Taiwan Airport Guide 2026: Entry, Transfers & Health Forms

If you're flying into Taiwan for a health screening trip — or just visiting and want to land smoothly — the airport is the first chapter of the experience. Most international travelers arrive at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), but Taipei Songshan (TSA) and Kaohsiung (KHH) play roles too. This guide walks through terminals, immigration, customs, transit options into Taipei, lounges, and the small logistics that make a 12-hour flight feel either painless or punishing.

For a wider view of getting to and around the country, see our flights and high-speed rail overview and the entry rules and visas guide. If you're specifically here for a scan, the full-body MRI primer covers why so many travelers now build trips around Taiwan's screening clinics.

TPE Taoyuan — T1 vs T2 layout

Taoyuan has two terminals connected by a free shuttle and an underground walkway. Knowing which terminal your flight uses matters because they have different lounges, different MRT entrances, and different amenities. Terminal 1 is the older terminal and hosts most regional Asian carriers, including some long-haul flights. Terminal 2 is newer, larger, and hosts the bulk of long-haul Western carriers.

The split isn't perfectly clean — codeshares and seasonal rotations occasionally move flights — so always confirm with your airline before heading to the airport. But for planning purposes, this is the rough breakdown:

If you're flying United, Air France, Lufthansa, KLM, or Cathay, you'll almost always be at T2. If you're on a budget Asian carrier, expect T1. The shuttle between terminals runs every few minutes and takes about 5 minutes — useful if you booked a connection across terminals.

Immigration — e-Gate, APEC, regular line

Immigration is where first-time visitors lose the most time, but it's also where you can save the most with a little preparation. There are three lanes:

Regular line. Used by most first-time visitors. You hand your passport and arrival card to an officer, they ask a couple of questions (purpose of visit, length of stay, hotel address), stamp you in, and you're through. Average wait is 15–30 minutes during normal hours. During peak windows — early morning arrivals from North America (5–8 a.m.) or evening waves from Southeast Asia (6–9 p.m.) — wait times can stretch to 45–60 minutes. If multiple wide-bodies land at once, even longer.

e-Gate (automated). Taiwan offers e-Gate enrollment to passport holders from many countries — including the US, UK, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and several EU states — after their second entry to Taiwan. The first time you arrive, you go through the regular line and can enroll at a kiosk on the arrivals concourse (takes about 2 minutes — fingerprints and a photo). After that, every subsequent arrival is a 30-second walk through an automated gate. If you travel to Taiwan more than once, this is the single best time investment you can make.

APEC Business Travel Card. If you hold an ABTC, there's a dedicated fast lane that bypasses the regular queue entirely. Useful for executives doing repeat trips.

Practical tip: pre-fill the online arrival card at niaspeedy.immigration.gov.tw within 3 days of arrival. It saves you the paper card on the plane and shaves a minute off the counter interaction.

Customs — what to declare, what to leave behind

Taiwan customs is generally relaxed but has a few firm rules worth knowing. The standard limits are:

• Currency: declare cash above NT$100,000 or foreign currency equivalent above USD $10,000. Taiwan also separately limits cash NT to NT$60,000 in some movements — when in doubt, declare.
• Tobacco and alcohol: 200 cigarettes (or 25 cigars, or 1 pound of loose tobacco) and 1 liter of liquor duty-free per adult.
• Agricultural products: no fresh meat, no fresh fruit, no live plants or seeds. Penalties for undeclared meat are surprisingly steep — up to NT$1 million for repeat infractions, particularly for pork (linked to African swine fever protections). Don't bring beef jerky from the US, sausage from Germany, or fresh fruit from anywhere.
• Prescription medications: bring them in original packaging and carry the prescription letter from your doctor. For controlled substances (sleeping aids, ADHD medication, stimulants, narcotics), declare in advance and bring documentation. Don't try to fly in with quantities exceeding personal use.

The green channel (nothing to declare) is fast — usually a 30-second walk-through. The red channel (something to declare) involves a brief conversation and possibly a bag scan. Be honest. Customs officers are professional and the process is faster when you don't try to hide things.

