Living in Taiwan as a French National: Stay, Settling In, Safety and Daily Life

France Diplomatie calls Taiwan a safe island and places the territory at normal vigilance. The healthcare system is judged to be of good quality, transport is efficient (high-speed trains between the cities of the main island, domestic flights to Kinmen, Matsu, Lanyu and Penghu) and several airlines link Taoyuan to Paris, including Air France-KLM, via Amsterdam, under a codeshare with China Airlines. These strengths appeal to employees, students and families.

The points of attention come down to four topics: seismic risk, the typhoon season, two-wheeler traffic and the need to organise health cover before departure. France and Taiwan have no social security agreement (CLEISS list of agreements; CLEISS is the French Centre for European and International Social Security Liaison); the guide healthcare reimbursement in Taiwan details each situation, and the page health insurance in Taiwan sets out the general framework.

According to France Diplomatie, a visa is not required for a stay of under 90 days by a French national. The passport must be valid for more than 6 months after the date of entry and the traveller presents a return or onward ticket to a third country for which they hold a valid visa. Since 1 October 2025, the paper arrival card has been replaced by the online arrival card (Taiwan Arrival Card, TWAC), free of charge, to be completed within the three days before arrival. Longer stays require a visa, applied for at the Taipei Representative Office in France.

The residence permit for residents is called the ARC (Alien Resident Certificate). The National Immigration Agency (immigration.gov.tw) publishes the procedures for applying, extending and changing the purpose of stay; it also answers on 1990, a free line open 24 hours a day and available in English (France Diplomatie). A visitor holding a visitor visa allowing a stay of at least sixty days can request an extension, up to a total stay of six months; the application is filed up to fifteen days before expiry, for a fee of NT$300 (National Immigration Agency). A visa-free entry cannot be extended under these rules.

For the long term, permanent residence is obtained after five consecutive years of legal residence, with at least 183 days of presence per year. The file includes in particular proof of income (average monthly income over the past year of more than twice the minimum wage) or of assets (property valued at more than NT$5 million), a medical certificate and a criminal record; the fee is NT$10,000 (National Immigration Agency). Foreign professionals and holders of the Employment Gold Card benefit from shorter timeframes, presented on the page working in Taiwan.

Taipei concentrates the institutions, the companies and the Taipei French Office (Taipei 101, Xinyi District). It is also the city of the two schools of the French network described below. The rest of the main island is linked by high-speed train, faster than flying for trips between cities according to France Diplomatie: Taichung and Kaohsiung attract industry and services professionals, Hualien and the east coast those who love nature and mountain landscapes.

The choice of neighbourhood mostly rests on three criteria: proximity to the workplace or school, access to the metro or train, and exposure to hazards (flood-prone areas, terrain). France Diplomatie points out that the secondary roads in some areas, Hualien in particular, can be dangerous because of the terrain and weather conditions.

The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) measures wages and prices. Average regular monthly earnings of all employees are around NT$49,000 (or around NT$52,000 for full-time employees of Taiwanese nationality). Average household disposable income is around NT$1.2 million (DGBAS, survey on family incomes and expenditures). These benchmarks help to size up a local budget; the current exchange rate and inflation appear in the “Economic indicators” block of this page.

For housing, renting is the usual route for new arrivals. Prices vary widely between Taipei and the other cities; no official rent statistics have been used here, and the budget should be checked on the spot, against recent listings. France Diplomatie flags a domestic safety point: gas appliances installed on balconies (hobs, water heaters) can be badly installed or poorly checked, with a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) lists two schools in Taipei, both in its category of partner institutions. The Lycée international français de Taipei (654 Songshan Road, Xinyi District) offers 8 levels, 6 of them accredited (from CP, the first year of primary school, to sixième, the first year of secondary school). The Taipei European School – Lycée français de Taipei (99 Fuguo Road, Shilin District) offers 15 levels, from the petite section (first year of nursery school) to the terminale (final year of lycée), all accredited. Taipei is also one of the five “Eurocampus” sites of the network, where a French lycée and a German lycée share a campus.

For schooling outside the network, or for a short stay, the CNED (French distance-learning service) remains a solution to consider with the school of attachment. Fees, enrolment calendars and the levels offered should be confirmed directly with the schools, on each one’s page in the AEFE directory.

Personal safety: France Diplomatie occasionally mentions assaults targeting foreigners, with punches and sometimes knives, as well as attempted extortion, mostly in or near bars, clubs and nightclubs. Basic caution in these places is enough to rule out most of the risk. The emergency numbers are 110 for the police and 119 for the fire brigade and medical rescue; an English-speaking operator can sometimes answer.

Drugs: the penalties for transporting, possessing, consuming, producing or trafficking narcotics are very heavy, and local legislation provides for the death penalty in certain cases (France Diplomatie).

Earthquakes and typhoons: Taiwan lies in an area of high seismic activity. After a tremor, it is recommended to contact your relatives; if communications are down, the Taipei French Office (+886 2 3518 5151) can be reached. The typhoon season runs from July to October according to the France Diplomatie safety page: the weather authorities (CWA, in Chinese and English) publish the alerts, and instructions are broadcast by the media, notably on the English-language radio station ICRT. In the mountains, even light rain upstream can make river levels rise very quickly: move away from the banks as soon as the rain starts. Registering on Ariane makes it possible to receive French alerts.

Traffic: the French driving licence alone is not enough to drive in Taiwan; the solutions depend on the length of stay and are detailed on the page of the Taipei French Office. The motorways are safe and well maintained, but two-wheelers, which are very common, account for most accidents: helmets are compulsory, and turning left at intersections is prohibited in some cases. Alcohol is penalised from 0.3 g/L, with fines of up to NT$3 million.

France Diplomatie recommends an assistance contract or insurance covering all medical costs, including hospitalisation and medical repatriation: without cover, access to care can be refused, even in a life-threatening emergency, and the embassy does not pay these costs. Residents holding an ARC join the national health insurance scheme: how it works is described on the page Taiwan’s healthcare system. Before leaving, consult your family doctor or an international vaccination centre, and check that the medicines you are taking are permitted: customs requires a prescription and a declaration form for regulated products, and the import of meat is prohibited, with fines of up to one million NT$.

The formalities of the first weeks: obtaining the ARC, opening a bank account, taking out health insurance, renting accommodation and registering on the register of French nationals living abroad with the Taipei French Office. For help organising health cover, Expavy compares the solutions suited to each profile.