The short version
Chiayi City (嘉義市) has one open university or college in our directory. There are two Taiwan Railway stations, and no High Speed Rail station. International students apply for their resident certificate (ARC) at the National Immigration Agency (NIA), which has a service center here: the NIA Chiayi City Service Center.
Universities and colleges here
→ Browse Chiayi City's schools, including any that have closed
The city in numbers
- Registered population 261,429 at the end of September 2026. This is the household registration count (戶籍人口), people registered here, which is not the same as everyone living here.
- Land area 60.0256 km², in 2 districts and townships (鄉鎮市區).
- Density 4,358 people per km², from the end of 2025 figures.
Getting around
- High Speed Rail (THSR) No station here. None of the 12 THSR stations has an address in Chiayi City.
- Taiwan Railway (TRA) 2 stations with an address here: Jiabei (嘉北), Chiayi (嘉義).
- Metro and light rail None.
The station list comes from Taiwan Railway's station dataset, which does not say which stations are staffed or which trains stop there. Check a station on Taiwan Railway's own site before you plan a trip around it.
→ Getting around Taiwan: fares, monthly passes, YouBike and scooters
Your ARC: the immigration office
International students apply for the resident certificate (ARC) and register a change of address with the National Immigration Agency (NIA).
- NIA Chiayi City Service Center No.184, Wufeng N. Rd., East Dist., Chiayi City 600016, Taiwan (R.O.C.). Phone 05-216-6100.
NIA service centers are open 08:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday, including the lunch hour. The NIA's Foreigners in Taiwan Hotline is 1990 from a Taiwan phone, or 886-800-001990 from overseas.
Housing and costs
- Dorms: how to apply, who gets priority, fees and rules.
- Tuition and living costs: what rent and everyday life cost across Taiwan.
- Renting: renting a room or flat off campus.
More about Chiayi City on other sites
Chiayi City has no guide of its own. These are the nearest pages, from Inside Tainan, which covers the area around it.
- Nearest guide page Inside Tainan: Chiayi City day trip from Tainan
- YouBike Cycle.tw: YouBike, city by city
- First weeks Inside Tainan: everyday life, written about Tainan
- Night markets NightMarket.tw: Chiayi Wenhua Road Night Market
Official sites
- Chiayi City Government (English)
- Chiayi City tourism site (嘉義市觀光旅遊網, in Chinese)
- National Immigration Agency (English)
- Taiwan Tourism Administration (English)