Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/11/05
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Nov. 5 (CNA) A government plan to change the format of the Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) number to match that of the Taiwan national ID card will be implemented in October 2020, the National Development Council (NDC) said Tuesday.

The issue of the ARC format has been a troubling one for foreign nationals in Taiwan and has been raised many times by the foreign chambers of commerce, NDC Minister Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) said at the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT), which was releasing its annual position paper.

On the ARC and Alien Permanent Resident Certificate (APRC), the number, which comprises two letters and eight digits, will be changed to one letter and nine digits, same as on the Taiwan ID card, Chen said.

In response, ECCT Chief Executive Officer Freddie Hoeglund said the chamber welcomed the change, as it would give foreign nationals greater access to online services, which often do not accept the current format.    [FULL  STORY]