Health declaration post-COVID — current state 2026

As of 2026, Taiwan has fully wound down its COVID-era arrival protocols. There is no quarantine requirement, no testing requirement, and no vaccination requirement for entry. The dedicated COVID health declaration form has been retired.

What's still in place: the standard arrival card asks about countries visited in the last 21 days (used for occasional disease surveillance, particularly for travelers from regions with active outbreaks). Thermal cameras at immigration are still operational and flag elevated temperatures — if you're feverish on arrival, expect to be pulled aside for a brief health check. If you genuinely feel unwell on the plane, tell the cabin crew before landing so you can be cleared smoothly.

For health-screening visitors specifically: bring your prescription medication letter, any prior imaging on physical media (more on this below), and don't worry about extra paperwork beyond what any tourist needs.

From TPE to Taipei central — comparing transit options

TPE is about 40 km from central Taipei. There are four reasonable ways into the city, each with different trade-offs:

Airport MRT. Boards at T2 (station directly underneath) or T1 (short walk via underground passage). Express trains skip several stops and reach Taipei Main Station in about 36 minutes. Trains run roughly every 15 minutes from early morning to about midnight. Clean, reliable, and the cheapest option.

HSR. Useful only if you're heading south. The HSR Taoyuan station isn't at the airport — you take a 5-minute shuttle bus from the airport to Taoyuan HSR station, then catch the high-speed train. Not the right choice for a hotel in Taipei; perfect if you're going straight to Taichung, Tainan, or Kaohsiung.

Taxi. Metered taxis at the official airport rank are honest and reliable. Expect NT$1,200–1,400 to most central Taipei hotels (Da'an, Xinyi, Zhongshan). Late at night there's a small surcharge. Drivers don't always speak English, so have your hotel address ready in Chinese.

Private transfer. For screening trips, this is what we usually recommend. A driver meets you at the arrivals exit with a sign, helps with bags, and takes you door-to-door. NT$1,500–2,500 depending on vehicle size. The peace-of-mind premium is small after a 14-hour flight, and clinics often coordinate this through their concierge teams.

For a deeper dive on getting around once you're in town, see Getting Around Taiwan.

TPE airport amenities — lounges, SIM, currency, food

Taoyuan has done a lot of upgrading over the past decade and the amenities are now genuinely good. Here's what's worth knowing:

Lounges. Several options, with access depending on your ticket class, frequent-flyer status, or paid lounge membership (Priority Pass, Plaza Premium membership, etc.).

SIM and eSIM. Three carrier kiosks (Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, FarEasTone) at the arrivals hall in both terminals sell tourist SIMs — typically NT$300 for 5 days unlimited, NT$500 for 10 days, NT$1,000 for 30 days. eSIMs from Airalo or Holafly are available before you fly and activate on touchdown. For a screening trip, an eSIM purchased before departure is the simplest option — you walk off the plane already connected.

Currency. Bank of Taiwan counters in both T1 and T2 offer the best official rates and lowest fees. ATMs (look for the international logos — Cirrus, Plus, Visa) work with most foreign cards and dispense NT dollars. Avoid the named "currency exchange" stalls — their margins are visibly worse.

Food. Both terminals have proper food courts (not just airport snacks). T2 has Din Tai Fung, several beef noodle stalls, and decent coffee. Prices are airport-elevated but reasonable.

Wi-Fi. Free iTaiwan Wi-Fi is available throughout the airport. Register with your passport number at a kiosk or online — works for the duration of your stay across many public locations in Taiwan.

TSA Songshan and KHH Kaohsiung — when each makes sense

Taipei Songshan (TSA) is the city's secondary airport — actually inside Taipei city limits, about 15 minutes from Taipei Main Station. It handles domestic flights to Kaohsiung, Taichung, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, plus a small but useful set of international shuttle routes: Tokyo Haneda, Shanghai Hongqiao, Seoul Gimpo, and Hong Kong. If you're flying in from one of those four cities, TSA is dramatically more convenient than TPE — you can be at your hotel 20 minutes after landing. Routes are limited though, and most North American and European flights don't touch TSA.

