Email Consultation
Exit ban in Taiwan: what a foreigner should do at the airport
← Back to InsightsLegal Information

Exit ban in Taiwan: what a foreigner should do at the airport

7 min read

You hand over your passport at the departure counter at Taoyuan, the officer looks at the screen for a while, and a second officer walks you to a side room. You are told you cannot leave Taiwan. Sometimes the reason is given on the spot; sometimes you are told to call another office on Monday.

An exit ban (限制出境, sometimes written 限制出境、出海 in criminal cases) is not one rule. Several different authorities can impose one, each under its own statute, with its own time limit and its own way out. The first job is to work out which one you are dealing with.

Who actually stops you at the gate

Under Article 21 of the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法), the National Immigration Agency must prohibit a foreigner from leaving in two situations: a judicial authority has notified it of an exit restriction, or a tax authority or another competent authority has notified it under a statute. The NIA does not choose the reason. It carries out someone else's decision, and when it does so at inspection it must hand you a written notice on the spot and tell you the reason.

Photograph that notice, note the name of the authority and any case or document number, and do not sign anything you cannot read.

Under Article 64 of the same Act, officers may hold a person at the inspection point to investigate, and for a foreigner that hold may not exceed six hours.

A ban does not extend your permission to stay. If you are here as a visitor, apply to the NIA to extend your stay before it runs out (Article 31, paragraph 1). If you hold an ARC and the reason for it ends while you are barred, for example because your employer lets you go, Article 31, paragraph 4, item 8 allows the NIA to let you keep your residence rather than cancel it. Do not let your ARC or visa expire while the matter is open, and do not ask anyone to help you leave anyway: under Article 21-1 no one may help a foreigner under an exit ban leave, and Article 72-1 makes that a crime punishable by one to seven years' imprisonment.

A criminal case: prosecutor or judge

In a criminal case the ban can arrive in two ways. A prosecutor or judge can impose it directly, even before you have been questioned, under Article 93-2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure when you are seriously suspected and either have no fixed residence, give good reason to fear flight, or give good reason to fear destruction of evidence or collusion with co-defendants or witnesses. That direct route is not available for offenses punishable at most by short-term detention (拘役) or a fine. A ban can also be added after you are questioned: if the prosecutor or judge releases you on bail or with restricted residence, Article 93-6 allows an exit ban at the same time, so the limit for fine-only offenses does not rule out a ban in every case. Both routes follow the same time limits and remedies. For that earlier stage, see our column on police questioning.

The decision has to be in writing. It states the case and the offense charged, the reasons and period, the executing agency and the remedies. The written notice can reach you up to six months after the ban is imposed, unless your address is unknown. If you learn of the ban before that paper arrives, you may ask to be given it, and if you were questioned before the notice was sent, you must be told in the hearing and handed the written decision there.

The time limits are in Article 93-3. During an investigation a prosecutor may restrict you for no more than eight months. Extensions require the court, must be applied for at least 20 days before expiry, and are capped at four months and then two months. At trial each restriction may last up to eight months, with a cumulative ceiling of five years for offenses carrying up to ten years and ten years for the rest. Before extending, the court must give you and your defense counsel a chance to be heard. The ban is treated as lifted when the case ends in non-prosecution, deferred prosecution, acquittal, a suspended sentence, a sentence of a fine only, and certain other outcomes, unless it is kept in place during an appeal.

To challenge it, you or your counsel may apply to the prosecutor or the court to revoke or change it under Article 93-5. If the prosecutor or presiding judge imposed it, you can also ask the court to set it aside under Article 416 within ten days of the decision, or of service if it was served. A court's ruling can be appealed by 抗告 under Article 404, also within ten days of service (Article 406). An appeal does not pause enforcement by itself.

Unpaid tax: the tax bureau, through the Ministry of Finance

If you run or direct a company in Taiwan, check this route first. Article 24 of the Tax Collection Act (稅捐稽徵法) lets the Ministry of Finance ask the NIA to restrict an individual living in Taiwan when confirmed overdue tax and fines reach NT$1 million, or NT$1.5 million while an administrative appeal is pending (tax only, not fines). For a business entity the figures are NT$2 million and NT$3 million, and where the debtor is a business entity, the ban may be applied to its responsible person.

Three points are easy to miss. First, the ban cannot be imposed unless the tax office has first taken a preservation step, either barring transfers of your property or obtaining a provisional attachment. Second, the Ministry's guidelines add further factors: eight or more trips abroad in the previous two years, 183 consecutive days abroad in the previous year, unknown whereabouts, or signs of hiding assets. The Ministry's tax Q&A says the amount alone can be enough at NT$10 million for an individual and NT$20 million for a business (NT$15 million and NT$30 million while an appeal is pending). Third, the Ministry must send you a written notice with reasons and the remedy procedure, properly served. The ban may not last more than five years from the date the NIA imposes it.

