Taiwan Residence Card (ARC) Photo — Exact Official Requirements

Getting your Taiwan Alien Resident Certificate (ARC / 外僑居留證) approved on the first visit starts with a photo that meets the National Immigration Agency's (NIA) standard precisely. The NIA requires a recent color photograph taken within the past six months — any older image is grounds for immediate rejection, regardless of how perfect it looks otherwise.

Taiwan uses the same "2-inch" photograph standard (35 × 45 mm) for both the ARC and the national passport. That term can be misleading for applicants from countries that define a "2-inch photo" differently: in Taiwan it always means 35 mm wide by 45 mm tall, printed on plain white background — not cream, not light grey, not any gradient. The NIA processes a high volume of ARC renewals and new applications each year; officers are trained to spot off-white backgrounds and will ask you to resubmit. Photographs taken in front of a window or a white wall at home are frequently rejected because uneven lighting creates a faint shadow that reads as a tinted background when printed.

• Dimensions: 35 × 45 mm (digital equivalent: 413 × 531 px)
• Background: plain white (#FFFFFF) — no shadows, gradients, or texture
• Face height: 71–80% of the total frame height
• Expression: neutral, mouth closed, eyes open and clearly visible
• Glasses: permitted only if eyes are fully visible with no glare and no tinted lenses
• Headwear: not permitted except for documented religious reasons
• Recency: taken within the last 6 months
• Color: full color, not black-and-white or sepia

• Common reasons photos are rejected at NIA Taiwan:
• Background is off-white or shows visible shadow behind the head — the most frequent rejection at NIA counters
• Face occupies less than 71% of the frame height, typically because the photo was cropped from a larger casual shot without reframing
• Sunglasses or tinted prescription lenses obscure the eyes — even lightly tinted frames fail inspection
• Photograph is more than six months old — the NIA verifies recency, and an expired photo requires a return visit

Upload your own clear, front-facing photo and it is automatically prepared to the exact NIA standard: cropped to 35 × 45 mm, background corrected to pure white, and face position verified against the 71–80% rule. Before you pay anything, you receive a free watermarked preview so you can confirm it looks right. If you submit the final file and the photo is somehow rejected, we redo it at no charge or issue a full refund — you only pay for a result you are confident in.