Getting a prepaid sim card in Taiwan without an ARC
Before coming to Taiwan I did a bit of research into bringing my N95 with me. After checking the specifications of the phone I confirmed that it was compatible with phone networks in Taiwan and with a plug adaptor charging it wouldn’t be a problem.
All that was left was to decide which network operator to go with. I sussed out that getting a plan phone without an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) was nigh on impossible, so this meant I’d be relying on a prepaid setup initially.
Reading up on prepaid cards I read that it was a pretty straight forward affair. Land in Taiwan, walk into any 7-11 and ask for a prepaid sim card… it was that easy.
When I got here I realised it wasn’t. It took me five weeks of stuffing around before I finally managed to get myself connected up on a prepaid plan.
Before I continue I’ll preface by saying that if you know people in Taiwan it’s worth saving yourself some hassle and just getting them to purchase you a prepaid/postpaid phone sim card. This is by far the most painless option and the only drawback is that the paperwork will be in the person who bought the cards name.
If you’re like me and landed without knowing a single soul however, or if you just feel uncomfortable about having utilities in other people’s names then you have to start from scratch.
Forget about getting a prepaid sim card from 7-11
The first thing I learnt was to forget about the 7-11 prepaid card. I tried so many 7-11′s in Taichung that I lost count. Everytime I went in I was met with the same response, they sold prepaid top up cards but not the sim cards needed to register on the network.
Over a period of a few weeks I tried various methods to rule out the possibility it was a language problem. I tried asking in Chinese myself, went with a Taiwanese girl one night and even got someone to write down that I wanted a prepaid sim card in Chinese and got the 7-11 staff to read it.
Nothing worked. Each time they tried to sell me a prepaid top up phone card. One of the frustrating things was that I had people tell me that 7-11 did indeed sell the cards. If they didn’t, they suggested I try another store.
After weeks of on and off trying I finally resigned myself to the fact that I’d just have to wait for my ARC to come through before I’d be able to connect my mobile phone.
I later met a guy who told me that he’d gotten further then I had with 7-11 but the process of getting a prepaid sim card through them was time consuming and painful. After asking for a card the staff pulled out some paperwork for him to fill out. This in itself is standard but the kicker is that it had to be mailed off to their office. They couldn’t fax it and there was no electronic system in place.
After waiting about a week the office sent it back to the store and they rejected it because one of the forms was filled out incorrectly. At this point the guy had the option of going through the process again and waiting another week but by then his ARC had come through so he just went with a phone company plan.
I have no idea what he asked different or how he got 7-11 staff to admit they even sold prepaid sim card kits, regardless after personally having gone through the ordeal of trying to get them to sell me one I wouldn’t bother.
I did also try getting a prepaid starter kit from several of the phone companies here (and mobile phone stores) but all of them required an ARC.
How I finally managed to get a prepaid sim card for my phone
One day I was talking to a random and they suggested that I try Carrefour. For those not familiar, Carrefour is like a giant supermarket chain over here. Think a combination of K-Mart and Coles under the one roof for those reading from Australia.
After tracking one down in Taichung I walked in and mustered up my best Chinese.
‘Wǒ xiǎng yùfù fèi SIM kǎ.’
Much to my surprise instead of the round and round conversation and general confusion I’d been getting from 7-11 employees the Carrefour assistant simply nodded and asked for my ID.
I had on my a credit card, my Australian drivers license (with photo) and my passport. I’m not exactly sure what the ID criteria is but my drivers license and passport were enough for them to go on.
The Carrefour staff filled in the paperwork for me (which was all in Chinese) and I just waited patiently. After about ten minutes and some clarification questions about my ID (making sure the numbers were correct for each ID) I was finally presented with a prepaid sim card kit in the photo to the right.
Activation was done on their end and I was told to give it an hour and my phone should start working.
SMS and call costs
The starter kit cost $350 NTD (about $11-$12 AUD) and came with $300 credit. Local SMS’s cost $7TWD (approx .24c AUD) and calls are billed per second at .07c TWD (approx .14c AUD a minute) which is a bit on the expensive side but it’s your best bet without an ARC or friend signing you up to a plan.
Comparatively a 2 year contract has sms rates of $1 TWD (.03c AUD) per local SMS.
Final thoughts
It took me five weeks to finally get a prepaid sim card over here without an ARC. I can’t believe how much stuffing around it involved and the complete lack of knowledge on the process that locals had!
Despite having a post paid phone plan back in Australia I could still tell anyone where to go to get a prepaid card with or without a working visa… nobody here seemed to have a clue.
After getting through the process quickly and painlessly at Carrefour I’d recommend them for anyone looking to quickly connect their phone to a prepaid network. If you don’t have your own phone Carrefour also have a selection of basic models (think supermarket phones) to get you by.
Why people suggest 7-11 when they clearly have issues even admitting they have a prepaid service I have no idea. I arrived here thinking 7-11 was the place to go and only wish somebody had published some accurate information on prepaid cards.
Hopefully my own experience will be of benefit to others wondering about connecting up their mobile phone in Taiwan.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:05 pm Suzie(Quote)
You should submit this to Lonely Planet, it’s information they need to publish.
