The huge ‘Marriage in Taiwan’ thread that was on this or the Human Rights forum seems to have vanished. This was about 5 pages long and full of useful information. Richard, can you retrieve it? I’m sure it’s not there, and it seems a bit unfair to keep telling people that their questions have been answered in detail elsewhere, when those details aren’t there anymore.
I wanted to check about the police giving 1 year for Joining Family Residents Visas the first time and then 3 years later. Richard, I remember you saying that this was challengeable, and I remember some people saying they got three years in Gaoxiong or somewhere. The Taipei City Police today told me that only 1 year was possible first time, no exceptions, the law gave them the discretion to grant up to 3 years and their departmental rules, which govern the whole of Taiwan only allow 1 year for the first time. She gave me a copy of the relevant page of regulations.
Richard is this challengeable by administrative appeal, or would it be a court action? Is it even worth challenging? (I seem to remember you had it on a list a while ago). Any successful appeals so far?
PS It seems that getting married in Taiwan is not a problem anymore. MOFA now accepts a Taiwan marriage certificate. No need to prove registration in your home country, which is great news. More details in a larger psot, when I’ve completed everything.
It means that the kaw says that the police are able to grant UP TO 3 years for a JFRV, but the police themselves decide their nation-wide regulations to only grant 1-year the first time, and three years subsequently.
Yes I am sure registration in your home country is no longer required IF YOUR HOME COUNTRY DOES NOT HAVE A REGISTRATION SYSTEM. I picked upmine on Monday, no problem.
I cannot confirm the facts about not needing some “proof that the marriage is registered in one’s home country.”
I still receive a lot of email about this problem every week.
As for getting a JFRV valid for three years, I imagine that the best time to argue about this would be upon the following renewal, i.e. after you get the one-year JFRV, then when that year is up, if the Police still insist on giving you a one year JFRV again, we could appeal that.
That’s my experience too. I have an ARC based on a JFRV. The first time, they gave 1 year, the second time they gave me the choice between 1,2, and 3 years without me even asking for it. (Towards the end of the month - could only afford 1 year, as they charge NT$1000 per year ).
I think it’s pretty standard and find nothing objectionable in their policy - apart from their fees!
just came from the MOFA and they confirmed that registration of a Taiwanese marriage in your home country is mandatory. Not so much for the sake of my home government accepting Taiwanese marriages but for the simple fact that I am then no longer listed as “single” in my home countries administration.
So I have a lot of paperwork to do again.
Will tell you later sometime about the healthcheck I had a few days ago, now I know how the philipino’s are handled when coming off the plane.
Proving that your own country recognizes your marriage is mandatory. No way around it. Too bad, stupid laws, but that’s the way it is. No matter what you do, don’t get married here.
Last two posts are wrong. It is only mandatory to register your marriage in your home country if your country has a system of marriage registration. The (presumably new) list of requirements for JFRV at MOFA states (I’ll give exact quote when I have the paper in front of me) that if your home country has no system of registration the marriage certificate is sufficient. I know this works becuase I did it a few weeks ago (I’m from NZ and used a Taiwan marriage certificate).
I got my work permit yesterday, so I hope to do a long post about the whole procedure shortly.
I’m with Sir Dom on this one. In my case (currently awaiting a crim record check from Oz to finalize) the foreign affairs bureau said I didn’t require proof of marriage in Oz as I was married here. In any case registration in Oz would have required me to first divorce here and re-marry in Australia to avoid bigamy. Silly, silly, silly.
What I don’t know however is if this has anything to do with me changing visa from an ARC dependane on employment to one dependent on a spouse.
Holger, what you doing peddling fear and distrust? If I stand up now I could whack you on the head… what the hell, here it comes.
Get back to your editing. Leave legal matters to people who managed to get through the process
Hitting me on the head??? So Cai Niao Huang Guang Chen want this thread moved to the flame forum? (He didn’t hit me hard though)
:? :? :?
I speak of personal experience here. When I arrived in Taiwan 2 years ago, I had prepared everything, apart from the health checkup (easy), and some kind of proof that the Danish authorities recognized my marriage. The last thing took 2 months to get organized.
That said, if you are from a country with a marriage registration system, you have to prove that you are in it, as stated on the MOFA forms. If not, you are lucky - possibly due to the parlous state of those countries civil services.
Further to the Don,
I would add that should you be unable to register in your home country due to technicalities, i.e, already being registered in Taiwan, then you don’t require it. This was most definitely the approach adopted by the woman at the counter at the foreign affairs who struck off the first point which reads:
The original and a copy of the certificate of marriage registration issued by the applicant’s government and authenticated by an ROC mission abroad. (For applicants from a country that does not have a marriage registration system, the certificate of marriage shall be submitted.)
I’ve just noticed point 8): NT$2200 (visa application fee NT$2300 for American). Now why would that be? Didn’t mention anything about appaling handwriting…
Does the US have a system of marriage registration?
Does one go to MOFA or the police station to start the whole jfrv process? Probably MOFA, right? How long has it been taking to get through the process?
Thanks.
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