Don’t just ask them. Ask them where you can read the full policy (and not just an infographic).
Like Explant said, nothing that government officials tell you should be considered “official” unless it’s written.
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You’re right HongKonger; thank you for this advice!
And thank you for following this thread for months! Appreciate it so much.
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It’s permanent residency (定居）under Art. 10.3 and 10.2(for minors) of the Immigration Act
- Was or is born overseas and as a minor, holds a foreign passport to enter the State, and at the time of his/her birth, his/her parent was a national with household registration in the Taiwan Area.
- Was or is born overseas, holds the passport of the State to enter the State, and at the time of his/her birth, his/her parent was a national with household registration in the Taiwan Area.
There’s also a regulation (changed in Dec 2023) that says
臺灣地區無戶籍國民停留居留及定居許可辦法
Art 24 now says
無戶籍國民依本法第十條第一項第二款至第四款規定申請定居者，免附第一項第三款文件；其為未成年人，或其僑居地或居住地尚未核發或不核發警察刑事紀錄證明書者，免附第一項第四款文件。
Meaning, no TARC (臺灣地區居留證) needed for Immigration Act Art. 10.2 to 10.4 applications for PR (定居), but application form(一), health check（二） and police check（四) required.
第二十四條
無戶籍國民申請定居，應檢附下列文件，向移民署為之：一、
申請書。二、
中央衛生主管機關指定醫院出具之健康檢查合格證明。三、
臺灣地區居留證。四、
僑居地或居住地警察刑事紀錄證明書。五、
其他相關證明文件。無戶籍國民依本法第十條第一項第一款規定申請定居，其為未成年人，或其僑居地或居住地尚未核發或不核發警察刑事紀錄證明書者，免附前項第四款文件。
無戶籍國民依本法第十條第一項第二款至第四款規定申請定居者，免附第一項第三款文件；其為未成年人，或其僑居地或居住地尚未核發或不核發警察刑事紀錄證明書者，免附第一項第四款文件。
臺灣地區無戶籍國民停留居留及定居許可辦法
無戶籍國民於大陸地區出生者，應另附其未在大陸地區設有戶籍及領用大陸地區護照之相關證明文件。隨同居留者申請定居，應與申請定居者併同申請或於其定居後申請。但隨同居留之未成年子女於成年後，依第十七條第六項規定經許可延期居留者，不在此限。
依第十三條規定申請變更居留原因者，其在臺灣地區連續居留或居留滿一定期間之計算，自許可變更居留原因之翌日起算。但原居留原因為本法第九條第一項第一款、第三款至第七款及第九款至第十一款情形之一者，自原許可居留之翌日起算。
無戶籍國民申請定居，於居留期間，每次出國在三個月以內者，得免附第一項第二款及第四款文件。
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Thanks for reading the Chinese newhere!
So where do I go from here? Can I just ignore the fact that my local TECO office doesn’t know that this is the law?
Can I just enter Taiwan with my Taiwanese passport and follow all the directions of someone with a parent who is registered in a household and ignore the residency requirements?
I’m not in a rush; I can wait months to years to do this.
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Yes, I’d say so. You only need a NWOHR passport from TECO. For everything else, you can bypass them and apply after you’ve arrived in Taiwan.
Although you will still need TECO to authenticate your police record.
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I’m kind of trying the do the process myself (still need to do step 1 (passport)).
Probably the National Immigration Agency (in Taiwan) is who you need to ask for step 2.
Get your police check and enter on your Taiwan NWOHR passport, see what you need for getting household registration proof and health check then go there.
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Thank you for sharing what you know as well newhere.
I’m not sure when I’m going to get around to doing this (I’m kind of worried I could stay in Taiwan 3 weeks for example and then the bureaucratic process actually takes 2 months), but if you do get a real timeline for how fast/slow this can be, please share on this thread if you’re willing.
Thank you again, and happy new year.
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Hopefully someone here has done it recently or planning to do so soon, I’m not as far into the process as you are so I have no idea about the timelines too.
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For obtaining a notarization for your police check, same day. (If you do the translation yourself.)
For obtaining your health check results, usually just under one week.