March 1st, 2010 at 5:44 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
I’ve thought about cross promoting my work via various travel publications but I always hit a brick wall when the question of giving my content away comes into play.
If I start writing for other publications then I’m not writing for myself and then start going down the path of a freelance writer. I don’t mind being a freelance writer but I wouldn’t want it to detract or conflict with the information I publish here.
I recently heard that the expat magazines here in Taiwan aren’t doing too good business wise so there’s also the possibility of wasting my effort as far as relationship building goes as well.
That and I guess while I’m comfortable sharing my experiences and journey here, I’d want to feel a bit more authoritive on Taiwan before I started submitting information to publications.
I’m not entirely convinced either way though, it’s tempting! For now I guess I’m working on building OzSoapbox’s search engine relevance for Taiwan topics. Work in progess!
March 1st, 2010 at 7:47 pm Yi(Quote)
they should call it foreigner resident certificate instead of using the word Alien. makes people sound like they are being alienated.
March 2nd, 2010 at
[...] phone recharge card in Taiwan Mar.02, 2010 in Taiwan Unlike the hassle for me that was tracking down a prepaid sim card starter kit without an ARC, purchasing recharge cards for prepaid phones in Taiwan has been pretty [...]
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:36 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
That’s the thing though, outside of Taipei half the time you do feel alienated.
Try walking onto a bus and having half of the people sitting on it stop talking and stare at you wide eyed.
Or fixing your bike outside and some kid rides up. You say ‘hello’ and he just sits on his bike 3-4ft away saying nothing and staring at you.
‘Alien Resident Certificate’ is awkwardly appropriate.
June 8th, 2010 at 6:04 pm flo(Quote)
Actually i managed to get my prepaid card on the first day here. instead of going to a convenience store, you go to a cell-phone store, and of course they have prepaid sim cards there.
June 8th, 2010 at 7:11 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
When and where?
I went to several cell phone stores across Taichung, Taipei and two small towns. Yeah these stores have prepaid cards but you need an ARC to get one.
Each time they’d ask for one before we even did any paperwork.
I’ve since found out that a few years back they changed the law and you could get prepaid cards readily without an ARC before they changed it. If you got your card recently maybe they’ve changed the law again.
As far as I know though the only place that retails prepaid cards without an ARC is the mobile phone desk at Taoyuan Airport and Carrefour.
June 20th, 2010 at 12:10 am V(Quote)
Wow, I feel sorry for your experience of getting a SIM card, but like the previous person I did manage to get my SIM card on the 1st day, though I confess it wasn’t as easy as I thought (misleading info from a Taiwanese friend).
I flew into Taipei, arrived at the main train station and asked for a SIM card at one of the 7-11s. They told me none of the 7-11s there sell SIM cards but they gave me directions to a nearby branch that did. I just filled in a couple of forms, gave them a copy of my passport and ID and got the SIM card on the spot. They told me it probably would take at least 2 hours for the card to be activated but it actually worked within minutes.
It cost $299 for the starter kit with $299 credit. Local sms is $2 and international sms is $5 but the local call rate was $0.71/6s = $7.1/min! I thought it was gonna last me for the 3 weeks I’d be in Taipei but I used it all up within week 1…
July 3rd, 2010 at 10:57 am Shane(LOST AUSSIE)(Quote)
WOW,
as i search the net trying to find out, i am also having the same problem right now as i just got taiwan. i went 7 eleven but did get the forms but am now waiting days, with no way to contact people, off to find carrefour now then
July 3rd, 2010 at 12:00 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Good luck mate. 7-11 for prepaid cards are hopeless.
Let us know how it goes or if you need any further help.
July 27th, 2010 at 12:24 pm suann(Quote)
Thank you so much for sharing this! I’d be heading to Taiwan for a backpacking trip soon, and this is very useful info.
July 28th, 2010 at 4:20 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
No worries suann, glad you found the information useful.
Hope your backpacking trip goes well!
August 20th, 2010 at 1:39 pm Joseph Ng(Quote)
Hi ozsoapbox,
Insightful information there. Am planning for a trip to Taiwan this coming December. Read your article, you have elaborated that the only way is to get these prepaid cards from Carrefour. But, you did not elaborate further how was the process of getting a prepaid card worked from the mobile phone desk from Taoyuan Airport (which you stated in one of your comments).
Hope you could enligthen me more on this. Again, really thanks for such valuable info!
August 21st, 2010 at 9:10 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Hi Joseph, sorry about the delay in replying just been a bit busy.
When you exit the terminal at Taoyuan Airport to reach the phone desk you have to turn right. It’s hard to miss as it’s there’s not really much else at the international terminal other then some chairs, an information desk and some vending machine.
If you get lost you can always hit up the information desk, they speak good enough English. There’s also free WIFI in the area too so if you have a laptop you can sit in the chairs and hook yourself up.
The phone stall isn’t that big and is up against the wall on your left if you exit turning left from the terminal after customs.
The process I believe is just showing them a passport and maybe one photo ID. I haven’t actually bought a card from there but I do know it’s an easier process than buying one once you’ve left. Had I of known it was a hassle to get a prepaid sim card without an ARC I’d have definitely picked up a sim card before leaving the airport.
Good luck and thanks for reading!