Foreign nationals living in Taiwan shall enroll in Taiwan's NHI program when they are eligible to enroll, regardless of their nationality or occupation. The standards of the premium calculations and rights to health care applied to foreign nationals are the same ones as applied to Taiwanese citizens. More details as follows:
- Those legally employed must enroll in NHI since the date of employment.
- Holders of a Taiwan residency document who have resided in Taiwan for 6 months or more must enroll in NHI since the day they satisfy eligibility. For example, foreign students studying in Taiwan must enroll in NHI since the day they have lived in Taiwan for 6 months.
- From December 1, 2017, all foreign newborns who have resident documents must are enrolled in NHI from the date of birth. For example, while a Japanese couple came to Taiwan because of employment, their child was born in Taiwan. Although the child is a foreign national, the child is still protected under NHI as of the day of birth.
- Complying with the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, foreign professionals and their spouses and minor children who have obtained their resident certificates shall enroll in NHI from the date of obtaining the resident certificates. For example, John is a foreign professional who has come to Taiwan because of employment. His wife and children can enroll in NHI from the date of obtaining their resident certificates.
The NHIA Northern Division also points out that a list of expiring residence permits for foreign nationals living in Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli will be routinely sent to the insured unit and the Category-6 insured in order to notify them to apply for extension of their resident certificates. However, about 750 foreign nationals each month are unable to use NHI due to the expiration of their resident certificates. Foreign nationals shall pay attention to the validity period of the resident certificate and apply for extension at a service station of the National Immigration Agency as soon as possible to ensure that they can continue to use NHI.
For any questions, please call the NHIA hotline at 0800-030-598 or at 02-4128-678 for a mobile phone.