How to Freeze Assets in Taiwan for Foreigners: Provisional Attachment, Security Bonds, Bank Freezes and Deadlines (2026)

Foreign creditors seeking to preserve a debtor’s wealth in Taiwan now have three principal tools at their disposal: court-ordered provisional attachment, provisional injunctions, and, since February 2026, expanded bank-level account freezes authorised under new Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) regulatory guidance. Understanding how to freeze assets in Taiwan for foreigners is critical because debtors can transfer funds or dispose of property within days, rendering even a favourable judgment worthless. This guide walks foreign claimants and in-house counsel through every stage of the process, from assembling evidence and posting security bonds to converting a pre-judgment attachment into final enforcement.

Taiwan’s civil procedure framework, anchored in the Code of Civil Procedure and the Compulsory Enforcement Act, provides robust provisional remedies, but each carries strict evidentiary thresholds, bond requirements and filing deadlines that foreign parties must navigate carefully.

TL;DR, six-step checklist for freezing assets in Taiwan

1. Engage local counsel immediately, appoint a Taiwan-licensed attorney and execute a special power of attorney (POA), notarised and legalised through your country’s consular process.
2. Gather and translate evidence, prepare contracts, invoices, bank records and witness statements; all documents must be translated into Mandarin and notarised.
3. Trace the debtor’s assets, search Taiwan’s company registry, land registry and bank records to identify attachable assets (accounts, shares, real property).
4. File for provisional attachment or provisional injunction, submit the motion to the competent district court, demonstrating a prima facie claim and risk of asset dissipation.
5. Post the security bond, courts typically require a cash deposit or bank guarantee; the amount is set at the court’s discretion and often reflects a proportion of the claimed sum.
6. Coordinate with the debtor’s bank, serve the court order on the bank’s compliance department and, where the 2026 FSC guidance applies, request the bank maintain any existing temporary freeze pending the court order.

1. Who can freeze assets in Taiwan, and when to use each measure

Before choosing a remedy, foreign creditors need to understand who has the power to freeze assets in Taiwan. Three distinct authorities can restrict a debtor’s ability to move or dispose of property, and each operates under different rules.

Court-ordered provisional attachment

Provisional attachment (jiǎ kòu yā, 假扣押) is the primary judicial tool for monetary claims. A creditor applies to a civil district court for an order seizing the debtor’s bank accounts, movable property, shares or real estate before a final judgment is entered. It is governed by Articles 522 to 531 of Taiwan’s Code of Civil Procedure, as published on the Laws & Regulations Database maintained by the Ministry of Justice. Provisional attachment is the most commonly sought remedy for foreign creditors pursuing debt recovery, breach-of-contract claims or commercial fraud actions.

Provisional injunctions

Provisional injunctions (jiǎ chǔ fēn, 假處分) restrain a party from performing or continuing a specific act, for example, transferring title to unique property, disposing of disputed shares or altering corporate records. These are governed by Articles 532 to 538 of the Code of Civil Procedure and are used when the creditor’s claim relates to non-monetary relief or where a specific asset must be preserved in its current state.

Banks and regulators (FSC guidance)

Banks in Taiwan may independently freeze accounts under anti-money-laundering (AML) obligations and, since February 2026, under expanded FSC regulatory guidance that empowers financial institutions to temporarily block transactions on accounts linked to suspected fraud or to foreign nationals who have departed the jurisdiction under certain circumstances. These bank-level freezes operate outside the court system and can be triggered by internal compliance thresholds, suspicious-transaction reports or direct instructions from the FSC.

Comparative snapshot: how asset-freezing typically works across jurisdictions

In most common-law jurisdictions, creditors obtain freezing orders (historically called Mareva injunctions) from superior courts, typically on an ex parte basis. Civil-law systems, including Taiwan’s, use the functional equivalent of provisional attachment. The key difference in Taiwan is the mandatory security bond: courts almost always require the applicant to post a bond to compensate the defendant if the attachment is later found to have been wrongly obtained. Industry observers note that Taiwan’s bond requirements tend to be more predictable than the open-ended undertaking-in-damages model used in England and Hong Kong, making cost planning easier for foreign creditors.

2. Pre-action evidence and documentation checklist for foreign claimants

Taiwanese courts will not grant provisional relief without adequate documentary support. Preparing a comprehensive evidence package before filing is essential to avoid delays and costly supplementary submissions. The following checklist reflects the documentation standards applied by Taiwan’s district courts.