Once everything is submitted to the NIA, they will immediately issue you a paper certificate which you can immediately take to your local HHR office (along with the ID of your parent, and the stamp of the Head of Household) to exchange for your ID. So that part is same day.
For obtaining your new Taiwan passport (with ID number), 24 hours if you choose express service. Otherwise it’s a couple of weeks.
For obtaining your Mainland Travel Permit (if you so choose), 7 business days for regular service and 5 days for express.
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I recently completed this process (more or less).
I completed the verification of police record and health check before I entered Taiwan, then submitted the application when I entered Taiwan. My local TECO would have been able to handle the application from their end as well, but I chose to submit the application in Taiwan due to my own travel plans.
After submitting my application to the NIA in person, it was ready after 3 business days, not immediately. The published turnaround time is 7 business days, but I told the staffer that I already had a flight out of Taiwan soon. I also made sure to query the case status on their website, as well as call their phone to get an estimated time.
Exchanging the paper certificate for an ID at your district office is indeed same day, and the application for a expedited new passport is indeed next business day. I would believe, as others told me, that a non-expedited passport application could be processed within 4 business days during the low travel season, but as Lunar New Year is coming up, the actual processing time is currently at its published duration, 10 business days.
If you are male and need to confirm your overseas compatriot status, something which is written about here, applying for the document from the OCAC side took 1 business day (not same day). Due to issues with name matching I had to apply for a new passport and add the endorsement separately. The turnaround time for adding the endorsement is 2 business days.
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Thanks! Very detailed info! Did TECO say they could handle the part up to getting the paper cert to bring to the Household registration office?
What process/how difficult was getting a health check done outside of Taiwan? Did they require some type of certification or specific medical locations to perform it?
I just noticed that there’s an update in Vancouver TECO. Maybe try checking with your country’s TECO.
https://www.roc-taiwan.org/cayvr/post/15785.html
Google translated: 臺灣地區無戶籍國民申請在臺灣地區定居送件須知 - 駐溫哥華台北經濟文化辦事處 Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Vancouver
For health certificates, some countries like in Canada don’t specify a hospital, but the page doesn’t specifically say what the necessary checks are.
- Applicant’s health examination certificate in the last 3 months (if the applicant applies abroad, if the Ministry of Health and Welfare of China does not designate a hospital in the country of residence, the applicant may be examined by a local qualified hospital. There is no designated hospital in Canada.); Under 12 years old Children may be replaced by the original or photocopy of the vaccination certificate in a foreign language, or by attaching the original or photocopy of the vaccination certificate (or child health handbook) issued by a Chinese medical institution.
For reference (Google translated from Vancouver TECO), if doing the steps up to getting the residence permit from TECO. After that you have 6 months to enter Taiwan to do the HHR:
Method 2 : Apply for a copy of the residence permit at this office first :
*Appointment for delivery: After preparing all required documents, you must write to or call our office to make an appointment (walk-in delivery is not possible without the reservation system on our website ) . Email: yvr10@mofa.gov.tw/Tel: 604-689-4111 Extension 226.
- When applicants submit documents to this office to apply for a copy of the residence permit, they should first make an appointment for verification of the relevant documents required for the application (documents required for verification: birth certificate in Chinese and English, marriage certificate in Chinese and English, health examination/vaccination certificate verification, please refer to the application verification process Description of our website: Online reservation service , various document verification instructions ) .
- A copy of the settlement certificate is sent from this office to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of the Interior for application, and the review time takes about 2 months (excluding the time for verification of various required documents) . Assuming that the applicant plans to return to Taiwan in December, it is recommended to send the documents in early October, and it is not recommended to book air tickets first to avoid delaying your return trip.
- After the applicant returns to Taiwan with a copy of the residence permit , he must go to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of the Interior to get the original residence permit (it takes 3 working days to exchange the copy for the original), and go to the Registration and Consular Affairs Bureau of the Household Registration Office to apply for a passport to complete the settlement. , registration process. It is recommended that you allow sufficient time for your stay in Taiwan .
Required documents:
- Application for Entry, Residence and Settlement in the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China ( please attach a 2-inch color headshot with a white background taken within the past 6 months in the photo section. Please click: Download Application for Entry, Residence and Settlement in the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China ).
