Probably afraid of the stigma.
2 Likes
I believe so. @frank_hnd got his Taiwan ID recently and was told that he won’t need to do military service. He was born in year 075 (1986), same as me.
5 Likes
Do you get looks from people when you pull out your national ID card, NHI card, or your passpot?
3 Likes
Cut off age is actually 37.
After you naturalize, you have a year or so before you are due to military service, so by the time they can come get us it will be our 37th year.
They count by the year you were born by the way, not the month/day.
6 Likes
Understood.
1 Like
I hope people here in Taiwan try to minimize staring at people who are seen as different. It just comes across as hostility.
I don’t think many Taiwanese even realize that foreigners here don’t have a national ID card. I routinely get asked by colleagues if I have a national ID card, and they are always amused when I show them my ARC. For most I don’t think it’s something they have ever seen.
As for NHI card, there is no difference for foreigners and nationals, unless you decide to have your English name on the card, which I don’t.
3 Likes
Most Taiwanese I’ve met just assume that foreigners are non-citizens in Taiwan. The concept of a “foreigner” becoming a Taiwanese citizen is alien to them.
1 Like
Yep. But I don’t think they connect that having a 身分證 means you are a citizen. It’s like, they know I’m a foreigner but think I should have a 身分證 for some reason. I once pulled out my ARC in Panhsin bank after they asked to see my ID, and they said “no, we need your 身分證”
5 Likes
I think it’s because they think that being a “real” Taiwanese means being of ethnic Chinese descent.
1 Like
I think you should instead say that they don’t realize that there’s a separate, parallel system in place for non-citizens.
Also, anyone with a foreign accent isn’t seen as Taiwanese even if they have always had Taiwanese citizenship. I walked into a bank to apply for a bank account and the first thing the clerk said was “Are you a foreigner?”
My reply would be, are you willing to defend a discrimination lawsuit?
2 Likes
I guess I still speak Mandarin with a strong accent.
1 Like
I’ve also been asked “Can you speak Mandarin?” LOL
3 Likes
This is exactly what I’ve experienced for more than a decade after first arriving here. Whenever I go to apply for anything (License, SIM Card, gym membership), the clerks behind the counter just blurt out “麻煩身分證” even though I’ve told them I’m a foreigner! “對!, 我知道你是外籍人士, 但是還是要身分證哦” …all this while I’m waving my ARC/APRC to their faces and they just stare blankly at me. In the end, I just ask my then Taiwanese gf or my Sister-in-law to do it for me.
2 Likes
In my personal experience, this has also been the case for me. The people I know assume I already have a TW ID after being here for a while. I decided to take the time to explain Taiwan immigration regulations to them hoping to educate some. I don’t blame them though, if you’d ask me, I don’t even know the same regulations for my own country.
Most people are baffled to find out that you have to give up your original citizenship, they think it is ridiculous. If it went to a vote, most of them would agree that it is stupid. The key is getting that to a vote…
7 Likes
TBH I mostly get ‘positive’ reactions. The most common reaction after locals see my Taiwanese passport is “surprise/excitement”.
Though there are few who are completely indifferent (you know the type 
) .
After learning I am Taiwanese, 100% of the time they’ll ask if my wife is Taiwanese. When I tell them ‘No’, that’s when many of them get confused.
I am surprised at the number of Taiwanese I have met who did not know about other paths to citizenship.
7 Likes
This has varied by bank, they have different systems. In my experience, I would recommend you close most accounts before you become Taiwanese as it is faster and easier to just open news ones than just migrate the information.
-
CTBC: It has been over 2 weeks and my securities account is still processing. They gave me a new debit card for the savings account but they updated the info for the credit card from their end. (3 different women checked my face with my ID, they called one and another to help them check…)
-
Fubon: Took 90 mins, 2 supervisors and many phone calls to update. Credit card has to be updated via customer service separately.
-
Standard Chartered: clerk and supervisor were arguing about what was better, migrating the info or just opening a new account. They migrated the info, but still had to give me a new debit card. The process took over 90 mins but they also helped me updated the credit card info from their end.
-
ChangHwa bank: took about an hour but it was the smoothest of the banks to update this time around.
7 Likes