Government of Taiwan to Change ARC Format to Match National Identification Card in October Next Year

According to a statement released to the public by the National Development Council (NDC), the plan of the government of Taiwan to change the format of the Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) number to coincide with the Taiwan National Identification Card will be executed starting October of next year.




During National Development Council Minister Chen Mei-Ling’s issuance of the annual position paper at the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT), the problem with the ARC format had been causing issues with migrant citizens in Taiwan. It had been brought up in talks by the foreign chambers of commerce.

According to Minister Chen, the 8 numbers and 2 letters in the Alien Permanent Resident Certificate (APRC) will be changed to just 1 letter and 9 numbers. This will be the same as the Taiwan Identification Card.

 The CEO of ECCT, Freddie Hoeglund, said that the ECCT accepts the change and it would provide foreign citizens broader access to online services which in the present is impossible due to the current format of the APRC.




According to Hoeglund, the ECCT had been working on this change in the APRC for over a decade. It was a challenge to push through with the proposed changes because the change will allow access to foreign citizens to all of the government branches and private sectors in Taiwan.

 Upon the implementation of the change to the ARC and the APRC in October next year, one million ARC and APRC holders will be given new numbers.

 According to the ministry’s records, these holders compose 690,000 foreign workers and 30,000 migrant professionals. It also includes the 300,000 migrant spouses of Taiwanese citizens who were not yet provided with their National Identification Card in Taiwan.