Kaohsiung International (KHH) serves southern Taiwan. It handles international flights from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia, plus a small number of long-haul routes. Useful if you're doing a screening at a Kaohsiung-area clinic or if you want a quieter, less crowded entry point. KHH is connected to Kaohsiung MRT directly under the airport — NT$35 to central Kaohsiung in 25 minutes.

For screening trips — arrival logistics

If you're flying into Taiwan specifically for a health screening — a full-body MRI, an executive package, or a multi-day workup — the arrival logistics matter more than they would for a leisure trip. A few suggestions we share with screening guests:

Arrive 2–3 days before your scan. Jet lag affects sleep, hydration, and stress hormones, all of which influence imaging quality and lab values. Two nights of solid sleep before a scan day produces noticeably cleaner results than landing the night before.

Use a concierge airport pickup. Most clinics on our providers list offer or coordinate private transfer service. After a 14-hour flight you don't want to be deciphering MRT maps or hailing a taxi while jet-lagged.

Pack documents in your carry-on. Prior imaging (DICOM USB or disc), prescription letters, recent bloodwork, and a one-page health summary. Don't check these — checked bags occasionally arrive a day late, and you don't want to delay your appointment.

Stay near the clinic. Many clinics have partner hotels within a short walk. Reduces transit stress on scan day, especially if you have an early-morning fasting appointment.

Bringing imaging records and prior medical files

Taiwan radiologists and clinicians work with international imaging records routinely, and the format requirements are straightforward:

• DICOM on USB drive or CD/DVD. The standard. Most US, UK, EU, and Asian hospitals can burn DICOM imaging onto a disc or USB at request — usually free or for a small fee. Bring this even if you also have it in a patient portal.
• Paper reports. Acceptable for context (radiologist findings, pathology reports, surgery notes). English is fine — many Taiwan physicians read English fluently.
• Patient portal logins. Useful as a backup but unreliable if Wi-Fi is spotty or the portal session times out. Don't rely on this alone.
• Lab values from the past 6–12 months. Especially relevant for cardiac, oncology, or chronic-disease screenings. Trends matter more than single data points.

If you're not sure what to bring, the clinic's intake coordinator can review your case before you fly and tell you specifically which records would change the workup.

Common arrival pain points and how to avoid them

A short list of things that catch first-time arrivals off guard, with the fix:

1. Peak immigration waves. Mornings (5–8 a.m.) when North American flights arrive together, evenings (6–9 p.m.) when Southeast Asian carriers cluster. If your flight lands in one of these windows, expect 45–60 min at immigration. Plan your transfer time accordingly — and enroll in e-Gate after your second visit.
2. ATM surprises. Some foreign cards work fine; some get rejected at random ATMs. Try Bank of Taiwan or Cathay United Bank ATMs first — they have the highest international acceptance. Bring a backup card and a small amount of USD cash for emergencies.
3. eSIM activation timing. Activate your eSIM before you board the plane (not after landing). Some eSIMs need a few minutes for the carrier handshake — easier to do this on hotel Wi-Fi at your origin than fumbling at the gate.
4. Restroom locations after immigration. Bathrooms before immigration are crowded; the ones after immigration but before customs are often empty. Use those.
5. Currency at the wrong booth. Stick with Bank of Taiwan in the arrivals hall. The named exchange kiosks sometimes show a small spread on the board but charge a flat fee that wipes out the rate.
6. Forgetting the Chinese hotel address. Take a screenshot of your hotel's Chinese name and address before you fly. Drivers, taxi dispatchers, and even Google Maps work better with the Chinese characters than the romanized version.

Land smoothly, get to your hotel, sleep well — and you'll be ready for whatever brought you to Taiwan in the first place. For the next steps once you're settled, see our guides on getting around Taiwan and entry rules, visas, and what to do. If you're here for a scan, our screening services page lays out what's available and who provides it.

Sources & Further Reading

• CDC — Travel health information for Taiwan
• Taiwan Bureau of Consular Affairs — visa and entry
• Taiwan Tourism Bureau — official travel resources
• Central Weather Administration of Taiwan
• Taiwan High Speed Rail — official site
• Taipei Metro (MRT) — official