- Applicant’s passport [depending on the applicant’s application qualifications (as above), attach the passport of the Republic of China and/or the passport of Canada] (please prepare a photocopy, and the original will be returned after inspection on the spot).
- Passports/residence documents of both parents : Republic of China passports of both parents (if one parent does not have the nationality of the Republic of China, please provide a foreign passport) and Canadian passport or Canadian residence permit (please prepare 1 photocopy, the original will be handed over on the spot) It will be returned after the inspection is completed).
- Applicant’s birth certificate : (1) For those born abroad , please attach the applicant’s birth certificate containing the full names of the parents and verified by the overseas embassy office + Chinese translation: For birth certificate verification in this jurisdiction, please refer to the instructions for applying for verification [Birth Certificate] . If you were born outside this jurisdiction, please contact the overseas embassy office in that jurisdiction to apply for birth certificate verification. (2) For those born in Taiwan , the original or photocopy of a Chinese or English birth certificate issued by a domestic medical institution.
- Applicant’s health examination certificate in the last 3 months (if the applicant applies abroad, if the Ministry of Health and Welfare of China does not designate a hospital in the country of residence, the applicant may be examined by a local qualified hospital. There is no designated hospital in Canada.); Under 12 years old Children may be replaced by the original or photocopy of the vaccination certificate in a foreign language, or by attaching the original or photocopy of the vaccination certificate (or child health handbook) issued by a Chinese medical institution.
- Applicants who are minors must attach proof that their parents or legal representatives agree to settle in Taiwan (please click: Download the Settlement Consent Form ) . Please fill in the details and check “Settlement” in Taiwan.
(1) If both parents return to Taiwan together to directly apply for a settlement permit : After the parents return to Taiwan, they can go to the Immigration Department to sign it.
(2) Only one parent returns to Taiwan to apply for a settlement certificate : The parent who has not returned to Taiwan must go to our office in person to apply for a settlement consent document, or ask a local notary in the area of residence to verify it and then mail it to our office to apply for a settlement consent document. verify.
(3) For those who apply for a copy of the settlement certificate at this office : Both parents must come to this office in person to sign. If you live in other provinces and want to apply by mail, please bring the documents to a notary for signature and notarization, and then send the notarized consent form to our office for verification and application for a copy of the residence permit.
- Parents’ marriage certificate (please also refer to the notes below) :
(1) Those who have completed marriage registration in Taiwan: Provide a copy of the registered household registration in my country or a copy of the front and back of the national identity card containing the name of the spouse.
(2) If you get married overseas: the marriage certificate must be verified by the overseas embassy office and a Chinese translation must be obtained. Those who are getting married in this jurisdiction, please refer to our website: Instructions for applying for verification of [marriage certificate] ).
(3) If one of your parents is from mainland China, please write to make an appointment for an interview. Parents who want to apply for a Reunion Permit, please refer to our website: Instructions for Applying for a Reunion Permit .
- A national police criminal record certificate from the place of residence or place of residence that has been verified by the Chinese Embassy within 1 year from the date of issuance . However, those who fall under any of the following circumstances are exempt from the requirement: (1) Minors (under 18 years old). (2) He once resided in Taiwan as an unregistered national (with a Taiwan area residence permit), left Taiwan without applying for an extension of residence when the period of residence expired, and then reapplied for residence and was approved. Before reapplying, he left Taiwan within 3 days each time. Within one month.
- Documents proving the correct registered address in Taiwan : refers to the household register of the registered address, national identity card, house ownership certificate, recent housing tax bill or the original or photocopy of the lease contract (choose one of the five). However, if the registered address is the same as the household registration address of his parents and the household register (or national identity card) has been attached, he is exempted from attaching it.
- Fees : The application fee for a copy of the residence permit is Canadian dollars 41. Return directly to Taiwan to apply for a residence permit. The fee is NT$600.
