Updating your accounts after getting your new Taiwan National ID 🇹🇼

After getting my Taiwanese citizenship (full newsletter article), the next step was to update IDs across all my accounts. This was mostly forced as my ARC was expired already, making it invalid for keeping my accounts open. This is definitely a process, details below!

Table of Contents

• ANA SuperFlyers Card devaluation

• Japan tightens up the “easy intercompany transfer …

• Migrating accounts after getting your National ID …

  • 1. Get a Household Registration Transcript (戶籍謄本 h …

  • iPASS Money

  • Bank (HSBC in my case)

  • EZWay (customs app)

  • Driver’s License

    • What to bring

    • Process / timing

    • Notes

  • Practical takeaways

• New things to do with your National ID! 🇹🇼

  • Costco Credit Card

  • More bank accounts!

  • Conclusions

ANA SuperFlyers Card devaluation

Following the footsteps of JAL making it harder to reach JAL Global Club, ANA is making a change to their SuperFlyers Card starting end of 2026. This used to be an easy way to keep Star Alliance Gold just by earning ANA Platinum Status once and applying for the credit card, but the requirements to keep Star Alliance Gold will now be harder. This is the official program announcement (Japanese) and a thread on X (Japanese) lays=ing out the details.

Essentially: starting in April 2028, the SuperFlyers Card program will be split into 2 tiers based on credit card spend on ANA cards during the year.

SuperFlyers Card Plus (the previous normal tier just by holding the card)

• Requirement: Must spend at least ¥3 million JPY a year on ANA credit cards or ANA Pay.

• Perks: You keep Star Alliance Gold, ANA Lounge access, and get a 5000 mile renewal bonus.

SuperFlyers Card Lite (the downgraded tier)

• Anyone who does not make the annual ¥3 million JPY spending requirement.

• You lose ANA Lounge access, get downgraded to Star Alliance Silver (meaning no international partner lounges either), and get zero renewal bonus.

• You do not lose SuperFlyers Card membership if you fail to make the spending requirement.

Some more details:

• The initial spending evaluation period is December 16, 2026 to December 17, 2026, with the new tiers taking into effect April 2028, so no immediate changes.

• Presumably people who make it to ANA Platinum or above through Premium Points can still enjoy Star Alliance Gold benefits.

• Spend on ANA Corporate cards and overseas ANA cards do not count. Spend on ANA Cards to load ANA Pay does not count. Spend on Family cards does count.

These changes were probably inevitable given where the airline industry as a whole is moving towards, but do sting since this was previously considered a way to keep Star Alliance Gold status for “life”.

Japan tightens up the “easy intercompany transfer visa”

The intra-company transferee visa used to be straightforward way to move to Japan: move someone over, show a basic employment link, keep most of the structure offshore, and it was fine. As of April 2026, this easy path is basically over. Immigration now wants detailed documentation, such as employment in the home country backed by tax and social insurance records, a real operating presence in Japan (and not just a virtual office), and reasonable compensation. The changes might not show up by getting rejected upfront, more getting flagged at renewal when things don’t line up. Full writeup in Nikkei with the changes, as well as a relevant LinkedIn post:

What this really kills is the “minimal Japan setup” with no real presence. The rules themselves haven’t dramatically changed, but enforcement has. If you’re using an intra-company transfer, immigration now expects to see a real company, real employment, and a real operating footprint in Japan.

Migrating accounts after getting your National ID (身分證, shēnfènzhèng) in Taiwan 🇹🇼

How do you enjoy the benefits of your new National ID? Well, you can apply for new accounts, but you also need to update your old accounts from your old ID numbers, usually passport or UI Number (統一證號, tǒngyī zhènghào) to your new National ID. It sounds trivial but will likely turn into a multi-day ops task.

1. Get a Household Registration Transcript (戶籍謄本 hùjí téngběn（記事不省略 jìshì bù shěnglüè）) with full notes

This is the key document multiple institutions want. When I first went to the household registration office (戶政事務所, hùzhèng shìwùsuǒ) to register my household for the first time, they gave us a printout without the notes and that was not enough. You need:

• A full record version (戶籍謄本(記事不省略), hùjí téngběn jìshì bù shěnglüè)

• With a remark like:

  「原統一證號 XXX → 改為身分證字號 XXX」

  In my case, it wasn’t that clean. It looked like:

  「原住國外，民國115年2月X日入境，民國115年2月X日憑定居證初設戶籍登記（統一證號 XXXXX）」essentially: this person who lived abroad, and entered Taiwan on X, registered their household on X with Taiwan UI number XXXXX

If you don’t explicitly ask for the full record version (記事不省略, jìshì bù shěnglüè):

• You’ll get a “clean” version which will likely not be accepted as proof of the change.

They let me skip the line for this since it was just a transcript printout and it cost 15 NTD. I was able to get a printout without my head of household being there.

