About to get married + baby in Taiwan but living abroad. What should I be aware of?

Legal Visa & Residency
1

Hi everybody, I wish I had found this wonderful community before, now I’m unfortunately a bit in a rush but I’m reading as much as I can :slight_smile:

First of all let me express my sympathy for all those of you who undergo a traumatic experience such as a divorce, for whatever reason. I’m close to you and I wish you all the strength necessary to move toward a brighter future.

I am an EU citizen and I am about to getting married to my Taiwanese fiancee here in Taiwan. She is pregnant of our first baby and we plan of moving back to Europe as soon as the baby is born. Asking here for advice in case there is something important I need to know that I might regret not having considered…

To give you a bit more detail on the “why”: I am living in Europe with a decent job, and met my fiancee a few years ago during a trip. We had this long distance relationship, then lived together for a few months, then long distance again, met respective families, etc. The plan was for her to move to my home country and get married there in Europe as soon as she finished her studies. But then corona arrived, and messed up everything. We got separated but managed nevertheless to visit each other every couple of months. Just when she was about to finish her studies she got pregnant while visiting me in Europe, so we decided that it was best for her to spend (the second half of) the pregnancy time in Taiwan with her family. As the due date is approaching I managed to enter Taiwan to spend the last months here with her, the plan is to return together to Europe as soon as possible. As she would then need a EU resident visa, and after checking the covid-induced complications to my country’s already involved marriage process, we decided it was simpler to marry here in Taiwan before leaving, and then have our marriage registered in my home country.

I love her SO much, I’m super happy about the baby, and I’m 100% sure we’ll never ever need divorce advice. And any divorced parent has been in my same mindset at some point of their life. Let’s say that this post is a moment of doubt and weakness from my side, but the question is: am I doing something stupid, or that I could regret, by marrying here first instead of in my home country?

Just to be clear, the question is not about marriage yes/no, but rather marrying here in Taiwan VS somewhere else. My understanding is that my question is a bit different from what you usually see on this forum because we don’t plan of staying here in Taiwan, but you never know.

Thanks in advance for any useful reply.

2

I’m not sure why you keep bringing up divorce.

12 Likes
3

If you’re going to live in your home country it’s best to get married there.

4

what are the differences between marrying here and registering it there, and marrying there and registering it here?
We cannot know without knowing your country’s rules.

5

My wife and I married first in Germany, then registered the marriage in Taiwan. We felt it was easier that way. We also registered the birth of our son with the German authorities first, then with the taiwanese to make sure he has his german name in his taiwanese passport and on the huji temben.
Either way, you’ll face a lot of bureaucracy, forms and applications.

1 Like
6

Make sure you get at least two copies of the birth certificate in English & Chinese.

2 Likes
7

Congratulations !!

1 Like
8

If you were 100% sure, I think this post would look very different. I don’t even think you’re 70% sure. Your post reads like a bit of performance art to show how happy you are, yet reading between the lines it seems like you have a lot of concerns. Just be real. Congratulations though, I suppose.

2 Likes
9

I read somewhere else (sorry, can’t remember exactly) that baby will only get the father’s family name if the parents are actually married prior to birth. Not sure if this applies to your specific (half foreign couple) case, though

10

Hey it’s ok not to be sure about your marriage starting out
It’s a big step for both parties

After ten years you will be used to it

You will be well trained by then and resigned to your fate

11

It didn’t take you long to go from, “Congratulations !!” to

After your first post, I thought, wow… how nice of Tommy to be positive. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

1 Like
12

I’m a Libra I see both sides of the coin

I’m the one bringing two pies
One for you to eat
And the other for you to eat OFF YOUR FACE.

What is the other side of LIVE. ? EVIL

Argh

1 Like
13

Sugh…here comes Aunt Peng with the bad news…

Better get married here as you would like to have your name on the birth certificate…in case things go South.

Please understand your choices in Taiwan are limited. If the parents are unmarried, you have little to no rights on behalf of your kid. If your fiance does not want to leave and takes baby with her, you will not be able to have visiting rights. Even if married.

No, Taiwan does not have the same rights for unmarried families. At this moment, to prove the kid is yours, you’ll need a DNA test.

I’d advise to get a family lawyer and be more careful. You are now backed into a corner. You have love blinders on but please watch your back.

3 Likes
14

Are you sure she’s going to want to leave Taiwan after the baby is born?

1 Like
15

This is really scary thing to hear from a couple that is not even married yet…just my opinion.

Almost all international couples around me (that I know of) when I first came to Taiwan have divorced and left country and/or fighting custody.

As for the topic, we got married and registered in US first, and then registered in Taiwan later.

1 Like
16

What should you be aware of?

Probably most of your friends and family confusing Taiwan with Thailand.

Beyond that getting the official paperwork correctly stamped and Notarized by the relevant offices. Then getting your household registration done so you can finalize your ARC.

Best of luck.

17

I love your replies, always straight to the point. And I totally agree on this one as well. OP seems never actually lived long term (at least 1-3 years) with his soon to be wife , and there is also a baby now, and covid… To me it’s just a recipe for disaster. Even without covid.
But that’s on OP, as he got her pregnant, so can only wish him goodluck.

Considering the advice on where better to get married, I got married in Taiwan first and it was very not easy to legalize everything at my home country. Most of ppl would recommend to do it in ur home country first.

1 Like