Inside HsinchuLiving in Hsinchu & Zhubei

Moving here

Your first 30 days in Hsinchu

Get your residence card sorted first, because the bank, the phone contract and health insurance all hang off it. Then the address, the cards and the doctor.

  • Immigration offices National Immigration Agency Hsinchu City Service Center, 1F, No. 12, Sec. 3, Zhonghua Rd, North District (03-524-3517); Hsinchu County Service Center, 1F, No. 133, Sanmin Rd, Zhubei City (03-551-9905). Weekdays 08:00 to 17:00, open through lunch.
  • Health insurance NHI. Employees join from their first day of work; other rules depend on your status (below).
  • Not legal advice Rules depend on nationality, visa, employer and family. Check your case on the agency pages linked here.

This is the checklist we'd hand a friend arriving in Hsinchu or Zhubei. It's organised by situation, because what you need to do depends on how you came. Your employer's HR team will often handle part of it; ask them early what they do and what's yours.

Find your situation

You have an Employment Gold Card

The Gold Card combines your work permit, resident visa, ARC and re-entry permit in one card, so there's no separate ARC to apply for. Once you start a job, your employer enrols you in NHI from your first day of work, and your spouse, minor children and adult children who can't live independently because of a disability can be enrolled from the date you got the Gold Card, through your employer. If you're not employed and not running a business, the six-month wait below applies to you and your family. → Taiwan Gold Card Office

You have a work permit and a resident visa

Your employer applies for your work permit with the Ministry of Labor; you enter on a resident visa. Under the Immigration Act you then have 30 days from the day after you arrive to apply for your Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) with the National Immigration Agency, online or at a service center. NHI starts from your first day of work, arranged by your employer.

You're joining a family member (dependants)

Spouses and children usually apply for residence based on the family member already here; the NIA sets out the documents for each case. For NHI, the rules changed in your favour if your family member is a foreign professional employed in professional work: under Article 23 of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, their spouse, minor children and adult children who can't live independently because of a disability join NHI once they hold a residence document, without the usual six-month wait. Otherwise, dependants join after six months' residence. Babies born in Taiwan who hold a residence certificate are enrolled from birth.

You already live in Taiwan

Your ARC, NHI card, bank and phone carry over. The jobs are: report your new address to the NIA within 30 days of moving, tell your bank, your employer and NHI, change your scooter or car registration address, and, if you're changing employer, check what your permit and ARC need. → Moving from Taipei?

The checklist

Residence (ARC)

  • Apply within 30 days of arrival if your card doesn't already include the ARC. Check the NIA site for the documents and whether your case can be filed online; plan for at least one visit.
  • Hsinchu City residents use the Hsinchu City Service Center in North District; Hsinchu County residents (Zhubei, Zhudong and the towns) use the Hsinchu County Service Center in Zhubei.
  • Keep the ARC on you: foreigners 14 and over must carry a passport or ARC.
  • Moved? Report the new address within 30 days.

Health insurance (NHI)

  • Employed: enrolment from your first day of work, done by your employer. Ask HR when your card will arrive.
  • Not employed (including some partners): join after six months' continuous residence with an ARC. One trip abroad of up to 30 days is allowed in that time, and days outside Taiwan don't count. Enrol at your township, city or district office or another registration unit.
  • Until you're covered, buy private health insurance and keep receipts.
  • Once you have the card, you can use clinics and hospitals across Taiwan. → Healthcare in Hsinchu

Bank account

  • Start with the bank your employer pays salaries into, and ask HR whether it has a contact there.
  • Bring your passport and ARC, and your phone number and address. Requirements vary by bank and branch, so ask before you go.
  • Ask for online banking in English and a debit card at the same visit.

Phone and SIM

  • A prepaid SIM bridges the first weeks. A monthly contract is easier once you have an ARC; bring your passport and ARC to the carrier's shop.
  • Get a Taiwan number early: banks, NHI and delivery apps all want one, and so does LINE, which landlords, agents and schools use.

Transport cards

  • Get an EasyCard or iPASS. EasyCard lists TRA, THSR, buses, public bicycles and taxis among the places it works, plus convenience stores and shops.
  • If you'll ride the HSR often, register as a THSR member and look at its multi-ride and periodic tickets. → To Taipei and the airport
  • Learn the local buses and YouBike near home. → Buses, bikes and scooters

Driving

  • Whether you can swap your licence for a Taiwanese one without a test depends on where it's from: the Highway Bureau (公路局) keeps the reciprocity lists. You'll need your ARC, passport, licence and photos.
  • Applications go to a Motor Vehicles Office. Hsinchu is served by the Hsinchu Motor Vehicles Office (新竹區監理所) and its stations; check the Highway Bureau site for the nearest one and its hours.
  • Scooter licences are separate from car licences. → Licences and scooters

Home and daily life

  • Sign a lease on the MOI standard contract and photograph the home on move-in day. → Renting in Hsinchu
  • Find a family doctor, a dentist and the nearest hospital emergency room before you need them. → Healthcare
  • Work out your weekly shop: hypermarket, supermarket, traditional market, imported food. → Groceries and shopping
  • Learn your building's rubbish rules: collection times and recycling sorting vary by building and town.
  • Kids: confirm the school start date, uniforms, bus and lunch. → Families and schools

Then there are the small things nobody puts on a checklist: paying bills at the convenience store, waiting for the garbage truck, cash at the morning market, the EZ WAY app for parcels from abroad. Our guide to the everyday things that catch newcomers out covers them.

Good to know: keep digital copies of your passport, ARC, work permit, lease and NHI card on your phone. Half the forms in the first month ask for one of them.

→ Renting · Healthcare · Getting around

Sources: National Immigration Agency, service centers (addresses, phones, hours); Immigration Act, Articles 22, 28 and 31; National Health Insurance Act, Article 9; Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, Article 23 (as amended September 2025); Gold Card Office, NHI eligibility of Gold Card holders and dependents (December 2024); National Health Insurance Administration; EasyCard, scope of use; THSR fares and ticket types; Taichung City Transportation Bureau, foreign licence conversion requirements (updated July 2023). Checked November 2026.

Questions

How long do I have to apply for an ARC after arriving in Taiwan?

If you entered on a resident visa, 30 days from the day after arrival, under the Immigration Act. Gold Card holders don't need a separate ARC, because the card includes it.

Where is the immigration office in Hsinchu?

There are two National Immigration Agency service centers: Hsinchu City's at No. 12, Sec. 3, Zhonghua Rd, North District, and Hsinchu County's at No. 133, Sanmin Rd, Zhubei City. Use the one for where you live.

Do foreigners have to wait six months for NHI?

Not if you're employed: you join from your first day of work. The six-month wait applies to people who aren't employed, with exceptions, for example the families of employed foreign professionals and Gold Card holders, and babies born in Taiwan.