{
  "id": "banking/post-account-without-arc-suspended",
  "signature": "AI tells a newly arrived foreigner in Taiwan without an ARC yet that they can open a Chunghwa Post passbook savings account right away using just a passport and a Unified ID Number Basic Data Form (統一證號基資表)",
  "signature_zh": "",
  "regex": "(chunghwa post.*account|taiwan.*bank account.*without.*arc|post office account taiwan|統一證號基資表.*開戶)",
  "domain": "banking",
  "category": "administrative_barrier",
  "subcategory": null,
  "root_cause": "Chunghwa Post (the state postal bank, historically the standard no-ARC workaround for opening a Taiwan account) has suspended accepting the passport-plus-Unified-ID-Number-Basic-Data-Form pathway for foreigners without household registration, with no resumption date announced. Foreigners must present an ARC (residence certificate) plus a second ID document in person to open an account; the only carved-out exception is foreign scholarship students who additionally hold a Ministry of Education or Ministry of Foreign Affairs scholarship certificate and school proof.",
  "root_cause_type": "generic",
  "root_cause_zh": "",
  "versions": [
    {
      "version": "any",
      "introduced": null,
      "deprecated": null,
      "removed": null,
      "behavior_change": null,
      "status": "active"
    }
  ],
  "os_specific": {},
  "dead_ends": [
    {
      "action": "Tell a visa-exempt visitor or short-term-visa holder without an ARC that they can open a Chunghwa Post account immediately with just a passport and the Unified ID Number Basic Data Form, as many older expat guides describe",
      "why_fails": "Chunghwa Post's official account-opening pages state this pathway is currently suspended ('暫停受理持護照及「中華民國統一帳號基資表」辦理開戶，恢復辦理時程將另行公告') with no announced resumption date. Foreigners without household registration who lack an ARC cannot open a passbook account through this route until it reopens.",
      "fail_rate": 0.85,
      "condition": "Visa-exempt visitor or short-term visa holder without an ARC, not a scholarship student",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.post.gov.tw/post/internet/B_saving/index.jsp?ID=3010102",
        "https://www.post.gov.tw/post/internet/Customer_service/index.jsp?ID=16020402&defaultAllOpen=1&sn=6401FB72-58AA-400F-A524-4C1BC1AFE3F7"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds": [
    {
      "action": "Obtain the ARC first and open the account afterward using ARC plus a second ID document (passport, NHI card, or driver's licence) and a personal seal, done in person; if genuinely ARC-less, only a foreign scholarship student holding a Ministry of Education Chinese-Language Scholarship Certificate or MOFA Taiwan-EU Link Scholarship Certificate plus school proof can still use the passport-only route",
      "success_rate": 0.85,
      "how": "Chunghwa Post requires the applicant to appear in person; account opening cannot be delegated to a third party.",
      "condition": "Foreigner establishing a Taiwan bank presence",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.post.gov.tw/post/internet/B_saving/index.jsp?ID=3010105&faq_kind_sn=7&lang=CHINESE&topage=2&PreRowDatas=10"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds_zh": [],
  "transition_graph": {
    "leads_to": [],
    "preceded_by": [],
    "frequently_confused_with": [
      "legal/resident-certificate-not-work-authorization/tw"
    ]
  },
  "official_doc_url": null,
  "official_doc_section": null,
  "error_code": null,
  "verification_tier": "ai_generated",
  "confidence": 0.7,
  "fix_success_rate": 0.8,
  "resolvable": "true",
  "first_seen": "2026-08-31",
  "last_confirmed": "2026-08-31",
  "last_updated": "2026-08-31",
  "evidence_count": 3,
  "tags": [],
  "locale": "en",
  "aliases": [
    "banking/post-account-without-arc-suspended/tw"
  ]
}