Documentary evidence

• Exhibit A, underlying contract or agreement. The original signed contract (or certified copy) establishing the obligation, translated into Mandarin by a certified translator and notarised.
• Exhibit B, invoices and payment records. All invoices, purchase orders and proof of payment (or non-payment) showing the debt or loss.
• Exhibit C, bank statements and wire-transfer records. Statements demonstrating the flow of funds, ideally from both the creditor’s and debtor’s banks where available.
• Exhibit D, correspondence. Demand letters, emails and messaging records that evidence the debtor’s acknowledgement of the obligation or refusal to pay.

Witness statements and sworn translations

Taiwanese courts require all foreign-language documents to be accompanied by certified Mandarin translations. Witness statements must be in the form of sworn affidavits or declarations. Where the witness is located outside Taiwan, the statement should be notarised before a public notary and, where applicable, legalised or apostilled in accordance with the destination country’s requirements. Taiwan is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so documents from most jurisdictions must be authenticated through the Taiwan representative office (de facto embassy) in the creditor’s country.

Asset tracing steps

Before filing, creditors should identify the debtor’s attachable assets through publicly available registries:

• Company registry. Search the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ company registration database for the debtor’s corporate structure, directors and registered address.
• Land registry. Check Taiwan’s land registration system for real property holdings.
• Securities holdings. For publicly listed shares, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) maintains foreign-investor registration records under its offshore-investor regulations.
• Bank account enquiries. Local counsel can make targeted enquiries through court-assisted discovery or the Joint Credit Information Center for indicators of bank-account holdings.

Emergency evidence preservation

If there is a risk that the debtor will destroy evidence, Taiwan’s Code of Civil Procedure allows a party to apply for evidence preservation orders (Articles 368 to 376). A preservation-of-evidence motion can be filed before or during the main action. Foreign creditors should instruct local counsel to send formal preservation-demand letters to the debtor and relevant third parties (such as banks or custodians) simultaneously with the provisional attachment application to create a record of the debtor’s awareness and any subsequent destruction.

3. How to freeze assets in Taiwan through provisional attachment, process, thresholds and timeline

Legal basis

Provisional attachment is codified in Part IV, Chapter 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Articles 522–531). Article 522 provides that a creditor may apply for provisional attachment of the debtor’s property where the creditor has a monetary claim and there is a risk that compulsory enforcement will become impossible or substantially more difficult in the future. The Compulsory Enforcement Act, also maintained on the Laws & Regulations Database, governs the mechanics of execution once an attachment order is obtained.

Filing the motion: jurisdiction and venue

The motion for provisional attachment must be filed with the district court that has jurisdiction over the main action or, alternatively, the district court where the assets to be attached are located. For foreign creditors, the practical choice is usually the court in the district where the debtor’s bank accounts, real property or corporate headquarters are situated. Filing requires a written motion, supporting evidence exhibits, a Mandarin translation of all foreign-language documents and the applicable court fees.

Evidence threshold: what Taiwanese courts require

The applicant must demonstrate two elements. First, a prima facie claim, the creditor must show, through documentary and other evidence, that the monetary claim is likely meritorious. This is not a full merits determination; the court assesses whether the claim has a reasonable basis. Second, a risk of dissipation, the creditor must provide specific grounds to believe that the debtor’s assets may be transferred, concealed or diminished, making future enforcement impossible or substantially harder. Evidence of the debtor’s flight from the jurisdiction, rapid asset transfers, cessation of business operations or a pattern of non-payment can satisfy this requirement.

Security bond

Courts granting provisional attachment almost always require the applicant to post a security bond before the order takes effect. The bond serves as protection for the debtor, compensating for losses if the attachment is later revoked. Bond amounts are set at the court’s discretion; there is no statutory formula. In practice, courts typically set bonds within a range that reflects the likely damages to the debtor from the attachment, industry observers note that bonds often fall between one-tenth and one-third of the claimed amount, depending on the strength of the evidence, the nature of the assets attached and the court’s assessment of potential harm to the debtor.

What assets can be attached

• Bank accounts. The most common target. The court order is served on the bank, which freezes the account up to the amount specified.
• Movable property. Physical assets such as inventory, equipment and vehicles can be seized by the court’s enforcement division.
• Real property. The attachment is registered on the land title, preventing transfer or encumbrance.
• Securities and shares. For listed shares, the order is served on the TWSE or the custodian bank; for unlisted shares, it is served on the company itself. The TWSE’s foreign-investor regulations outline the custodian obligations that apply when shares held by offshore investors are subject to court orders.

Timelines: how quickly can a court act?

Provisional attachment motions can be decided ex parte, without notifying the debtor, where the court is satisfied that advance notice would defeat the purpose of the attachment. In urgent cases, courts have been known to issue orders within a matter of days. Once the order is granted, the applicant must serve it on the relevant third parties (banks, land registry, TWSE custodian) promptly. If the court holds a hearing, the typical timeline from filing to hearing is approximately one to three weeks in major district courts such as Taipei, New Taipei and Taichung, though actual timelines vary by court workload.

