Taiwan

Penalties for illegal drug possession, use, or trafficking in Taiwan are severe — including the death penalty for certain offenses — and even some prescription drugs can bring heavy fines and long jail sentences.

Death penalty possible for certain drug offenses.

Verified Jul 24, 2026

Cannabis is illegal in Taiwan, where it is a Category 2 narcotic. Using it is a crime punishable by up to 3 years in prison, and simply having it is a crime punishable by up to 2 years, detention, or a fine of up to NT$200,000 - there is no small-amount exemption, and Taiwan's administrative-fine route covers only Category 3 and 4 drugs, not cannabis. Bringing cannabis into the country is the far bigger risk: carrying it across the border can be charged as transporting a Category 2 narcotic, which carries life imprisonment or a minimum of 10 years.

Use of a Category 2 narcotic (art. 10(2)): up to 3 years' imprisonment. Possession (art. 11(2)): up to 2 years, detention, or a fine of up to NT$200,000; 20 grams or more of pure net weight (art. 11(4)): 6 months to 5 years plus a possible fine of up to NT$700,000. Possession of equipment for using or making Category 1 or 2 narcotics (art. 11(7)): up to 1 year, detention, or up to NT$100,000. Passing cannabis to another person (art. 8(2)): 6 months to 5 years plus up to NT$700,000, increased by up to half at 10 grams or more. Manufacturing, transporting or selling a Category 2 narcotic (art. 4(2)): life imprisonment or a minimum of 10 years, plus a possible fine of up to NT$15,000,000, with attempts punishable - bringing cannabis across the border can fall within "transporting". Growing cannabis for one's own use in minor circumstances (art. 12(3)): 1 to 7 years plus up to NT$1,000,000. Seized narcotics are confiscated and destroyed whether or not they belong to the offender (art. 18).

Verified Sep 29, 2026

Confirm your medication is legal with Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare before travel — some prescription medications are illegal and can bring jail or fines — and check Taiwan Customs limits.

Jail or fine possible for illegal medications.

Verified Jul 24, 2026

Do not bring any gun into Taiwan - air guns, gas guns, pen guns and harpoon guns included - unless the Ministry of the Interior has already given you a permit. Having an unlicensed handgun or rifle means at least 5 years in prison; even an air gun carries 3 to 10 years. Controlled knives - samurai swords, cane swords, daggers, brass knuckles, steel whips and similar items - also need a permit, and carrying one at night, in a station, pier, airport or any public place is a crime punishable by up to 2 years.

Handguns, rifles, machine guns and similar without permission: possessing or storing - at least 5 years plus a possible fine up to NT$10 million; manufacturing, selling or transporting - life or at least 7 years plus a possible fine up to NT$30 million (Art. 7). Air guns, gas guns, pen guns, anaesthetic guns and hunting rifles: possessing - 3 to 10 years plus up to NT$7 million; manufacturing, selling or transporting - life or at least 5 years plus up to NT$10 million; the penalty may be reduced for minor air-gun cases (Art. 8). Possessing ammunition: up to 5 years plus up to NT$3 million (Art. 12). Controlled knives: possessing - up to 1 year, detention or a fine up to NT$500,000 (Art. 14); carrying without permission at night, in a station, pier, airport or public place, or in a group - up to 2 years (Art. 15).

Verified Sep 19, 2026

Declare cash over NTD 100,000, foreign currency over USD 10,000, or RMB over 20,000 on both arrival and departure from Taiwan.

Verified Jul 24, 2026

Taiwan strictly regulates importing/exporting firearms, antiquities, medications, currency, and ivory; contact TECRO for specific customs requirements.

Verified Jul 24, 2026

Under-18s may not drink alcohol in Taiwan: the Child and Juvenile Welfare and Rights Protection Act bars anyone under 18 from drinking alcohol (as well as smoking and chewing betel nut). Anyone who sells, delivers or supplies alcohol to a person under 18 is fined, and parents or carers who seriously fail to stop their child drinking are fined too - this applies to visiting families as well.

Selling, delivering or supplying alcohol to anyone under 18: a fine of NT$10,000 to NT$100,000. Parents, guardians or other carers who seriously breach the duty to stop an under-18 drinking: NT$10,000 to NT$50,000 (art. 91, read with art. 43; Act as amended 20 January 2021).

Verified Sep 20, 2026

Passengers may not bring e-cigarettes or e-liquids into Taiwan — importing them is banned under the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, with no personal-use exemption.

Items are confiscated; carrying or importing e-cigarettes violates the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act.

Verified Jul 6, 2026

Taiwan's smoking age is 20, not 18: anyone under 20 may not smoke and no one may give or sell them tobacco. Smoking is completely banned indoors in restaurants, bars, hotels, malls, cinemas and workplaces shared by three or more people, and on all public transport, taxis, tour buses and stations, as well as schools and hospitals; the only indoor exception is a separately ventilated smoking room or cigar club. At outdoor stadiums, pools and recreation sites you may smoke only in a marked smoking area. Holding a lit cigarette counts as smoking. Fine: NT$2,000 to NT$10,000.