Precautions:
- For those who were conceived before marriage and the mother was not a registered citizen of Taiwan at the time of birth ( for such cases, please return to Taiwan for processing) : a certified public or private hospital or institution (organization) with father, son or father and daughter who have sufficient proof of kinship. ) issued by the parent-child blood relationship certification document and the mother’s certificate verified by the foreign embassy office during the conception period (the conception period is from the 181st to the 302nd day back to the child’s birth date).
- For children born out of wedlock and residing with their mother : The child should take the mother’s surname and attach it to the original, photocopy, and unmarried knot certificate of the mother’s national identity card or household register (please click: Download the unmarried knot certificate ). For those who have settled with their father, the Attached is the original and photocopy of the household register that the father has completed claim registration.
- If the parents are divorced, please attach a letter of consent from the person who exercises or bears the children’s rights and obligations (subject to verification by the overseas embassy).
- The entry validity period for a copy of the residence permit is 6 months after the issuance of the document by the Immigration Department of the Ministry of the Interior. It is recommended that you estimate your return time to Taiwan by yourself. When the applicant enters Taiwan, he or she must present a copy of the residence permit and have it stamped with an entry stamp through airport passport inspection. (Applicants over 12 years old and under 70 years old must go to the Immigration Department service stations in person to apply for the replacement).
- Applicants should go to the household registration office in the place where they plan to apply for household registration within 30 days from the day after receiving the settlement certificate issued by the Immigration Department. In addition, according to household registration regulations, when applying for initial household registration , one parent must attach a consent or authorization letter from the other party (if it is made abroad, it must be verified by the Chinese embassy abroad; if it is made in the mainland, , should be verified by the Straits Exchange Foundation). Please contact the household registration office where you want to set up your household registration for enquiries, and please refer to our authorization letter verification regulations.
- If your status has been changed after settling down and registering as a citizen, you should use your Republic of China passport containing your identity card number when you leave the country for the first time .
- Appointment for delivery: After preparing all required documents, you must send a letter or call our office to make an appointment ( walk-in delivery is not possible without the appointment system on our website ). Email: yvr10@mofa.gov.tw/Tel: 604-689-4111 Extension 226 .
Sorry, can I also bother you with details of what tests are needed for the health check and/or necessary forms to fill out when doing this from overseas?
I did not ask, but am 99.9% sure that they do not, because the 定居證 is also an entry and exit permit, i.e. you must enter Taiwan by presenting it with your NWOHR passport at Immigration at the airport.
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The health certificate form is also in English and has instructions on which parts apply to which applicants from which countries. In concrete terms, my health certificate was filled in the United States, and the tests that were required were 1) measles and rubella antibody counts, and syphilis screening, both in a single blood draw 2) chest X-ray for TB screening.
I called my local TECO to ask where to get this check performed and they said to bring it to my normal primary doctor. My doctor did not have any problem understanding this form, and ordered the required tests without any issue. While it may cost more to get these tests done locally than in Taiwan, the reduced time pressure made sense to me.
The only special thing I have to note is that this time, my local TECO insisted that for the local authentication of the health certificate that it be stamped with the “hospital’s logo” (upper left hand of the form), by which they meant that a rubber stamp of the medical office was acceptable. They did not insist on this when I went through the same procedure when applying for a TARC last year.
My doctor is rather far away so TECO indicated they would also accept a public notarization of the certificate. I chose to do this, and in my consular jurisdiction a notary cannot just notarize random forms, only statements and signatures. So I made a notarized statement to the effect of “This health certificate is a true and accurate record of the test results of ”, which the TECO accepted.
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Hello,
First post but wanted to give my experience as I just finished obtaining ID card and HHR and awaiting to pick up my new passport.
I am born overseas in USA to Taiwanese mother and my father who obtained citizenship by marriage (this caused a slight hiccup in Taiwan NIA which I’ll explain a bit later)
I started off by applying for NWOHR passport from my local TECO and also applied for the entry/exit at the time of application.
Got my USA birth certificate authenticated by local TECO.
Applied for FBI background check and got it authenticated by Washington D.C. TECRO
Talking about timing, by the time I was ready to move to Taiwan (had some timing issues securing pet quarantine space for both my dog and cat) 1/1/24 eventually passed so I was able to apply directly for citizenship. Also since I am still in military conscription age (age 36 as of February this year) this also made things a tad easier since I would be applying for Overseas Status and wouldn’t be overstaying the grace period of 365 days and would only be staying 1 of the 2 years of 183 days per calendar year.
