Is Taiwan safe for international students?

Taiwan currently carries normal-security-precautions advice from Canada. Students should still prepare for earthquakes, typhoons, flooding, scooters, scams, healthcare needs, and possible changes in regional conditions. Safety depends on your location, activities, support network, and ability to receive official information quickly.

What emergency numbers should students use in Taiwan?

Call 110 for police and 119 for fire or ambulance. The Ministry of Education also lists 112 for mobile emergency routing when normal service is unavailable. The 113 hotline supports domestic-violence and sexual-assault cases, while 1990 provides general information for foreigners.

Which disaster app should students install in Taiwan?

Taiwan's National Fire Agency provides the Fire and Disaster Prevention e-APP. It offers multilingual hazard alerts, preparedness instructions, and shelter information for events including earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis, flooding, and landslides. Enable notifications and location, while keeping university alerts active as a second source.

What should students do during a typhoon in Taiwan?

Follow the Central Weather Administration, National Fire Agency, local government, and university. Stay away from coasts, rivers, mountains, basements, and flooded roads. Prepare water, food, medicine, charging power, and a flashlight beforehand. A class cancellation is a safety measure, not permission to go sightseeing.

Is it safe for an international student to ride a scooter in Taiwan?

Only after confirming the correct licence, registration, insurance, helmet rules, and program policy. Road patterns and scooter movement can be unfamiliar, and an international permit may not cover every vehicle or stay length. Never ride after drinking, during severe weather, or without appropriate training.

Is Taiwan Safe? A Complete Safety Guide for International Students

Taiwan currently carries a normal-security-precautions advisory from the Government of Canada. Students should still prepare for earthquakes, typhoons, road traffic, scams, healthcare access, and changes in regional conditions.

Safety is not a single score. It depends on where you live, how you travel, your health needs, and whether you can receive official information quickly. This guide reflects official information available in August 2026.

Save the emergency numbers

Police: 110
Fire and ambulance: 119
Mobile emergency routing: 112
Domestic violence and sexual assault support: 113
Information for foreigners: 1990
University emergency line: use the number provided by your institution

Taiwan's Ministry of Education lists 119 for fire and immediate rescue and 110 for police assistance or reporting robbery and traffic incidents. It also lists 112 for emergency routing from a mobile phone without normal service.

Keep your address in Chinese as well as English. Give your location first when calling.

Everyday personal safety

Current Canadian advice is to take normal precautions. Apply them even in busy, familiar areas:

Lock your room and secure valuables.
Keep your bag closed at night markets and on transport.
Use established taxi or ride services.
Tell a friend when meeting someone new.
Keep control of drinks and payment methods.
Avoid isolated river, coastal, or mountain areas during severe weather.
Report stalking, assault, theft, or threats.

Do not treat friendly public spaces as permission to leave a phone, passport, or laptop unattended.

Road and scooter safety

Traffic is one of the most important daily risks for a student in Taiwan. Scooters can approach from directions that are unfamiliar to a new pedestrian, including around turning vehicles and narrow streets.

When walking:

Use marked crossings.
Look for turning scooters even with a green signal.
Do not step around a stopped bus without checking traffic.
Avoid looking at your phone while crossing.
Use reflective or visible clothing after dark.

Before riding a scooter, confirm licence validity, registration, insurance, helmet rules, and whether your program permits it. Do not assume an international permit covers every vehicle category or length of stay.

Earthquakes

Taiwan is in an active seismic region. Strong earthquakes and aftershocks can disrupt transport, power, water, and communications.

During shaking:

Protect your head and neck.
Stay away from glass and unsecured furniture.
Follow the procedure for the building.
Do not use elevators.
If outside, move away from walls, signs, and power lines.

Afterward, check official alerts. Expect aftershocks. If you smell gas, see structural damage, or receive an evacuation instruction, move to the designated safe place.

Students near the coast should also learn tsunami routes. After strong or prolonged shaking, follow tsunami warnings immediately and move to the official higher location.