It must be lifted if you pay all the tax and fines or provide acceptable security, if the underlying assessment is set aside in an appeal (subject to exceptions), if the ban has run five years, or if the confirmed amount falls below the threshold. A complaint against the ban itself goes through the administrative appeal route (訴願), which under Article 14 of the Administrative Appeals Act generally has a 30-day deadline from receiving the decision, and then the administrative court.

Debts and fines: enforcement offices

A creditor holding an enforceable title, such as a final judgment, can trigger a different route. Under Article 22 of the Compulsory Enforcement Act (強制執行法), a debtor who plainly could pay but does not, or who is hiding or disposing of assets, can be ordered to provide security or perform by a set date. If there is also good reason to fear flight, or another necessary reason, the enforcement court may restrict the debtor's residence (限制住居). The statute does not say "exit ban", but the Judicial Yuan's directions to enforcement courts (point 11(3)) state that restricted residence includes a ban on leaving the country, and that the court must notify the immigration authority when it imposes or lifts one. The court must lift the restriction once you provide adequate security, the reason for it ends, or enforcement is complete. Objections to the enforcement court's order go through Article 12 of the same Act, but filing one does not stop enforcement.

The provision reaches beyond the debtor. Article 25 applies these measures to the responsible person of a legal entity and to a sole proprietorship's manager, so a foreign director or company representative who steps down may still be covered if the grounds arose while they were in office.

Unpaid administrative fines and taxes handed over for collection are handled under Article 17 of the Administrative Execution Act (行政執行法). The Administrative Enforcement Agency (法務部行政執行署) may restrict residence in listed situations, and in its practice that includes an exit ban. It may not do so where the total owed is under NT$100,000, unless the person has already left the country twice. Objections go to the agency under Article 9, and enforcement generally continues while it is decided. A ban from this agency is separate from a tax ban, so lifting one does not automatically lift the other.

How to find out what is registered against you

Foreign nationals can check whether an exit restriction is registered. The NIA offers an online check using your Uniform ID number, passport number and a Citizen Digital Certificate (card or mobile app). Foreigners may also apply in person at an NIA service center with the required documents, or through an authorized representative, on weekdays from 08:00 to 17:00. The NIA says the service is free and that you cannot check another person's record without written authorization.

Use the check to confirm whether a restriction is on record. To learn who asked for it and why, go back to the written notice and to the authority it names: the prosecutors' office or court for a criminal case, the tax bureau handling your file for tax, the enforcement court or the Administrative Enforcement Agency branch for a debt or fine.

What to bring to the lawyer that day

Bring the airport notice or a photo of it, your passport and ARC, your flight and travel plan, any summons, subpoena, tax notice or court letter received in recent months, and details of any company where you are a director, manager or responsible person. Do not delete messages or files, and do not attempt to leave by another route.

Public help exists as well. The NIA runs a Foreigners in Taiwan hotline, 1990 from a Taiwan phone, for general questions about living in Taiwan. The Legal Aid Foundation (laf.org.tw) can assist foreign nationals lawfully living in Taiwan who meet its criteria; ask it directly whether you qualify.

First contact

When contacting Hovering International Law Firm, say which airport and date the ban was met, which authority is named on the notice, the deadline printed on any document, your visa or ARC expiry date and your planned travel. Add the names of any company connected to you. A conflict check comes before you send detailed documents; consultation language, scope and fees can be discussed after that. Tell us the language you prefer.

Email wei@hoveringlaw.com.tw. The Taipei office is at 7F-2, No. 35, Sec. 1, Chengde Rd., Datong Dist., Taipei City 103, Taiwan (103 臺北市大同區承德路一段35號7樓之2). Attorney Wei Tseng (曾雋崴) is responsible for this advertisement.

Official sources

Checked: September 29, 2026. What applies to you depends on the authority and the wording of your notice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the immigration officer at the airport decide whether I can be stopped from leaving?
For foreigners, the National Immigration Agency carries out an exit ban that another authority has notified to it, such as a prosecutor, a court or a tax authority. Ask for the written notice handed over at the counter, because the authority that imposed the ban is the one that can lift or change it.
Can I be barred from leaving Taiwan over unpaid tax?
Yes, Article 24 of the Tax Collection Act allows it for people living in Taiwan and for the responsible persons of companies once tax and fines above set amounts are overdue and other conditions are met. Paying in full or providing acceptable security is one of the listed grounds for lifting the ban.
How long can a criminal exit ban last?
During an investigation a prosecutor can impose up to eight months, and the court can extend it twice, by four and then two months. At trial each order lasts up to eight months, with a total cap of five years for offenses punishable by up to ten years and ten years for more serious ones. Bring every document you have received so your lawyer can see which stage applies.

This article provides general information and is not legal advice on any individual matter.

Related reading