Change ARC Nationality?

Legal Visa & Residency
1

I’m a citizen of two countries, neither of which is Taiwan, but never bothered getting a passport for the second until now.

Now I’m curious as to whether I could change the passport/nationality associated with my ARC. Does anyone know if that would be possible? Would it be a pain? Would it effect my APRC eligibility?

My guess is that all I would need to do is use the new passport the next time I renew my ARC, and that it wouldn’t effect my ability to get an APRC in any way, but I can’t confirm that. I’d love to get a more definitive answer, perhaps even from someone who has already done the same.

Many thanks either way!

2

I don’t think it’s that simple, I guess that you need to provide all documents you had to get from the original country, stamped and notarized. Redo the whole process.

3

That seems odd, given that the only new document is the passport. It’s not like birth certificates, marriage certificates, or anything else has changed. Plus, I’m obviously the same person, particularly given that I still have the first country’s passport…

That said, it is Taiwan, so I can’t say I’d be surprised if that’s the case…

4

It’s another passport, but maybe you have something to hide, who knows? It’s not straightforward for the country where you want residence.

They might want to have a look into your criminal record maybe, or how you became a national from another country overnight?

5

Fair, but if I’ve been a resident of Taiwan for almost five years, presumably Taiwan has a pretty good sense of whether I’ve been up to no good. And, since this would create records connecting both passports to me, I would think it would be a rather poor way of trying to hide something. :slight_smile:

Plus, I’m reasonably confident Taiwanese officials are aware of the prevalence of dual-citizenship, and the circumstances under which it can be acquired. :wink:

That said, government policy, regardless of the government, isn’t exactly known to always be consistent with logic.

6

Did you actually mention on your initial application form that you’ve dual citizenship? They might get picky about that.

But I hope for you it’s straightforward.

7

This. Legally you would have been required to disclose both citizenships when you first applied for an ARC.

I don’t think you can change to another one now, but with a bit of luck you can add the second one.

Speak to your trusted Immigration Officer for more accurate information.

8

Well, in theory you might have gotten your second nationality after getting the ARC.

9

Did you ever find out if it is possible?

10

It’s difficult to add an additional nationality once the ARC has been issued, though I am aware of some cases where a fine of a few thousand NTD resolved the issue. However if you haven’t applied for your initial ARC yet, you should be able to declare all citizenships without problems.

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