Expatriates will soon be able to subscribe to telecom services using their alien resident certificate (ARC) or alien permanent resident certificate (APRC) after the National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday amended regulations, though the practice has been unofficially in place for years.
Current regulations require all telecom service subscribers to present two documents that can verify their identities.
Apart from passports, expatriates must obtain a local driver’s license or a national health insurance card to present as a second identification card to subscribe to a telecom service. ARCs and APRCs are not accepted as valid identification documents.
NCC spokesperson Yu Hsiao-cheng (虞孝成) said that the commission and the National Development Council have received multiple requests from various chambers of commerce representing foreign investors in Taiwan that the regulations should list ARCs and APRCs as valid identification cards that can be used to subscribe to telecom services.
The National Immigration Agency has started issuing electronic ARC and APRC cards, which are equipped with anti-counterfeit mechanisms, Yu said, adding that the commission agreed to amend the regulations after the NIA started issuing the new cards.
Yu said that the change in regulations should take effect within two months after public discussions and comments on the new regulations are held.
The new regulations are to take effect after the commission addresses comments from the public, he said.
As many foreign residents have previously applied for mobile services using only their ARCs and APRCs, an NCC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Taipei Times that the commission is aware that some telecom service providers privately allow foreign residents to subscribe to their services, although such a practice is illegal.
However, the official said that the commission would not act on the illegal practice unless someone files a complaint.
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