Working in taiwan and conscription

Hi guys,

Here is my situation. Hope someone can help,

I have a potential job with an American company that will be positioned in Taiwan. however, this company will not sponsor a work visa on my behalf.

I currently have Taiwan and US passport. But since I am unable to obtain a work visa, I will not be able to use my US passport for entry. Born in 1982 in Taiwan and came to the states when I was 9 years old. I have yet to make any trips back to Taiwan and I have an “oversea taiwanese” stamp on my most recent passport. Since I’m out of the country for so long and at an young age I believe my Hukou is not longer valid. Since I was born before 1984 in order for me to qualify to be drafted I would have to stay over 4 month 3x in a given year. I am confused about the 3x 4 month clause of this law, but I’m fully aware I will need to leave/re-entry every 3-3.5 month. However, the people at the visa dept in the TECO tells me otherwise. (seemed unenthusiastic to help and gave vague answers, maybe they were told not to blatantly instruct how to bypass the system.) If anyone is familiar with the conscription laws please lend a hand. If it helps this position is engineering/technology related so I am looking at this as a possible direction as well.

Thanks in advance

After speaking to someone at the company who had a similar experience he informed me the date which i received the oversea Taiwanese stamp also comes into play. this person mentioned the stamp would need to be issued prior to the age of 15 in order to have the military processing center issue a free to travel status. anyone?

I don’t think the overseas Taiwanese stamp date information is accurate. I got my passport at 20. Never used it until my 30s when I decided to apply for my citizenship. I wasn’t born in Taiwan so I had quite a few hoops to jump through. After establishing residency and getting my ID card, I left the country every 4 months but I had to go to the immigration department to get the free to travel stamp beforehand. They eventually offered me the yearly stamp so I wouldn’t have to visit every 4 months, but they warned me to be careful and remember my dates.
The lady at the conscription office was pretty clear that I had to leave the country every 4 months or I would have to serve. She also told me that it would be better to stay overnight instead of a single day Hong Kong run so that you get two different date stamps in your passport. I had to leave until Dec. 31st of the year I turned 37. Your birthday is not the cutoff date.

Just my personal experience and I don’t know if anything has changed in the past 3 years. I would suggest going to the Conscription office in your local Household Registry Office and get your information straight from them. If visiting isn’t an option, try calling.

Thanks for sharing. I realized one of my friend in the US had gone through the same thing and i mentioned this to him as well. he told me he got his oversea status in his mid 20s and he returned in his late 20s. exactly as what you said. as long as I visit the conscript office and get my free to travel stamp I would be able to leave/enter within in a 120 day period. Thanks!