Registering the NHI card online

Usual disclaimer: Note the date of this blog post. As time goes by, things may change, so always try to find the most up to date information. Feel free to let me know if anything ever changes. If this article has Chinese characters / Pinyin and you are not sure about pronunciation, copy/paste the Chinese characters to Google Translate and use the text to voice feature. As a side note, the pronunciation of the neutral tone is usually not so good, but it should be close enough.

Relevant links:

Enrolling in the NHI program as a Gold Card holder

NHI Online Services Registration

Once you have the NHI card, you will want to register it online on the second link above. Once you register online, you can, for instance, file your tax online using the NHI card as your identification during tax season. You can also sign up for the Covid-19 vaccination program.

You can also go to the closest NHI Administration office to do it in person. Search Google Maps for the closest one to you.

I did mine online, so I will share my experiences. Please note that I already forgot how I did mine and I do remember that it wasn't as smooth sailing as it could have been. I am currently collecting more data. In a few weeks, I have another friend who will go through the same process, and I will do it with him and share detailed information. If, on the other hand, you wish to share your experiences, please get in touch with me.

The first thing you need to do is get a USB card reader. You can find these at convenience stores. Not all convenience stores carry them, and you'll need to find one that has a magazine stand; that is where they usually stock them. They will be alongside USB chargers and the likes. For this blog post, I actually wen to a number of Seven Elevens and Family Marts, they are always by the magazine stands, and the stocks were often very low. If you need to ask, they are called:

USB讀卡機 USB dú kǎ jī - "dú" means read, "kǎ" means card, "jī" means machine. 

If you want to ask if they carry any, this is one way you can ask:

請問你們有USB讀卡機嗎？Qǐngwèn nǐmen yǒu USB dú kǎ jī ma? - Do you guys have a USB card reader? I like to add "Qǐngwèn" as it makes it more polite and friendly. You can omit it as well though, but it's rather direct. "Qǐngwèn" is hard to literally translate but I suppose "Can I ask" would be a rough equivalent. It also has a feeling of "excuse me" but it isn't literally "excuse me", so if you bump into someone on the street, don't say "Qǐngwèn".

Stores that sell computer accessories may have it too, so you can also try those. 

Once you have your card reader, we're ready to get started. FYI, I am on a 2019 Macbook Pro and I have a Thunderbolt 3 dock with multiple USB ports. I originally plugged it into the dock, and while it seemed like it was working, the NHI site wasn't recognizing it. I ended up plugging it directly to one of my USB-C ports using a USB2 to USB-C adaptor, and it finally recognized it.

I have heard reports that certain browsers work better than others. I use Google Chrome. I have also heard reports that you should be carefully about the number of browser tabs open as they may interfere with the reader if multiple tabs are trying to connect to it.

This is where I have to stop this guide as I forgot what I had to go through to register the site online. Since I already did it, I cannot repeat the process. I do remember having to be somewhat tech savvy to get things to work. It wasn't as smooth sailing as it could have been.

Once you register it online, you can choose to download the NHI app on your mobile device, and then you will have to bind your card to the device. This was also not smooth sailing for me. I tried to bind it using my SIM card but it would never connect to the NHI server. I managed to bind it using my computer and the card reader. Again, I don't remember how I did it, and most of it was in Chinese. In a few weeks time, I will update this post when I help my friend go through the whole process.

If you want to try it for yourself, maybe you will have better luck. If your Mandarin skills are not hih, then Google Translate will come in handy. Having a Mandarin speaking friend also helps!