The short version
Exchange places come from agreements between your home university and a university in Taiwan. Your home university nominates you, then you apply to the Taiwan school by its deadline, usually in spring for the fall semester and in autumn for spring. You pay tuition as the agreement says; at the schools below, nominated students don't pay tuition to the Taiwan school. Staying six months or less, you use a visitor visa for exchange students. Staying longer, you need a resident visa and then an ARC within 30 days.
How exchange works
- Under the MOE's Regulations Regarding International Students Undertaking Studies in Taiwan (外國學生來臺就學辦法), universities may sign education cooperation agreements with schools abroad and admit exchange students under them (art. 13).
- Exchange students are nominated (遴薦) by a foreign government, institution or school under such an agreement. With approval, they don't have to meet the nationality and overseas residence conditions that degree applicants do (art. 2).
- Tuition and fees are paid as the agreement says (art. 21).
- Universities can also take foreigners as non-degree students (選讀生) under their international admission rules (art. 13). Some schools call this a visiting student or free-mover route.
- If you later apply for a degree in Taiwan, exchange study adding up to less than two years doesn't break your count of continuous residence overseas. It doesn't count as time abroad either (art. 2).
Exchange students can't hold the MOE or MOFA Taiwan Scholarship, which is for degree students. → Taiwan Scholarship
The visa: six months is the line
The Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA, 外交部領事事務局) has a separate visa for each length of stay.
| Six months or less | More than six months | |
|---|---|---|
| Visa | Visitor visa for foreign exchange students | Resident visa for foreign students (exchange students) |
| From the host school | Letter of approval and letter of admission | Letter of approval and admission permit |
| From your home school | Record of enrollment, student ID or certificate of student exchange | Record of enrollment or student ID |
| Health certificate | Not in BOCA's document list | Issued within 3 months, by a hospital designated by Taiwan's CDC or a foreign hospital (authenticated by a Taiwan mission) |
| After you arrive | Visitor visas with a 60 or 90 day stay and no "no extension" remark can be extended at the National Immigration Agency (NIA) | Apply for an ARC and re-entry permit at an NIA service center within 30 days, counted from the day after you arrive |
- Both visas also need the online application form (printed with its barcode and signed), two color photos (45 x 35 mm, white background, taken in the last 6 months), and a passport valid for at least six months with blank pages, plus a copy of the photo page. The mission may ask for other documents case by case, and may ask for an interview.
- Apply at the Taiwan (ROC) mission that covers you.
- If you entered without a visa, on a landing visa or e-visa, or on a visitor visa for another purpose, you can't switch to a study visa or extend your stay for study in Taiwan. People who are in Taiwan legally under a visa waiver for exchange study can enter without a visa.
- Only full-time students can get a visitor visa for study.
- If you came on a visitor visa as an exchange student, you can apply to the NIA for residence and an ARC.
- An admission permit doesn't guarantee a visa, and a visa doesn't guarantee entry.
→ Student visa for Taiwan · The resident certificate (ARC)
Health insurance
National Health Insurance (NHI) becomes compulsory only after six months of residence with an ARC, so a one-semester exchange student on a visitor visa doesn't join it. The MOE regulation says new international students must show medical and injury insurance valid for at least six months from the day they enter, and insurance bought abroad must be authenticated by a Taiwan mission (art. 22). Schools add their own rules: see the examples below. → Health insurance for students
School examples
Each school sets its own routes, dates and fees. These are each school's own rules, as published when we checked.
National Taiwan University (NTU, 國立臺灣大學), Taipei
- Two routes. University-level exchange: your home university nominates you under an exchange agreement, tuition is waived and places are limited. Visiting student: no nomination, you apply yourself and pay an NT$15,000 application fee, an NT$40,000 program fee and tuition. Visiting students show a financial statement of at least NT$200,000.
- Language: English at CEFR B2 (for example TOEFL iBT 72 or IELTS 5.5) or Chinese at CEFR B1 (for example TOCFL Band B Level 3 or HSK 5). For exchange students, your home university assesses this. Minimum GPA 3.0 out of 4.0.
- One academic year at most. Students from mainland China can apply for one semester only.
- Each semester, take at least 2 courses or 4 NTU credits, and at most 25 credits (undergraduate) or 20 (graduate).
- Exchange students pay the Campus Computing and Internet Access Fee, typically NT$400 to NT$600, after arriving.
