National Health Insurance

FAQ

Here is a summary of frequently asked questions regarding the Taiwan Employment Gold Card program, the application process, and other general questions regarding life in Taiwan and more.

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National Health Insurance is a compulsory social insurance, every Taiwanese citizen with official residency or foreign national living in Taiwan with an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC), regardless of age, gender, or employment status, must enroll in the program. The participants are legally obligated to pay for premium and have equal rights to access medical care when they fall ill.

  1. A foreign resident who holds a Resident Certificate in Taiwan may apply for National Health Insurance after a full 6 months of residence (having continuously stayed in Taiwan for 6 months, or having stayed in Taiwan for 6 months with a departure for less than 30 days; the actual duration of residence excludes the number of days spent abroad). However, those who become legally employed may apply for NHI on the date of employment. From December 1, 2017 onward, a newborn foreign infant who obtains a Resident Certificate in Taiwan will be eligible for NHI upon the date of birth.
  2. In accordance with the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, which went into force on Oct. 25, 2021: foreign special professionals and foreign senior professionals who meet the criteria for being insured as employers or self-employed business owners may apply for NHI immediately upon receipt of their Resident Certificates. This policy extends to their dependents (spouses, minor children, and adult children who are unable to live independently) who have obtained their own Resident Certificate(s).
  3. A foreign resident will lose NHI entitlement once their Resident Certificate expires, and they will be withdrawn from the NHI.

You can apply online or visit your local district office to apply for a NHI IC Card. For more information, please visit the National Health Insurance Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare’s website .

According to Article 9 of the National Health Insurance Act, without a regular employer, even if they join an occupational union or have a dependent with household registration, must have resided in Taiwan for at least 6 months to join the National Health Insurance. However, if your dependent is a Foreign Special Professional or holds an Employment Gold Card and is already insured, you can immediately join the NHI, according to Article 21 of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals.

If you reside in Taiwan but are unable to meet the requirement of continuous residence for at least 6 months due to frequent overseas travel, and you have a need for medical insurance, we recommend purchasing a life insurance policy through domestic companies to cover it.

The following documents need to be prepared:

  1. Application For NHI Card
  2. National Health Insurance Coverage Application Form
  3. Declaration form for establishment of a national health insurance unit
  4. Copy of the Employment Gold Card
  5. The Ministry of Economic Affairs company registration approval letter

For more details, please contact the Health Insurance Consultation Hotline :

Tel: +886-800-030-598

Mobile: +886-2-4128-678

  • Taipei Divisions: +886-2-2191-2006
  • Northern Divisions: +886-3-433-9111
  • Central Divisions: +886-4-2258-3988
  • Southern Divisions: +886-6-224-5678
  • Eastern Divisions: +886-3-833-2111

If you are neither self-employed nor employed in Taiwan, to qualify for NHI you will need to spend a full 6-months period in Taiwan. You are allowed to make one trip abroad, the trip abroad should not exceed over 30 days. During this time, your waiting period of 6 months will be “paused,” and will resume upon your return to Taiwan. If you go abroad on more than one trip, or if your trip is longer than 30 days, then you will have to wait another 6 months from the time you re-enter Taiwan to be eligible for an NHI card. For more information pertaining to the examples for foreign nationals to calculate their length of stay in order to enroll in the NHI, please refer to Here .

People who obtain employment in Taiwan, get the work permit under the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals and their ARCs, shall enroll in the NHI program by their company (formally known as the “group insurance applicant”) from the day they are employed. Additionally the foreign professionals become employers or self-employed owners of professional business in Article 10 item 1, subparagraph 1, paragraph 4 of the National Health Insurance Act in Taiwan, shall apply as a group insurance applicant through National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) branch office, then finish the enrollment for themselves from the day their business is founded.

Once you are employed by a Taiwanese organization or are qualified to be insured as an employer or self-employed business owner under Article 10 Paragraph 1 Subparagraph 1 Item 4 of the National Health Insurance Act, your spouse and your minor children and adult children who are unable to live independently will be covered under your enrollment as ‘dependents’.

If you are not employed or self-employed in Taiwan, your dependents must wait 6 months after holding a Alien Residence Certificate (ARC) before they may apply for health insurance. During this waiting period, they can only leave Taiwan once, and said period cannot exceed 30 days.

To enroll your dependents in NHI, please bring your Gold Card, their ARCs, and your stamps to the National Health Insurance Administration .

Please refer to article 21 of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals .

Should you have any questions regarding your dependents’ NHI, please call the health insurance consultation line

Tel: +886-800-030-598

Mobile: +886-2-4128-678

The premiums for wage-earners, the insured of category 1 are based on their monthly salary. For employers and self-employed owners of professional business it is based on their profitable income with regards to the payroll bracket table and reported by their group insurance applicant. The formula of premiums is as follows:【Insured amount X insurance premium rate X contribution ratio X (1+number of dependents)】The premium will be withheld from the employee’s paycheck and then be transferred to the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA). The premiums for those dependents are same as the insured and shall be paid by the insured.

For more detailed information about how premiums are calculated, please refer to NHIA’s website or contact the Health Insurance

Consultation Hotline:

Tel: +886-800-030-598

Mobile: +886-2-4128-678

Taipei Divisions: +886-2-2191-2006

Northern Divisions: +886-3-433-9111

Central Divisions: +886-4-2258-3988

Please fill in the “NHI IC Card Application Form” available at your nearest Bureau of National Health Insurance branch or post office. Attach a photocopy of your identification card on the reverse side and present the completed form to the service personnel. There will be a card production fee of NT$200. If you choose to include your photo on your NHI IC Card, you will need to submit a 2” color or black and white full-face photo (hats and tinted glasses are not permitted). With a photo NHI IC Card, you will no longer need to present a second photo ID when seeking medical care using NHI coverage.

For more information regarding NHI IC Card, please refer to NHI IC Card Tips .

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) states that those who change their UI number, do not need to update their NHI IC Card until they enroll in another insurance.

If you are planning to leave Taiwan for more than 6 months, you can apply to pause your NHI IC Card. You will not be required to pay the insurance fee while you are out of the country and can reactivate your card when you get return to Taiwan. Please check the NHIA information regarding NHI IC Card suspension. For more information, please contact the NHI IC Card Consultation Hotline: 0800-030598

You should rely on your working spouse or first-degree relative (parents or children) to apply for insurance as dependents. If they are not working or you have no direct blood relatives in Taiwan, please apply for insurance at the district office in the place of your residence.

For more detailed regulations, please refer to Article 18 of the Enforcement Rules of the National Health Insurance Act .

Those who obtain the Alien Resident Certificate (ARC), spouses, minor children, and children in age of majority who are unable to live independently due to physical or mental disability of foreign professionals, foreign special professionals, and foreign senior professionals under Article 10 item 1, subparagraph 1, paragraph 4 of the National Health Insurance Act and Employers or self-employed owners of professional business, shall be the dependents of the foreign professionals, foreign special professionals, and foreign senior professionals and enroll in the NHI program through their companies.

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