Usually you can get conditional approval and schedule an appointment within a few days. If you aren't planning to go to Taiwan until September 2019, I wouldn't apply before August 2019.

This is good advice - just to clarify, the problem is that the Taiwan e-gate interview must be completed within 180 days of the conditional approval, so it's probably a good idea to leave a buffer in case travel plans change.

Most of us went through the process a while ago, but IIRC, conditional approval was granted within minutes and interviews only have a 3-day advance requirement. A few weeks or even a month prior should leave sufficient buffer for any problems.

I forgot to report back. I have a new passport issued June 2018. I updated via the DHS portal, and this reflected on the NIA side shortly. I brought my old passport just in case, but I had zero issues using the new passport entering Taiwan in December at T2. I aligned the left edge of the passport with the light as before, and it worked on the first try.

As another data point, I also had no problem with Australia's SmartGate in November, so I haven't experienced the same issue reading a US passport that others have.

To add another data point, I previously had to align my passport with the red light to get it to read properly.
As of today, it seems that's no longer necessary. I inserted my passport straight to the upper left and it seemed to work properly the first time.

I guess the NIA fixed the issue!

I'll check that out during my next trip.

Was speaking to the NIA officer-in-charge yesterday because the machine continues to hate my passport. According to him, those with older passports have issues not because of the size but because of the ICAO lines at the bottom of the picture page. Versions that are older (mine is 2014) create issues with the reading of the passport, hence the "chip cannot be read" screen (there's no cannot read page in the software). NIA went to engage AIT and DHS to figure out what was going on.

My previous issued passport was from 2010, and aligning with the light worked. It's odd because I've read reports that newer US passports have had some problems with SmartGate in Australia. e-Gate doesn't seem to work with older passports, and SmartGate doesn't seem to work with the new. :)

To clarify, this is the same passport I used back in 2018 issued in 2010. I'll be going through arrivals again tomorrow and will report back.

I just went through the eGate with my 2010 Passport at Arrivals with the normal positioning you would expect to use and everything worked!

Great data point! Thanks!

For those whom E-Gate has worked, when you fill in the Online Arrival Card, which Visa type do you select? The last 2 times I've selected Visitor and the E-Gate didn't work for me. Someone just called me today and suggested that I use Visa Exempt instead.

I couldn't find any documentation on this anywhere and wonder if anyone else had similar experience? I'll be flying back into TPE again next week so I'll find out!

Hello taglin138,

Yes, you would select Visa Exempt under this arrangement.

I don't think you need to fill out an arrival card with e-gate... but if you are on a US passport, you'd be visa exempt. Visitor visa is for people coming from countries that require a visa.

If you're doing e-Gate for Global Entry, you have to fill out an online arrival card. If you have a Taiwan passport with National ID, ARC, or APRC there's no online arrival card required when using e-Gate.

Ah got it. I guess I've only entered with ARC.

A few days ago, I was exiting TPE from Terminal 1. Going through Immigration, I was struggling to find a page in my passport which had a big enough space for the official to chop the exit stamp. On the few pages that I indicated, the space was not big enough, and the official refused to chop the passport. I travel to Taiwan several times a month, have done so for several years on the same passport, and showed the official where previous officials had lazily chopped the exit stamp in the centre of each page so that only six stamps were able to fit on the page. I was getting quite frustrated at this person.

He then told me that, if I did not want or did not need an exit stamp in my passport, then I could just use it to go through the e-gate. I was quite surprised at this suggestion since I did not even know I was eligible.

I went over to the e-gate section and found it rows and rows deep with a long line up. It would have taken me at least 20 minutes to go through. I ended up going back to the Speedy Immigration line, which had no wait, and finally found a page in my passport which JUST had enough space to chop the exit stamp.

But, the official's suggestion still intrigues me. Am I entitled to use e-gate? I use a Canadian passport to travel to Taiwan and use Speedy Immigration. That's it. No other credentials.

Any advice?

I just learned about this recently. From Terminal 1, there's a few e-gates (to the left of the Taiwan citizen e-gates) that foreigners can use. It's not called out anywhere so you'd have to know it's there or just happen to see it, I guess. I asked and they don't have this in Terminal 2 yet.

Thanks!

Interesting. I really didn't know that. I've always selected Visitor. Thanks for the info!

Thanks for this info; good to know. Will try this out next time. These "special" e-gates are for foreigners on any passport?