Comparison table: provisional attachment vs provisional injunction vs bank freeze

4. Provisional injunctions and interim relief, when and how

Differences from provisional attachment

While provisional attachment targets monetary claims by freezing assets, provisional injunctions address non-monetary disputes or situations where a specific asset must be preserved in its current state. Under Articles 532 to 538 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a creditor may seek a provisional injunction to restrain the debtor from transferring a particular piece of real property, altering corporate share registers, destroying unique goods or taking any action that would render the creditor’s claim meaningless. The injunction is particularly useful in shareholder disputes, intellectual-property conflicts and cases involving unique or irreplaceable assets.

Interim injunctive relief for injunctive causes

To obtain a provisional injunction, the applicant must demonstrate:

1. A dispute exists regarding a specific legal relationship (not merely a debt).
2. Urgency, the injunction is necessary to prevent material harm or to maintain the status quo pending resolution of the dispute.
3. Balance of convenience, the harm to the applicant if the injunction is refused outweighs the harm to the respondent if it is granted.

As with provisional attachment, the court will almost always require a security bond. The bond amount for injunctions can be substantial because the court must account for the possibility that the injunction will cause significant commercial disruption to the respondent. Tactical considerations for foreign creditors include timing the application to coincide with evidence of imminent transfer, ensuring all documents are translated and ready, and being prepared to attend an oral hearing at short notice. Early indications suggest that Taiwanese courts are increasingly willing to consider ex parte injunctions where the evidence of urgency is compelling, though the applicant must demonstrate why notice to the respondent would be counter-productive.

5. Banks, regulators and the 2026 temporary bank-freeze measures

Summary of FSC guidance (February 2026)

In February 2026, the Financial Supervisory Commission issued regulatory guidance expanding the circumstances under which banks in Taiwan may temporarily freeze accounts. The guidance addresses situations including suspected fraud, accounts held by foreign nationals who have departed the jurisdiction, accounts receiving abnormal inflows flagged by transaction-monitoring systems, and accounts linked to ongoing criminal investigations referred by law-enforcement authorities. The FSC published this guidance through its regulatory framework, building on existing AML and counter-fraud obligations under the Money Laundering Control Act and the Banking Act. The practical effect is that banks now have clearer authority to impose temporary transaction blocks without first obtaining a court order in defined circumstances.

How banks implement freezes

When a bank’s compliance unit identifies grounds for a freeze under the FSC guidance, the bank may take several actions:

• Transaction block. Outgoing transfers, withdrawals and payments are suspended.
• Account lock. The entire account is placed in a restricted status, preventing any activity.
• Notification to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The bank files a suspicious-transaction report with Taiwan’s Anti-Money Laundering Division under the Investigation Bureau, Ministry of Justice.
• Notification to the FSC. The bank reports the action to its supervisory division at the FSC for regulatory oversight purposes.

What creditors should do when a bank freezes an account

A bank-level freeze is not a substitute for a court order. To convert a temporary bank freeze into enforceable asset preservation, creditors should take these steps promptly:

1. Instruct local counsel to contact the bank’s compliance department and confirm the scope and basis of the freeze.
2. File for provisional attachment with the competent district court as soon as possible, the bank freeze may be lifted if the bank determines its internal thresholds are no longer met.
3. Serve the court-issued attachment order on the bank, replacing the bank’s discretionary freeze with a binding judicial order.
4. Request the bank to maintain the freeze pending receipt of the court order, providing a copy of the filed motion and any interim court confirmation.

Practical interaction with AML rules

Taiwan’s AML framework, anchored in the Money Laundering Control Act, requires banks to file suspicious-transaction reports for transactions that meet specified indicators. Where a creditor’s attachment target coincides with an account already flagged under AML procedures, the bank may be legally prohibited from disclosing certain details of its internal investigation to the creditor. Creditors should work through their local counsel to coordinate with the court and, where necessary, with law-enforcement authorities to ensure the creditor’s civil attachment does not conflict with any ongoing criminal investigation.

6. Security bonds, calculation, posting and substitution

How courts set bond amounts

Taiwan’s Code of Civil Procedure grants courts broad discretion to set security bond amounts. The bond protects the defendant against losses caused by a wrongful attachment or injunction. Courts consider the value of the assets to be attached, the strength of the applicant’s prima facie case, the potential commercial harm to the defendant and any evidence of the defendant’s own financial position. There is no statutory formula, each bond is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Forms of security accepted

Courts accept two principal forms of security:

• Cash deposit. The applicant deposits the bond amount with the court’s designated depository (typically a branch of the National Treasury or a designated bank).
• Bank guarantee. A guarantee issued by a Taiwan-licensed bank in favour of the court, committing the bank to pay the bond amount on demand if the court orders forfeiture.

