Where to Buy a SIM Card in Taipei: Airport, City Stores and Online Pickup

The airport is the fastest route

For most arrivals, the airport is the obvious place to get connected. The three major carriers — Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone — all have sales counters in the arrival halls, so you can compare plans and walk out with a working SIM in about ten minutes.

• Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) is the main international hub, and both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 have carrier counters in the arrivals area.
• Songshan Airport (TSA) serves domestic and regional flights and has carrier counters, though the selection is more limited than at Taoyuan.
• All three carriers also have counters at Kaohsiung and Taichung airports.

Because SIM registration in Taiwan is tied to identification, buying at the airport — where staff are accustomed to foreign arrivals and English support is strongest — is the smoothest option. The trade-off is that tourist plans at the airport are priced for convenience. If you are on a short trip, the airport premium is usually worth paying once.

Pre-ordering online with airport pickup

If you want to skip the airport queue or land at an awkward hour, you can pre-order a SIM from a third-party platform and collect it at the airport. The pickup desks are operated by the carriers and accept the voucher with your passport.

Pre-ordering has two advantages:

• You fix the price before arriving, so there is no decision fatigue after a long flight.
• Pickup desks sometimes run earlier and close later than the carrier counters, which helps for late-night or early-morning arrivals.

The main thing to check is the pickup desk’s operating hours for your specific flight, since they differ by terminal and carrier. If you land after the desk closes, you can wait for it to open or buy at a city store instead.

Carrier city stores in Taipei

If you miss the airport entirely, or want a better price after a long stay, the carriers operate stores across Taipei. Chunghwa Telecom in particular has shops that sell the same tourist prepaid deals as the airport, and its city network is the largest — look for the Chunghwa-branded stores around Taipei Main Station, Ximending, Dongmen and other central areas.

City stores come with a few caveats:

• English support varies. Airport staff are used to foreigners; a small city store may have more limited English.
• Not every store sells tourist plans. The carriers sell different products through different channels, and only designated stores carry the tourist prepaid SIMs. Calling ahead or checking the carrier’s store finder saves a wasted trip.
• Prices can be higher in the city than at the airport for short stays, so the airport counter remains the better deal for a brief visit.

If you are already a resident rather than a visitor, see our full guide to getting a SIM card in Taiwan, which covers prepaid vs postpaid and the two-ID rule in detail.

What to bring, and convenience-store prepaid

SIM registration in Taiwan requires identification. Bring your passport, and carry a second form of ID as well — an ARC if you have one, otherwise another photo ID — because a second document is commonly required even for prepaid.

Convenience stores such as 7-Eleven and FamilyMart do sell prepaid SIMs, but they are aimed mainly at residents and can require a local ID or ARC. For a visitor they are rarely the right first choice — the carrier counters at the airport or a designated carrier store are more reliable and process the registration on the spot.

Whichever route you choose, confirm that your phone is unlocked and supports Taiwan’s network bands, and decide whether you need a real phone number or a data-only eSIM. A data-only eSIM gets you online without a number, which matters if you plan to use local services that key off a phone number.