Sorry, I am not sure which foreign passports specifically. But the airport employee I was with told me I could use it with my US passport.

Are you saying there are 2 flavors of eGate - one for TW ROC PP/ARC holders and one for all others?

Is it because of the language the machines speak or they are developing a separate system where anyone from eligible countries can use regardless of eGate eligibility (i.e. without first applying for eGate)?

Right now, eGate is only available to US, Australian and South Korean PP holders who apply in advance.

I asked them about this, here is the scoop:

1 - inbound for non-eGate holders, is always by officer
2 - at T1, foreigners can use the automated system to leave (since they have already been fingerprinted and photographed coming in) - these are separate gates
3 - eventually, the goal is to integrate this functionality on the outbound eGates instead separate gates
4 - no plan to allow inbound non-eGate passengers to use the automated system

Thanks for the update!

Great! Thanks for this timely info. Will be going to TPE again next week.

Just reporting back here again.

Went through these gates on 27.Sep. Very simple. Walk up to the gate, scan your two index fingers, and you are through. Do not need to scan boarding pass or passport.

But, on 02.Oct passing through TPE again, the entire section of these gates was closed. Had to go through normal Immigration to get my passport stamped.

Are you talking about the departure gates at T1 for foreigners? No passport needed?

Yes, that section was closed. Had to go through the usual Immigration counters to get passport stamped to exit.

I just applied via the GE program and paid the fee.

Still processing.

One question - any chance I can interview at TSA airport upon arrival from an international flight?

It looks like facilities for enrollment are open at TSA 08:00 - 22:30. I don't know if they're airside at TSA, but they are available before clearing at TPE. They should be able to accommodate you there for enrollment. If the facilities are before passport control, you can make sure everything is working on the spot. ^

Thank you. By the way, I've read in this thread that it took 14 days to process the pre-approval. By the time I will arrive it will be around a week (or a little over it). I hope this is not an issue.

I will post back here assuming I keep my TSA flight and not change to TPE.

My passport is nearly full so I really don't want to receive any additional stamps, if that can be avoided.

Please keep us updated. ^

Reporting back...

It is not possible to register or do the interview at TSA airport. Upon landing, I’ve confirmed this with two Taiwan immigration agents. They said the database is different and only in TPE there is access to it.

Thank you for the data point. FWIW, I was able to use e-Gate on a departing flight at TSA, so once you're registered you should be good to use e-Gate everywhere.

As an update, upon showing up at TPE T2, in what I understood to be departures (i.e, passport control), I was told that the registration is before security, not when you get to the passport control (which is after security). So after all this effort, and I still haven't been able to register.

Yes, it's by the check-in counters on the terminal entrance side.

The location of initial contact is well-documented in this thread and the official literature.

Also, just for clarity, they do offer the process on arrival prior to clearing immigration.

Thank you. I will register upon arrival next time.

As an update, Mrs. Majuki and I flew to PVG (from the US), and she didn't have any issues using her US passport with a valid 10-year visa to enter. She exited on the US passport as well but provided the Taiwan passport to BR upon check-in at PVG when headed to TPE. The only thing is they asked for was Mrs. Majuki's Chinese name when entering at PVG.

I have now been asked, "你有ARC嗎?" at check-in with both BR and JL almost every time when I'm departing upon not seeing any entry stamps in my passport. For others enrolled in e-Gate for Global Entry, do you have a stamp on the endorsements page of your passport? Mrs. Majuki has this on the last page of her Taiwan passport that says, "e-Gate Immigration Stamp Exempted". I may be mistaken, but I thought I read somewhere that because GE doesn't make any indication of enrollment as part of the reciprocity with e-Gate that NIA makes no indication of e-Gate program enrollment. However, it would avoid the exercise of ticketing agents thumbing back and forth through my passport and upon absence of an entry stamp asking for my non-existent ARC. The check-in agents are always skeptical that I have e-Gate access. However, if I'm leaving, wouldn't that between me and NIA? I don't understand the airline's interest in checking for entry stamps upon departure.

There's nothing in the passport to show membership in the e-Gate reciprocity program. You need to tell the check-in agent that you are an e-Gate program member or of course they're going to search through your passport for the entry stamp. IME the check-in agents can now verify your entry record at the check-in desk so there should be no further issues.

BR agents are always going to do things by the book. That's just the company culture (hence why so many FT'ers on here describe BR as 'very Japanese').