Worked example

Consider a foreign creditor pursuing a claim for NTD 30 million (approximately USD 950,000). If the court sets the bond at one-fifth of the claimed amount, the creditor would need to deposit NTD 6 million or provide a bank guarantee for that sum before the attachment order takes effect. Foreign creditors should budget for bond costs early and discuss with local counsel whether the bond can be reduced by presenting stronger evidence of the debtor’s dissipation risk. Industry observers note that courts in commercial-fraud cases may set lower bonds where the evidence of wrongdoing is particularly strong.

7. From attachment to enforcement, converting provisional measures into execution

Obtaining final judgment and filing for execution

Provisional attachment preserves assets but does not satisfy the underlying claim. The creditor must still obtain a final judgment, either through Taiwan litigation or by having a foreign judgment recognised and enforced by a Taiwan court. Once a final, enforceable judgment is obtained, the creditor files for compulsory enforcement with the court’s enforcement division under the Compulsory Enforcement Act. The attached assets are then liquidated or transferred to satisfy the judgment debt. If the creditor already holds a provisional attachment order, the transition to enforcement is streamlined because the assets are already secured.

Release of bonds and timeframes

After the main action concludes and enforcement is completed, the creditor may apply for the return of the security bond. The court will release the bond provided that no claim for wrongful attachment has been filed by the defendant, or after a statutory waiting period following notice to the defendant to assert any damages claim. If the defendant does not file a claim within the prescribed period, the bond is returned in full to the creditor.

Cross-border enforcement and foreign judgments

Foreign creditors who hold a judgment from their home jurisdiction must apply to a Taiwan court for recognition before enforcement can proceed. Taiwan’s Code of Civil Procedure (Articles 402 and 403) sets out the conditions for recognition of foreign judgments, including reciprocity, proper service, and consistency with Taiwan’s public policy. The likely practical effect for creditors holding judgments from major trading-partner jurisdictions is that recognition is available, though the process requires careful preparation and, crucially, should be commenced while the provisional attachment is still in force. For a detailed treatment of this process, see the guide to enforcing a foreign money judgment in Taiwan.

8. Practical steps for foreign creditors: POA, local counsel and emergency checklist

How to get a special power of attorney in Taiwan

Foreign creditors cannot appear personally in Taiwanese court proceedings; they must appoint a Taiwan-licensed attorney through a special power of attorney. The POA process for foreigners involves the following steps:

1. Draft the POA in both English and Mandarin, specifying the attorney’s authority to file motions, attend hearings, post bonds and receive court documents.
2. Execute the POA before a notary public in the creditor’s home jurisdiction.
3. Have the notarised POA authenticated (legalised) by the Taiwan representative office or trade office in the creditor’s country. Since Taiwan is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, standard apostille certification is not accepted; authentication must go through Taiwan’s diplomatic or representative channels.
4. Deliver the authenticated POA to local counsel in Taiwan, who will file it with the court alongside the provisional attachment motion.

Emergency contact checklist

• Local counsel. Engage a Taiwan-licensed attorney with cross-border litigation experience immediately upon identifying asset-dissipation risk.
• Bank compliance department. Identify the debtor’s bank and locate the compliance or legal department contact for service of court orders.
• Court registry. Confirm the filing requirements and court fees with the registry of the competent district court (Taipei, New Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung or other).
• Taiwan representative office abroad. Contact the nearest Taiwan representative office (TECO or equivalent) for POA authentication and consular guidance.

Conclusion

Knowing how to freeze assets in Taiwan for foreigners is the single most important step in protecting a cross-border claim. Taiwan’s legal system offers robust provisional remedies, provisional attachment for monetary claims, provisional injunctions for non-monetary disputes, and, since February 2026, expanded bank-level freezes under FSC regulatory guidance. Each tool operates under distinct evidence thresholds, bonding requirements and timelines, and selecting the right approach depends on the nature of the claim, the type of assets involved and the urgency of the situation. Foreign creditors who act early, engaging local counsel, preparing translated evidence, tracing assets and filing promptly, significantly increase their chances of preserving the debtor’s assets before they can be moved beyond reach.

The 2026 regulatory changes make timely action even more critical: banks now have clearer authority to impose temporary freezes, but those freezes will not last indefinitely without a court order to back them up.

Sources

1. Laws & Regulations Database, Ministry of Justice, Taiwan
2. Judicial Yuan, Taiwan
3. Financial Supervisory Commission, Regulatory Content
4. Ministry of Finance, R.O.C.
5. Taiwan Stock Exchange, Foreign Investor Regulations
6. Taiwan Bar Association