Anybody know what’s required to renew your APRC? And how often you have to do it? Is it every 3 years?
It’s not necessary to renew an APRC.
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Are you sure surfer?
Cause every time I come back into TW, they tell me at immigration I need to get a “new” one. The one I’ve got is pink…issued about 5 years ago. No photo on it.
Oh yeah…then that would be correct. You need to get the new updated one, but that’s not the same as renewing or having a requirement to renew your APRC every 3 years like a JFRV, for example. So, you do need this updated card, but then you won’t need to renew it.
Here’s what the “new” one looks like. It’s not really new anymore, except for you.
See, no expiration date on this bad boy!
Front
Back
Do you need to get the APRC updated once you renew your passport?
Thanks surfer. Very helpful!
Now the tricky question …
I’m no longer living in TW, but I don’t want to lose this pink card (even though the rules state I need to be in TW for 183 days each year). So far I’ve had no problem re-entering TW. I go back every 6 months or so for holiday. My Taiwanese wife and I still have a house there.
Anyway, my question is …
When you go to exchange the old pink APRC card, for the new flashy blue one, what’s required??? Will they be checking my passport (entry/re-entry), tax papers, or any of that nonsense?
Or is it a straight exchange?
Any advise or suggestions would be most appreciated.
Thanks,
Mark
Yes. When you renew your passport, you need to update your APRC to reflect your new passport number. Make sure that you take two new pictures, your old passport and your new passport with you when you go to update your APRC. I also believe it will cost you $100 ntd in fees, if I remember correctly.
Also, you should have an Open-Work Permit along with your APRC. You must also update your Open-Work Permit to reflect your new passport number as well. See the
Open-Work Permit Application Procedures - Step by step Permit thread for specific instructions. 
I had to renew my passport last year and had to update both my APRC and my Open-Work Permit. Major time consuming pain in the ass, but unfortunately necessary.
Hmmmm. 
It’s interesting that you’ve been able to stay out of Taiwan for most of the past 5 years and haven’t been stopped at immigration with bells, whistles, and alarms going off due to breaking the 183 days per calendar year rule. I guess things aren’t as integrated computer wise as I suspected or feared. At any rate, you might be able to get off entering Taiwan with the old pink APRC and not have any issues, but I’ll be really surprised if the NIA does. Afterall, you will be walking in the the “lions den” where they have all the computers which track our entry and exit records and time on island, etc, etc. Also, there was a “deadline” for exchanging the old pink APRCs for the newer high speed ones. I received a notification in my mailbox about 2~3 years ago which detailed that I was required to exchange my old pink paper APRC for the new one and that December 31st of that year was my deadline to get it done. They didn’t give us an “or else…zub zub zub would happen and the angels would cry” scenario, but it definitely was a deadline. I have one friend who was off island for a month when these notifications were sent out and he exchanged his a couple months past the deadline without any issues. But, for you. You are massively massively LATE on getting the old one changed out for the new one. The NIA will probably be very interested in knowing why you haven’t gotten this done. The might fire up the computer and run your entry and exit history and if they are paying attention will clearly see that you’ve busted the 183 days per calendar year physical presence rule by a lot of time. Please let us know what happens to you when you go in to get this done. Will they catch it? Will they care? Will you provide them a good enough excuse that they let it slide with a warning? Will you get fined? Will they confiscate your APRC and deport you? Will they allow you to revert to or get a JFRV without going through the normal procedures of marriage certificate, HHR, police background checks, and all the bullshit certifications it takes at the TECO back in your home country? This will be very important information that definitely needs to be shared! Ok…enough doom and gloom.
When you need to update your APRC, you must take two new photographs with you, your current passport, your old passport, your old APRC, and I believe it’s 100 ntd for the fees. You will not get the APRC on the same day. Usually it takes a week and you can pick it up in person or they can mail it to you.
Best of luck…we are all watching this thread…hoping for the best…please share the results.
Well Surfer, I think you have sufficiently answered my question.
I think it’s safe to say, if I wander into that office … I can kiss my APRC good-bye.
So …
Let’s just say I won’t be doing that anytime soon. (At least not until i move back to TW, which may or may never happen.)
Instead I’ll continue to wander in and out of TW, hoping the computer systems never communicate.
Thanks for your insight.
Much appreciated.
You know…I was thinking…yeah…yeah…never a good thing. I’m guessing that the reason you’ve been able to skirt the 183 day rule for so long is because you DON’T have the newer APRC with the IC chip inside. See what I’m getting at? Unless immigration at the airport tubes up your passport number and takes a really good look at your record, they won’t have any idea that you’ve busted the 183 day rule. In fact, most of the airport immigration officers probably aren’t aware of the 183 day rule for APRC holders. JFRV holders don’t have the 183 day per calendar year rule and most immigration officers probably think that the JFRV ARCs and the APRCs are the same. However, if you had the newer APRC with the IC chip, all it would take is a quick scan and then I’m guessing the “bells and whistles” would go off and your account would be flagged as in violation. Of course, I could be wrong, but that’s one of the reasons they wanted to change from the paper ARCs/APRCs so they could track us more easily with the IC chip, which they couldn’t do with the paper ARCs/APRCs.
Well. Good luck with whatever course of action you decide to take. Don’t forget to share back with us when the time comes!
Man, I want to see what a pink APRC looks like
Bump - there are a few threads about “renewing” the APRC, but this one is the more recently active.
Context: I’ve got an APRC, but a new passport and passport number, so I need to renew / update my APRC. I live in Danshui, so I assume I’ve got to go to the New Taipei City office.
Several questions:
- Online forms: this older thread has links, but the links are unfortunately dead (because Taiwan!). On the Immigration Agency site, I think this is the page I want, with this form (link is to a PDF), although the title “Application for ARC and Extension of Stay” isn’t all that helpful. (I’d be choosing the “Change of information” option.) Is this the right form, or should I be looking for something else?
- Photos: the guidelines are on the PDF linked above, and they look fairly benign. So are pictures from a random photo booth acceptable?
- Location: I guess I still have to go to the New Taipei City office, since I live in Danshui. The address on the English website is 1F, No 135, Min’an Street, Zhonghe District, New Taipei City (Chinese link here). Is that still correct? Do I have to undergo that trek?
- Any other issues I should keep in mind for the application? (I know, bajillion other issues afterwards like work permit and health insurance and bank info since I’ll have a new APRC number, but that’ll wait for another day. Ugh.)
Thanks in advance!
Here’s the Google maps link for the New Taipei City office:
reach NIA, on their contact us form they r usually fast to reply and helpful for easy things.
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To update your APRC. You don’t need to go to Yonghe office. You can do it at the main office in Taipei city. Photo booth pics are fine.
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I need to renew my US passport and I have an APRC. The AIT requires all 10 year passport renewals to be done by mail and you have to send in your old passport. I saw some comments about needing your old and new passport to renew an APRC so I’m confused as to what to do. Appreciate any responses.
Nevermind- did some more searching and saw that they will return the old passport with the new one. Hope this helps anyone with the same question.
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