Ive been married 9 years and lived most of that time in china and now Macau. We have no kids. My wife now wants a divorce. I have pleaded with her to allow me to get the APRC and we can then separate as best friends. This doesn’t seem to be happening.
What are my options with regards to the APRC ? Do the years spent as being married count for anything or does it start when I obtained the ARC through marriage in 2014?
I forgot to add that she had an affair 4 years ago and became pregnant, I stuck by her .
If you do not agree to a divorce, there won’t be a divorce. That’s how ROC family law works. Also, you will need 5 years of cumulative residence on a spouse-based ARC within the last 10 years, with 183 days of cumulative residence in each of these 5 years.
That being said, you should see how many months you have left until you qualify for an APRC and not sign / agree to anything before that.
Do you have any evidence for your spouse’s infidelity? Adultery is a criminal offence under ROC law.
She has as much admitted to it and like I followed up with my earlier post she had an abortion in 2012. I wasn’t the father.im not asking you to judge me here as you will all say I got what was coming to me.i won’t sign anything as you have mentioned until I have sought proper legal advice.
My understanding is that the APRC for foreigners married to a Taiwanese, i think called JFRV, is dependent on staying married. So if you get it, then divorce, you lose it again.
A visa based on marriage is a JFRV, and a visa is not an ARC.
An APRC is a permanent ARC, and once you have it you can keep it even if the reason why you obtained ARC’s for five years disappears. That’s the attraction of an APRC for someone who already has a JFRV.
1 Like
After you got married and changed your ARC status, did they give you a new ARC number? If they did, officially, the time you’ve spent here probably restarted in 2014.
I got divorce a few years ago, and when I got my APRC, I was able to count both the years I was married, and the time I was on a working visa. However, I think that’s because I had the same ARC number throughout the whole time.
The people at the Immigration Bureau were actually really good and helpful, so I’d give them a call and ask for advice.
Good luck with it.
The ARC NUMBER was the same as it was from 2000-2006. I was working here
then. I don’t think this honestly counts. I then came back in 2014 and was
reissued a new ARC which was the same number. I didn’t apply for a new ARC
card when I married because I was working in China
I see your point. I guess the time will probably start from 2014, but you might as well give the bureau a call - you never know.
Most importantly, if you’re working for someone who can you give you an ARC, have them sort this out before you get the divorce. Otherwise you might be starting from square one again.
In other threads, the standard advice is to go down to the NIA and ask them if you qualify for an APRC. If not, then ask when you will be able to qualify. There’s no use speculating about it on here since what NIA says is what counts. Please report back with your findings.
Sometimes it is useful, because they’re also human and make mistakes occasionally. But in general you’re right. 
Your understanding is false.
1 Like
I was nearly divorced here but my wife was kind enough to help get me an APRC before we planned to divorce. The immigration bureau told me the ARC could not be renewed if I was divorced as it.was based on marriage. Anyway we never got divorced in the end and I got my APRC.
You’re right. I had overlooked the separate APRC before.
JFVC as pointed out is not a type of APRC nor same as APRC. It is important to make the distinction clear.
As said, the JFVC is valid while your spouse is alive/as long as they do not dump your ass. Ehile it shares the advantage of Open Work Permit Rights, you will always be one blue truck/one cancer/one family spat away from losing all: residency, work, home, kids. Hence, JFVC is not “permanent”.
With APRC at least you get a fighting chance. You can stay on The Island not depending on having a job or being married. If you hit the lottery and have an APRC, you can get a nice cabin by the woods or live on a shack by the beach, scratching your balls and having beer/writing the definite Taiwan novel…whatever. Or set up a taco stand in a night market if you do not hit the jackpot. You can do whatever you want. Oh, and they call it permanent because even though you renew the card every 10 years, aside from a recent picture, no further paperwork is required.
Ultimate freedom, as in having your own nice loan/any and all credit cards/other perks however can only be achived with nationality of ROC.
The APRC doesn’t need to be renewed every ten years. There’s no expiration date on it.
The APRC by itself nope but like a passport, they prefer to have a fresh account of what you look like and a new card. Also, when you change your passport - a every five year nightmare for me- you are supposed to change the card to update the info.
As said, this procedure does not affect your right for APRC, though some argue it makes it “not permanent”. But think if it like this: if you lose your card, you just get a new one, like any other right. You lost the card. Not the right.
Hello. Wake up, thread, wake up, you have a new petitioner to the collective wisdom.
I have been in Taiwan for 12-1/2 years, but due to gaps in employment, do not have an APRC. I am married, however, but that situation is going to collapse this year. The local (infamously inept) NIA office told me I am eligible for an APRC, despite it not having been 5 contiguous years with an ARC, and regardless of my current JFRC. I think this summer will actually be 5 years, so there are all indications I can apply for and receive an APRC.
I have one (at the moment) question for APRC holders and others knowledgeable with the process and status. Aside from the required 183/184 days of residence, what do you know about income requirements? When I got married, the local (inept) NIA agent told me I had to show NT$40k/month income (or at least pay that amount of taxes) to keep the JFRC. My law-school-graduate newlywed read the regulations and informed the flunkie she was wrong, and that it appeared to apply only to APRC recipients. Sad when one has to explain government regulations to a government employee, but whatever.
Anyhow, I am at the end of my marriage, eligible for an APRC, and am asking if anyone else knows about this income/tax requirement?
ed.