Smoking where Art. 18 bans it completely, or outside a designated smoking area where Art. 19 applies: fine of NT$2,000 to NT$10,000 (Art. 40). Carrying a lit or activated tobacco product counts as smoking (Art. 3). Using an e-cigarette or a heated-tobacco product that has not passed Taiwan's health-risk review is a separate offence with the same NT$2,000 to NT$10,000 fine (Arts. 15, 40). A person under 20 caught smoking is ordered to attend cessation classes; skipping them without good reason is fined NT$2,000 to NT$10,000, paid by the parent or guardian for a minor (Art. 42).

Verified Sep 19, 2026

Obtain an International Driving Permit before arriving in Taiwan; you may drive up to 30 days with an IDP and home license. Right turns on red are not permitted unless indicated.

On-the-spot fines for minor offenses.

Verified Jul 24, 2026

Taiwan's legal BAC limit is 0.03% (15 mg/100 ml), strictly enforced, with alcohol tests standard at accident scenes.

Court appearance for serious offenses.

Verified Jul 24, 2026

Photographing inside a designated fortress or fortified zone in Taiwan is a criminal offence, not a fine. The Fortress and Fortified Zone Act bars surveying, photographing, sketching, describing and other acts of military reconnaissance in the First Zone without a specific order from the Ministry of National Defence (Art. 4(1)), and in the Second Zone without the fortress commander's permission (Art. 5(1)). The zones are designated by the military and may not be signposted in English, so obey any no-photography sign near a military site. Ordinary photography elsewhere in Taiwan is not restricted by this Act.

Fortress and Fortified Zone Act Art. 8: unauthorised surveying, photography, sketching or description inside a restricted zone carries 1 to 7 years' imprisonment. A violation committed through negligence carries up to 1 year's imprisonment, detention, or a fine of up to 500 yuan as written in the Act (last amended 17 April 2002).

Verified Sep 23, 2026

Getting a SIM card in Taiwan requires showing your own identity document: the carrier must check it against you, register it, and verify your identity through a government-designated database before it provides service. For foreign visitors on a prepaid SIM, the carrier must periodically check immigration records, and once you have left Taiwan, or overstayed your permitted stay, the prepaid service is restricted or stopped; if you come back while the card is still valid, you must have your identity re-checked by the carrier before service resumes. Handing your number over to someone outside your own household requires the carrier to re-register it, or the service is cut off, and a number that police or the telecom regulator flag as used for fraud is suspended.

The Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act places its fines on carriers, not on the traveller: NT$100,000 to NT$2,000,000 for failing to check and register a customer's identity or to cut off flagged service (art. 25), and up to NT$20,000,000 in serious cases for failing to monitor foreign prepaid users' departure and overstay records or to stop their service (art. 24). For the user, the consequence set by the Act is restriction or loss of service (arts. 15, 16, 17, 18 and 22).

Verified Sep 21, 2026

Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage in 2019 and recognizes foreign same-sex marriages; the law bars education and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, though tolerance is lower outside Taipei.

Verified Jul 24, 2026

Taiwan's Social Order Maintenance Act lets police punish a long list of everyday public misbehaviour with fines or short detention, without a criminal trial. It covers, among other things: being drunk and rowdy, swearing or making a racket in a public place, or making noise late at night, after being told to stop; quarrelling or causing trouble at schools, museums, libraries, exhibitions or sports events after being told to stop; fighting; exposing yourself or behaving lewdly in public after being told to stop; peeping into someone's bedroom, bathroom, toilet or changing room; harassing someone with obscene words or gestures; engaging in paid sex outside any zone a local government has designated, or soliciting for prostitution in public; defacing or putting graffiti on other people's walls, buildings or vehicles; and carrying a dangerous item or lock-opening tools without a good reason.

The Act's penalties are detention of one to three days (up to five in aggravated cases) and fines of NT$300 to NT$30,000 (up to NT$60,000 in aggravated cases), plus confiscation and reprimands (art. 19). Examples: drunk and rowdy behaviour or late-night noise after a warning, up to NT$10,000 (art. 72); fighting, up to NT$18,000 (art. 87); indecent exposure after a warning, peeping or obscene harassment, up to NT$6,000 (art. 83); paid sex outside a designated zone or soliciting in public, up to NT$30,000 (art. 80); carrying a harmful item without justification, up to three days' detention or up to NT$30,000 (art. 63); graffiti on others' property, up to NT$3,000 or a reprimand (art. 90). A fine must be paid within ten days (art. 20).

Verified Sep 22, 2026