- Applications: March 15 to April 25 for the first semester (September), results early to mid June; October 1 to November 10 of the year before for the second semester (February), results early to mid December. Exchange students get the application link by email after nomination.
National Chengchi University (NCCU, 國立政治大學), Taipei
- For students nominated by NCCU partner universities. Nomination: March 1 to 30 for fall, September 1 to 30 for spring. Application deadline: April 20 for fall, October 20 of the year before for spring. Late applications are not accepted.
- The 2027/2028 fact sheet asks for a GPA of at least 2.75 out of 4.0. Stays are one semester or one academic year. Students of mainland Chinese, Hong Kong or Macau nationality stay one semester only. Japanese and Korean students may do a year starting in spring.
- Insurance: one-semester students buy international medical insurance at home for the whole stay. Year-long students cover at least the first six months, then join NHI (NT$826 a month). All students pay a student safety fee (accident cover only) on the NCCU bill.
National Tsing Hua University (NTHU, 國立清華大學), Hsinchu
- For students of partner universities with an exchange agreement, enrolled at their home school while applying and during the exchange.
- Nomination: February 1 to April 1 for fall, September 1 to October 15 for spring. Application: February 1 to April 15 for fall, September 1 to November 1 for spring. Late or incomplete applications are not accepted.
- Undergraduates take at least 9 credits a semester. Graduate students take at least one course, including at least one in the host department.
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU, 國立成功大學), Tainan
- Spring 2027: nomination August 15 to September 15, 2026, applications August 15 to September 25, 2026, results early November. Fall: nomination March 3 to April 1, application deadline April 10, results mid May.
- No university-wide GPA or language threshold. Each department sets its own requirements.
- Financial statement: NT$50,000 for one semester or NT$100,000 for one academic year.
- Insurance: private overseas health and accident insurance for the whole exchange, plus NCKU student group insurance (severe accidents only), about NT$250 a semester.
National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU, 國立中山大學), Kaohsiung
- Students nominated by partner universities pay tuition only at their home university. Free-movers pay tuition at both: an NT$3,000 administration fee and about NT$55,000 tuition a semester.
- The fees table also lists an internet fee of NT$300 and NSYSU student group insurance of NT$465 a semester, and health and accident insurance bought before arriving. Dorms cost NT$10,200 to NT$20,900 a semester.
- Fall 2027: nomination deadline April 20, applications March 15 to April 30 (AY2027-28 fact sheet, updated November 4, 2026).
- Spring 2027: dorm check-in February 15, classes start February 22, dorm check-out June 21, 2027.
- The fact sheet says one-semester students enter on a visitor visa and extend it 15 days before the 60 or 90 day stay ends. Full-year students get a resident visa and apply for an ARC within 30 days.
Good to know: for life in the city around your school, Inside Taipei has a page for students in Taipei, and there are city guides for Inside Hsinchu, Inside Tainan and Inside Kaohsiung.
Questions
Do I pay tuition to the Taiwan university as an exchange student?
You pay as your exchange agreement says. At NTU, exchange students are exempt from tuition by reciprocity, and at NSYSU nominated students pay tuition only at their home university. Small fees, such as an internet fee, are still paid in Taiwan.
Which visa do I need for one semester?
For six months or less, the visitor visa for foreign exchange students. For more than six months, the resident visa for exchange students, and then an ARC within 30 days of arriving.
Can I study in Taiwan for a semester without a nomination?
Some schools have a route for it. NTU's Visiting Student Program takes individual applications and charges an application fee, a program fee and tuition. NSYSU takes free-movers, who pay tuition at both schools.
How many courses do I have to take?
Each school sets a minimum. NTU asks for at least 2 courses or 4 credits a semester. NTHU asks undergraduates for at least 9 credits and graduate students for at least one course.
Sources (16)
Checked November 2026.
Ministry of Justice laws database, Regulations Regarding International Students Undertaking Studies in Taiwan (Chinese text, amended September 19, 2025). BOCA, Visitor Visas for Foreign Exchange Students for Stays of less than Six Months, Resident Visas for Foreign Students (Exchange students), Visitor Visas. NHIA, foreign nationals. NTU: overview, application, tuition and fees. NCCU incoming exchange (with the 2027/2028 fact sheet and FAQ). NTHU semester exchange. NCKU incoming exchange. NSYSU: exchange page and AY2027-28 fact sheet.