LINE Pay

My LINE Pay got disabled immediately after my ARC expired which was annoying because I wanted to pay some merchants that only took LINE Pay or cash.

Process was more complicated than expected. Essentially they need to close the old account and reopen one using your new ID.

1. Open a customer support case. The LINE Pay FAQs has a link to their inquiry form. They will eventually respond with the requirements

2. Fill out the account closure form (put your National ID, not old ARC)

3. Provide:

   • Bank passbook cover (name + account number) ??? - not sure this exists

   • ID docs (I sent ARC separately so they could find the account)

Their requirements:

• Confirm your bank already uses your National ID

• Submit closure form (they said photo, but I just used PDF edit)

• Submit bank account proof (clear, original image)

Net:
You’re basically closing the old (ARC-linked) account and starting fresh.

iPASS Money

iPASS Money, the former LINE Pay Money that split into a separate wallet. Email: [email protected]

• I sent:

  • National ID (身分證, shēnfènzhèng)

  • Old ARC (just in case)

• They asked for:

  • 戶籍謄本 showing ID number change

Gotcha:

• The first household registration transcript I provided didn’t show the ID change → rejected

• You specifically need the version with the linkage (see section below)

Bank (HSBC in my case)

I asked their online customer service, which told me to bring the following to a branch:

• National ID (身分證, shēnfènzhèng)

• Second ID (this was not actually required, but one of):

  • NHI card

  • Driver’s license

  • Passport

• Household registration transcript showing the change (戶籍謄本(記事不省略), hùjí téngběn jìshì bù shěnglüè)

  • Issued within the last 3 months

• Your original registered seal (開戶印鑑, kāihù yìnjiàn) if you used one to open the account. I opened my account with my English signature so this was irrelevant, but they did compare my signature and ask me to redo it!

An interesting note: my withholding tax rate went down to 10% instead of the original 20% for being a foreigner!

EZWay (customs app)

EZWay is an app to help you declare incoming shipments. I emailed [email protected] to see how to change my ID. They said I should just re-register with the same details but a different username.

However I hit issues with verification as the two ways they had to verify as a Taiwanese National were unavailable to me:

• SMS verification requires

  • Postpaid phone plan in your name

  • Prepaid SIM doesn’t work

• The alternative is to upload your ID as well as:

  • NHI card + password

Unfortunately I don’t have my NHI yet as it hasn’t been 6 months since I did household registration and I’m not employed in Taiwan. I’m not even sure I can register as I think the 6 months is supposed to be continuous?

The workaround:

• I’ve still been receiving packages using my old UI number.

• The system warns about my expired ARC but doesn’t block shipments (yet)

• I tried asking if there was an alternate flow for verification but there isn’t

Driver’s License

This is a standard ID number change at the Motor Vehicles Office (監理站 jiānlǐ zhàn). You don’t need your old ARC, as long as you can prove the ID change.

What to bring

• National ID (身分證, shēnfènzhèng)

• Current driver’s license

• Household Registration Transcript (戶籍謄本 hùjí, téngběn, full record: 記事不省略, jìshì bù shěnglüè) showing ARC/UI → National ID

• Photo (technically required as it’s a reissue)

  • There are almost always photo booths at the office

Process / timing

Standard flow:

• Take a number → wait → submit docs → get new license

~20 minutes if not busy.

Notes

• You can keep using your old license, but mismatched ID can cause issues with rentals and insurance

Practical takeaways

• Assume every account tied to your ARC will break or need migration

• Get the correct household registration transcript early

• Expect:

  • Your old account may get closed instead of just a straightforward update

  • Looping with customer service for verification of your new documents

New things to do with your National ID! 🇹🇼

Now that you have National ID, what to do with it? This list is short for now, I’m sure I’ll discover more later.

Costco Credit Card

With my new National ID, I applied for the Costco credit card. Previously, they told me that with just an ARC and no local employment, approval would be difficult. This time, even as a regular foreign member, I was able to apply without issue.

Process was simple: filled out a form, showed my ID, and the rep asked me to email bank statements (presumably to prove assets). Now I’m waiting to see if it goes through.

Note: Costco Taiwan only accepts the Fubon Costco co-branded card, foreign Costco credit cards, or cash.

More bank accounts!

There are some banks, especially the new digital banks that don’t have a supported flow for foreigners opening accounts. I’ve been looking at Richart by Taishin Bank as supposedly it is very user friendly and gives a number of free transfers a month. And since it’s backed by a real account at Taishin Bank (台新銀行, Táixīn Yínháng), it should be compatible with more apps compared to my HSBC (滙豐銀行, Huìfēng Yínháng) account which is not really a real Taiwanese bank.

Conclusions

I hope these tips are helpful for my fellow newly minted Taiwanese citizens 🇹🇼! You can always reach out at [email protected] for comments or questions! Remember, you can also support this publication by becoming a paid subscriber or a Patreon!