“Passing card” at Taoyuan Airport

Hi all
Does anybody know what the “passing card” lane at the airport is? Just before immigration where they screen the handbags, they have this lane with the floor painted in red and green separating the 2 sections. I tried to find info online but didn’t get anything.

Some info for fellow foreigners: You can apply for the immigration e-gate with an ARC. I did so myself at the airport. It’s very quick and once you do, you can quickly clear immigration with your chip enabled ARC card and a fingerprint.

Not sure about Taoyuan airport, but in Vancouver I got to use a similar lane when I had a premium economy ticket - it put me in a similar special category to business travel. You get to go to the head of the security line.

I applied for the e-gate stuff last year, when I returned from Vancouver. Haven’t had a chance to use it yet.

It’s to do with biosecurity. If you’re coming in from a country deemed “safe”, you’ll be given a passing card so that you can bypass the hand-luggage screening. Otherwise, they’ll want to x-ray and search your carry-on bag for plants, meat, etc.

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A passing card can be issued by multiple authorities in the airport with different reasons.

On my last flight, they offered passing cards for travelers from countries that are negative for African Swine Flu.

Thanks all. I’m wondering if keeping the green lane operating in current heightened bio-alert conditions is a good idea or not. They should suspend it in case of some passengers willingly or un- carrying infected meat

Checking everybody would be too time-consuming.

Well has to be done in specific cases like this one IMHO

The pig disease thing? That’s the only reason they’re doing it at all :man_shrugging:

My experience of it is that it depends where your flight came from - you get given the card as you enter the terminal from the aircraft…

From HK I didn’t get one - so had to pass the hand luggage through the X Ray. No great drama, as the line was short. From Japan 3 weeks ago, given the Card, so passed through - the red lane was empty anyway so it didn’t matter.

The Body Temperature thing is earlier, and has been there for ages, never had a problem, just walk throgh at normal speed, they will stop you if the alarm went off.

As to E-Gate, depends what Country - Mine is AUS and I enter Visa-Free, but am allowed to use the E-Gate, as AU allows TW Passports to use theirs. An ARC probably gets one as well, irrespective of Country.

But you need to register first I guess.

Yes, have to register, which took all of 2 minutes. Was supposedly only possible when arriving, but last time I saw a sign about registration on the way out, so registration might be possible either way now. Just give yourself time, anything beats the sometimes long wait in the ‘normal’ arrival line if a couple of package tourist flights arrived just ahead of you, though frequent travellers (3 or more a year) can get the “Speedy Immigration Form” and go to a separate counter…

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I registered about 5-6 years ago going out with an APRC. But they close at around 10:00 PM or so.