Digital COVID-19 Certificate is open for application from today with just three steps only!

By The China Post, Taiwan/ Taiwan Immigrants' Global News Network

According to The China Post, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC, 中央流行疫情指揮中心) announced on Monday that the digital COVID-19 vaccine certificates will be available for download on Tuesday.

According to the CECC, the content of the digital vaccine certificate is categorized as sensitive data defined under the “Personal Data Protection Act” (個人資料保護法), and its identity confirmation is relatively cumbersome.

The digital certificates are available for all those who have been vaccinated or PCR-tested in Taiwan.

At the launch, only those who hold valid passports will be eligible to download the digital certificate from the system, though this regulation may be adjusted in the future; the public can apply directly online by computer or mobile phone.

The website will be available at 8:00 am on Dec. 28, or users can get a link on the official website of the Ministry of Health and Welfare MOHW, 衛福部).

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Application process of Digital COVID-19 Certificate. (Photo / Provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare)

The digital vaccine certificate can be obtained in three steps

1. Confirm identity

Nationals can choose one of the three ways below to access log in the system:  (1) ID card number + national health insurance number + valid passport number (2) FIDO (providing fingerprint or facial recognition login for a safe and convenient biometric identification method) + valid passport number(3) Citizen Digital Certificate + Valid Passport Number.

Meanwhile, foreigners can log in by entering either one of the listed combinations: (1) Uniform ID number + national health insurance card number (2) Uniform ID number + entry and exit date certificate (3) Uniform ID number + passport number.

2. Select types of certificates

Users can select to either acquire their “Digital Vaccine Certificate” or their “Digitial PCR Test Result Certificate.”

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Digital COVID-19 Certificate is open for application. (Photo / Provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare)

3. Obtain Certificate

Users need to click “Download/Print Digital Certificate” on the screen after the application is submitted successfully. The file format will be PDF, so the CECC reminded the public to save it on their mobile devices or computers first, and then print out paper copies according to their personal needs.

For those who need a paper copy of the certificate but don’t have a printer at home, they can click on the “get convenience store printing code” to acquire a barcode to print out at convenience stores at users’ own expenses.

The CECC also pointed out that showing a paper copy of the vaccine certificate or QR codes of it is both acceptable and inspectors will scan them and different colors will appear on their screen to see whether the type of certificate is accepted in their individual system or not.

However, different countries may need different ways to verify the vaccine certificates, so travelers should pay extra attention to when they need a paper copy and when they need a digital copy.

The launch of the digital vaccine certificate is partly due to the European Union’s (EU, 歐盟) recent announcement that Taiwan can officially join their digital vaccine certificate system so that those with vaccine certificates confirmed and issued in Taiwan can travel to Europe without too much hassle.

The CECC remarked that the EU is an important international alliance, and their digital vaccine certificate system has recently seen 60 countries join, including 27 EU members and 33 non-EU countries as of Dec. 22.

The digital certificate is given priority to people going abroad for use. As for when it will be opened for use in Taiwan, it will be confirmed soon by the CECC.

For more information, please head to the MOHW’s official website: https://covid19.mohw.gov.tw/ch/np-5345-205.html

Authorization of this article from【The China Post】By Vivian Hsiao