ABT nationality if I want to intern in Taiwan

Legal Dual Nationality
1

A summary since this got a lot longer than I meant it to: I’m interested in interning/working in Taiwan so I want to get citizenship (I’m not sure what this is called but I mean completely counted as Taiwanese instead of just having a passport). In your opinion, is it worth it?

Hi everyone! I’m currently looking into getting Taiwanese nationality(?) and I feel very over my head. I’m 19 and my parents are both Taiwanese citizens but live in the US. They’ve agreed to help me with getting a Taiwanese passport and I’m clear about the procedures for that so far. This means that I will have NWOHR status, right? I’m a little bit confused about what this means compared to “full citizenship”. However, I do know that I won’t be able to vote and I don’t think I can work without a visa either.

I’m currently a student in the US and I’m interested in doing an internship in Taiwan (to clarify, I haven’t applied for any internships but I intend to in the future and I would like to do one in Taiwan), so I feel that having citizenship could be helpful especially given the current circumstances with COVID-19 limiting international visitors. In an ideal situation, I would be starting my internship in the summer of 2021. I’m also interested in working in Taiwan in the future, but I’m planning to first get a job in America and move after I’ve gained some experience here. Do you think it would be helpful if I was a full citizen over just NWOHR or only American citizenship?

The TECO office informed us that I’ll need to stay in Taiwan for a month and a half before I can become a full citizen. I have a full month of break in the winter and since my classes are basically all online I would be okay with going to Taiwan while I still have classes. I don’t have any other breaks before I turn 20. Unfortunately, my parents think that I should just get full citizenship later, and I won’t be able to go unless I’m able to convince them otherwise. In your opinion, is it worth it to try and go now? I’m intimidated by the length of time I need to stay in Taiwan and the fact that I would have to be sponsored by my employer, but am I just being too concerned about that?

Sorry this got long. I’m just feeling very confused and looking for advice as well as points that I can talk to my parents about. Thank you!

2

as you may know, if you turn 20, you should stay at least for 1 year to get a citizenship. Though,
If your parents have active hukou, you can easily get an open work permit with TARC sponsored by your parents. If you don’t need to vote and don’t intend to settle here, I don’t think there is much inconvenience without a citizenship.

If you are a male, you should know about conscription.

3

I was going to ask. But I assumed the op is female.

4

Yes, I’m female :slight_smile:

5

Yep, staying for a year is a pretty good concern for me so I would ideally like to do it before my next birthday. Also, I’m a girl so luckily I don’t need to worry about conscription.

Thank you for letting me know about TARC! I didn’t know about it before so I just looked into it and I have some questions if you are able to answer them. So, if I am a NWOHR and I get an internship or job in Taiwan, then I can have a TARC while I am there and I don’t need a work visa? And if I am understanding correctly, then after I stay in Taiwan for a year then I will be eligible to get an ID card, right?

6

if you are a NWOHR and your parents are citizens, you can have a TARC and an open work permit sponsored by your parents, so you don’t need to be sponsored by an employer.

If your parents haven’t been in Taiwan on their Taiwanese passport for more than 2 years, their hukou is moved out, so one of them should return to Taiwan on Taiwanese passport and reactivate the hukou, before you get your TARC. if they have relatives or house in Taiwan, it’s easy.

Or if you have grandparents in Taiwan, you also can be sponsored by them instead of your parents, iirc.

yes.

7

This was incredibly helpful, thank you so much!

8

Does anyone here know a company/firm in Taipei that I can hire to go get my household registration document from the Household Registration office so that I can get a Taiwan passport? Like the OP, I live in the US and I am trying to get a Taiwan passport. I was born in Taiwan and lived there as a child. I don’t have any relatives or contacts in Taiwan. My parents do not have in their possession any documents I can use.