to come to the branch. Few will update it on their own. Some banks won’t do anything at all.
This is what I remember reading, actually, but I wasn’t confident about it when writing my previous comment so that’s why I wrote it the way I did. How do you know they do this?
Maybe it’s just with certain banks, like the government ones?
Again though, it’s still stupid that they can tell banks you have a new number but not tell them what it is. Doing it this way, it’s like they’re actively trying to cause hassle for foreigners.
it is not a private bureau first, and it is specifically written in the financial regulations that all actors in the financial market in TW (banks, non banking FIs, police, Ministry of Justice and other government agencies) must participate and collaborate with information on the common platform that is the JCIC.
It is way beyond a credit bureau here, it’s basically what open banking should be. A common secure platform properly regulated to share financial information for financial market participants based on documented needs as mandated by financial rules.
In Taiwan the ID number is not considered confidential information by almost anyone. All companies will ask you to give it out left and right.
And ID number is not random. Anyone can generate valid ID numbers. Because alien residents have a different format, it can be done specifically for foreigners.
My argument is not about the ID number as much as automatically transferring info between departments.
For example, NHI is able to print out my entire travel history from immigration which should not be possible imo. Hospitals being able to see who traveled out of the country. The tax office seeing all your NHI payments, etc.
In Canada, that data is siloed for good reason, however Ontario was looking at a common ID as well which I think is a bad idea
Someone please remind me - is the NHIA still making us pay to get a new NHI card after we’re forced to update to the new ARC number, or was that changed at some point?
The government added a new regulation and one can apply for a refund, if you paid the fee to renew NHI card due to ID number change.
If you have renewed your health insurance card with a new number and paid the cost after January 1, 2022, you can apply to the National Health Insurance Administration for a refund of the cost. 移民署中文網-換發新式統號後，我的健保卡要重辦嗎？重辦的話是否要費用？有相關問題可以洽詢誰？
It was not retroactive, so anyone who had their ID number changed and updated the NHI card in the first year (2021) got shafted. I complained but nothing the NHI workers could do. The government fucked it up.
At some point they were automatically sending a new NHI card, but then they stopped due to smart card chip shortage.
The government planners for the ID number change did not initially realize that it will force all alien resident NHI cards to be renewed.
Knowing how Govt. agencies work, they will probably make you pay first, then give you the refund later, which of course, you will need to apply for. You know…“沒辦法, 要依照SOP啦”.
Done. Didn’t need to pay and they’ll mail the card out in 7-14 days. Don’t have an NHI card until then, but they gave me a piece of paper I can apparently use until I get the new card.
)