Typhoons, rain, flooding, and landslides

Typhoons can bring dangerous rain and wind even when the storm centre does not pass directly over your city. Mountain roads, rivers, underpasses, basements, and coastal areas can become unsafe.

Follow the Central Weather Administration, National Fire Agency, local government, and university. Do not travel because classes are cancelled. A closure is a safety measure, not a leisure day.

Prepare drinking water, food that needs no cooking, essential medicine, charging power, and a flashlight before the storm. Stay away from rivers, beaches, and mountain trails until authorities say conditions are safe.

Install the official disaster app

Taiwan's National Fire Agency provides the Fire and Disaster Prevention e-APP. It offers alerts for hazards such as typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and landslides. It also includes preparedness guidance and shelter information.

The agency states that the app supports translation into multiple languages. Install it before arrival, allow notifications and location access, and learn where the nearest shelter appears.

Keep university alerts enabled too. Do not rely on one app or a reposted screenshot during a fast-moving event.

Scams and financial safety

Phone and messaging scams can imitate government agencies, banks, delivery services, immigration, or police.

Do not transfer money because a caller says you must act immediately or keep the matter secret. Do not share a one-time password, banking login, residence-card image, or passport scan.

End the call and contact the institution using the number on its official website. For an urgent police matter, call 110. Preserve messages or transaction information only when it is safe to do so.

Nightlife, harassment, and assault

Go out with trusted people, watch your drink, and plan transport home. Do not leave an impaired friend alone. Call 119 for a medical emergency.

For immediate police help, call 110. Taiwan's 113 hotline provides support concerning domestic violence and sexual assault. Ask your university about confidential counselling, medical support, accommodation changes, and reporting options before you need them.

You can seek care and support even if you have not decided whether to make a formal report.

Regional tensions and public alerts

Cross-strait developments can change quickly and may affect travel advice, transport, or public alerts. Do not interpret a military exercise, warning, or political headline through social media alone.

Check your government's current advisory, Taiwan authorities, your university, and your consular office. Keep documents valid and maintain a practical communication plan with family.

Avoid demonstrations if conditions are tense. Follow police instructions and do not enter restricted areas.

Healthcare and insurance

Confirm what coverage applies to your program and when it begins. Eligibility for Taiwan's National Health Insurance depends on status and residence conditions, while short-term students may use university, travel, or private insurance.

Ask the university:

Which clinic handles routine illness.
Where to go after hours.
Whether language support is available.
How payment and reimbursement work.
How mental-health appointments are arranged.
What to do if medication is lost.

Bring prescription medicine in original packaging with supporting documentation. Check Taiwan's import rules before departure, particularly for controlled medicine.

Mountain and coastal activities

Taiwan offers hiking, cycling, beaches, and water sports, but conditions can change rapidly.

Check official forecasts, permits, trail status, transport, daylight, and emergency access. Tell someone your route and return time. Do not hike closed trails, cross flooded water, or enter the sea during warnings.

Use a qualified operator for unfamiliar activities. Insurance may exclude scooters, high-altitude hiking, diving, or other activities unless specifically covered.

Program and housing checks

Before accepting housing, confirm building access, fire exits, earthquake procedures, maintenance reporting, and who responds outside office hours.

If you are considering a program in Taiwan, use the current Taiwan program listings for the actual structure and location. Also read the Taiwan student visa guide, cost of living in Taipei guide, and broader Asia safety guide.

Contact Asia Pathway for program questions, then confirm emergency and health procedures directly with the institution.

Your first-week checklist

Save 110, 119, 112, 113, and university contacts.
Write your address in Chinese.
Install the Fire and Disaster Prevention e-APP.
Locate housing and campus evacuation points.
Check insurance and medicine rules.
Learn your safest evening route.
Identify counselling and harassment support.
Review the current travel advisory for your nationality.

Taiwan can be a manageable study destination when students combine normal precautions with serious disaster and traffic preparation.

Is Taiwan Safe? A Complete Safety Guide for International Students