I entered Taiwan with my NWOHR passport and same day went to do my 身分證 health check, I ended up going to MacKay Memorial Hospital in 淡水 there was no line and was in and out in about 20 minutes or so. Simple blood draw and chest x-ray, I was able to show them my MMR vaccine that was self printed and they were able to accept it since I was able to log in through my states immunization records website as a way to authenticate it. The wait was 7 days to receive the report.
During these 7 days I took the time to get my birth certificate and FBI background check translated and notarized. I ended up choosing Famous Translation near 信義安和 station it cost 5000 NTD and about 4 working days. They were very thorough in the translation and also sent a copy first to be proof read before sending out to be notarized. They also give you multiple notarized copies which was nice as well.
Now with everything in hand it was off to NIA I go. I went to NIA with my father on a Friday morning hoping to beat the afternoon rush and to my surprise there was only a few people ahead of me which was great. So here is where I hit a small hiccup my father brought his 戶口民簿 which has my father and mother but it didn’t have anything about their marriage and also his copy of 戶籍謄本 didn’t have their registered marriage either which caused some confusion at the NIA. My father and I ended up going to the nearest HHR office and they couldn’t find anything about marriage under my father but eventually found the marriage registration under my mothers name. From what my father remembers they registered their marriage under my mother and my father had to fly back to Japan for work immediately so he was never a full citizen until he came back to Taiwan to settle down (always awesome to hear these stories that your parents never really told you growing up) I am also amazed at how fast HHR can find all this information from 50 years ago.
Great, now back to NIA and finally was able to get everything turned in.
For men of military conscription age, this post was very thorough and helped a lot
Getting Household Registration: A Guide for Overseas-Born Military-Age Men
I should have applied for the entry/exit certificates the same day doing my ID card but the whole marriage thing threw my father and I off track. I came back the following Monday and applied for the entry/exit permit for both my USA and Taiwan passport. Yet again, another small hiccup, for some reason from what the NIA agent explained to me is when I entered Taiwan on my NWOHR passport they stamped my passport with an entry stamp but never recorded it in the computer system so the NIA agent had to make a few calls and a few hours later they were able to amend the mistake.
I got my notification to pick up my 定居證 in 7 calendar days and with this in hand and headed to the HHR office where my parent’s ID’s address is registered and was registered under my parent’s 戶口名簿 and about 30 minutes later walked down with my shiny new ID.
Now it’s off to OCAC to apply for my Oversea Status, huge shoutout to the gal at OCAC, she explained everything in great detail about everything you need to know about potential conscription and how to apply for Overseas Status.
While waiting for my OCAC letter I took the time to apply for my drivers license which was super straight forward since my state has reciprocity. Only unfortunate thing was I ended up doing my scooter health check along side with my driver license health check only to find out as I was exchanging my license that my state doesn’t allow scooter license exchange. I suppose I should have called ahead to confirm but no biggie, health check is valid for a year and most likely I will just take the test sooner or later.
This took 1 business day to receive the letter to bring to BOCA so you can add the endorsement when applying for new passport. Thankfully BOCA is right next door, but be ready to wait a loooong time if you are walk in. I took a number at around 3PM in the afternoon and didn’t leave until about 5:30PM.
Now I am just now awaiting my new passport and once I receive the passport with Overseas Compatriot Identity Endorsement stamped in I just have to report to the 區公所 that I have the status and they won’t try to find me for conscription.
All in all, the process was very straight forward and I never hit any huge roadblocks. I want to thank this forum as I’ve stalked it for maaaany years for information and made this way less painful than I expected it to be. Glad to officially be a dual-citizen and now living permanently in Taiwan!
Cheers!
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Damn. You literally could have just used Google translate. That’s what I did. Didn’t need to change a thing afterwards. Could have saved you like $4000.
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Lol, most definitely. NIA agent literally just looked to make sure parents names matched my translated and original birth certificate. Didn’t even look at the FBI background check.