My wife is Taiwanese--does my JFRV give me any benefits on living and working in mainland China?

Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwanese do not need any local spouse to stay and work in Shanghai, hence they cannot be applicants by design. The regulation I provided you with applies to foreigners only.

Let me walk you through the Chinese regulation. 探望 is formal Chinese for “wishing to join/visit.” 被探望人 means “the person being visited/joined.” With your understanding of Chinese I am not surprised that your efforts have thus far proven futile. And your case once more shows that a Taiwanese wife is not necessarily a great help when dealing with authorities.

(二)办事的手续 Application Procedure

6.提交与申请人身份和事由相符的证明材料 Supporting documents depending on the applicant’s situation and purpose:

(1)探望本市居民,须提供被探望人的本市常住户籍证明和居民身份证的原件及复印件;For joining citizens of this municipality, provide ID card as well as household registration of the person you join

(2)探望外省市居民,须提供被探望人的中国居民身份证、有效的居住证和本市单位在职证明或本市房产证的原件及复印件; For joining citizens of other provinces, provide ID card, residence permit, as well as work place certificate of the person you join

(3)探望华侨、港澳台居民,须提供他们的身份证件及在沪6个月以上的常住证明原件及复印件;For joining overseas Chinese and Hong Kong/Macao/Taiwan residents, provide the respective ID card and certificates documenting residence in Shanghai municipality for 6 months or more of the person you join

(4)探望常住外国人,须提供被探望人的《外国人永久居留证》原件及复印件。
注:To join foreigners, provide the original of the “Permanent Residence Certificate for Foreigners” as well as a copy thereof of the person you join

In conclusion, the requirements for foreign spouses of Taiwanese are quite generous in comparison to non-local Mainland Chinese as well as foreigners. Whereas the former need to document the employment of their Chinese spouse, this is not required for foreign spouses of Taiwanese. Furthermore, foreign spouses of Taiwanese receive far better treatment than foreign spouses of foreign permanent residents. Not even to mention the foreign spouses of foreign residents without a permanent resident certificate. From an analysis of the relevant procedure, we can see that foreign spouses of Taiwanese receive treatment somewhere slightly below foreign spouses with local Shanghai spouses. Therefore, the treatment of Taiwanese in Mainland China is hardly comparable to that of foreigners.

Thank you for the response. I will be sure to ask again whenever I next visit the immigration office.

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This was a very interesting read! hsinhai78 You seem very knowledgeable about the legal status of these situations so I was wondering if I could get your take if I throw a spanner in the works!

I’m married to a Taiwanese citizen with household registration and have my spouse based ARC so he could get a 臺胞證 and based on what you’ve said I could apply for a spouse visa.

However, we are a same-sex couple (our marriage is completely legal, registered in Taiwan and I am listed on his household registration). Would this suffice, legally, in terms of a Chinese spouse visa application? ’

As, as far as I’m aware, China doesn’t recognise same-sex marriage BUT our marriage is registered in an area that China claims is part of their territory so our marriage is already registered in what the Chinese government considers China… does that make sense?

(for context I am considering teaching English in China for a year and then returning to Taiwan but I don’t qualify for an employment visa as my education doesn’t meet the requirements)

Unfortunately I have no answer to this, but it’s a very interesting situation that I want to track.

On that note I found this interesting, albeit lengthy, article that touches on this dilemma:

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