I was born in the PRC in the 1980’s. My parents are both PRC citizens. After marriage I got a EU nationality and for this reason I lost the PRC nationality. I travel to China on a tourist visa.
I would like to discuss the following questions:
Technically am I considered a ROC national?
If I move to Taiwan (work, study,…) would I be given a ARC (for foreigners) or a TARC (for ROC nationals)?
If I have a TARC may I apply for a “no-ID ROC passport”?
If I am given a ARC could I become a ROC national by naturalization? Would I have to renounce to my EU nationality?
If I apply for a Overseas Chinese Certificate using a proof of Chinese ethnicity would this document be of any use?
If I move Taiwan (work, study,…) would I be given a ARC (for foreigners) or a TARC (for ROC nationals)?
This depends whether you enter on your European passport or your ROC passport.
If I have a TARC may I apply for a “no-ID ROC passport”?
It’s the other way around. You have to get a ROC passport, enter Taiwan on it, have a legitimate reason to establish residency before you apply for a TARC with the NIA in Taiwan.
If I am given a ARC could I become a ROC national by naturalization? Would I have to renounce to my EU nationality?
No. you are already a ROC national by law so you do not need to undergo the naturalization process. You can be granted an ARC but will be denied an APRC even if you’ve met the years (inconsistent application of the law).
If I apply for a Overseas Chinese Certificate using a proof of Chinese ethnicity would this document be of any use?
Not anymore. Before 2002 it could be used to get a passport. now the bar is much higher for people who cannot show a connection to Taiwan. For the specific requirements check with the TECO in your country of nationality. The local consular officer decides whether to grant you a passport.
As before, there’s a bit of misinformation coming from the poster above.
TECO offices require proof of ROC nationality to apply for the ROC passport for the first time. This means that being a “ROC national by law” is merely an abstract concept, as I have no way to prove it.
This brings us to another question: the only way for me to enter Taiwan and apply for residency is as a foreign citizen, which means that, as gnaij mentions, I would never be granted a permanent residency status! Am I right?
Under ROC law the PRC does not exist. The Constitution defines the national borders as they existed in 1947, and under the 2005 amendments these can only be changed by national referendum. Under the law there is a Mainland Area of the Republic of China and a Free Area (Taiwan Area) of the Republic of China. Statutes to this date, even those forwarded by a DPP administration, are written under this framework which assumes all of the area under PRC control is part of the same country.
I’m actually not sure that it is impossible for the OP to prove his ROC nationality to TECO. The fact that he was born in PRC to parents with PRC identification documents could be used. Of course, the burden of proof is on the passport applicant, but there have been plenty of post-2002 cases with people having absolutely no connection to Taiwan being granted ROC passports. If you’re not someone the government is trying to recruit then you can expect a lot of red tape to get there.
Now the OP is not a “People of the Mainland Area (who reside outside the Mainland Area)”. Does this mean the OP automatically became a “National without registered permanent residence in the Taiwan Area”?
I mean is the OP recognized as a national without any certificate for the nationality issued by ROC?
I think the ROC not recognizing the PRC hence “considering” all the freaking Chinese from China as ROC nationals is just too stupid. It’s like when a shitty tiny dog barks a lot when it knows it’s safe, but then it never does anything, no bites, nothing.
Chow’s grandfather was from Ningbo, and moved to Taiwan after World War IIbefore moving again to the United Kingdom. It was proved that Chow have Taiwanese nationality after went to Ningbo to looking for his grandfather’s birth certificate. [14] Chow has stated that he would be interested in representing Chinese Taipei at international level.[15]
But what is exactly relevant for his ROC nationality? The grandfather being born in China before the foundation of the PRC or the grandfather living in Taiwan?
If someone’s parents were born in mainland China in 1911-1949, the person is a national of ROC. If the person has hukou in PRC, s/he is a subject of “Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area”. If not, the person is not a national of mainland area, I think. Is this right? @gnaij
His grandfather might have had a passport or some kind of ID issued by ROC, and never had any ID from PRC.
And someone whose parents are ROC nationals is a national of ROC.
Do we know of any case in which a person born in China and of Chinese parents was given ROC nationality? Given that the ROC doesn’t recognize PRC I guess that all Chinese are ROC nationals!
I’ve contacted the local TECO by email asking specific questions like if I could submit PRC ID cards and PRC birth certifications of my parents and grandparents as a proof of my ROC nationality. This is the reply:
ROC nationality passes by descent and not place of birth (unless you’re born stateless). The 1949 cutoff also doesn’t exist as those territorial claims continue to exist as a matter of law. So all PRC nationals are essentially recognized as a category of ROC nationals to this day (the converse is almost the case except the PRC is much more restrictive in allowing dual nationality).
There are provisions in the Act for a Mainland Area Person to dingju in Taiwan (i.e. establish permanent residency and become eligible for an ID card). They cannot go through the naturalization process as it is designed for foreigners.
The OP ceases to be a Mainland Area Person once he no longer holds a PRC passport and hukou. He would be governed by the relevant regulations governing overseas Chinese with no connection to Taiwan if he sought to exercise ROC nationality.