Note by @olm: I decided to merge the dozens of threads created by @gracewang02 , @danglingtreegold and @carolinabeach, which are all about the same topic… and I will move all new related questions by these three accounts to this thread
- OP is an American born person - Wants to get TW citizenship - Father (or both parents?) born in Taiwan - Possibly Father (or parents?) had TW HHR at the time the OP was born - Father’s passport already expired
Hey everyone,
I have a bit of a unique situation and was hoping someone here could shed some light on it. I was born in the United States, but one of my parents was born in Taiwan. My parent has since become an American citizen, and their Taiwanese passport expired back in the 1990s. Now, I’m interested in potentially obtaining Taiwanese citizenship through the National Without Household Registration (NWOHR) route.
I’m wondering if my parent needs to renew their Taiwanese passport in order for me to apply for NWOHR? Does the expired passport impact my eligibility or the process in any way?
Additionally, I’ve heard that if I’m under the age of 36, I can only stay in Taiwan for 183 days without the obligation to join the military. Can anyone confirm if this is accurate? I heard you can apply TARC, and then renew every 3 years but not sure if that is still a thing. I also heard that there is no longer a 1 year requirement to living in Taiwan after getting TARC to get citizenship.
I’m eager to explore the possibility of reconnecting with my Taiwanese heritage, and any guidance or personal experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Although not necessary it would be a good idea. Also to make sure the passport name matches the name on the marriage certificate of your parents.
If you get the Taiwan Passport and TARC you cannot be conscripted for military service. TARC can be extended for many years. In fact even if you stayed 12 months without leaving and were able to get an ID card and HHR you do not have to. So you can stay in Taiwan as long as you like. As of now the law for getting ID card without TARC has not yet passed.
Hey, I really appreciate the response. I have a question regarding becoming a ‘full citizen’ after obtaining TARC. Do I need to be on a Household Registration (HHR) to achieve this? I’m quite confused because I think it might be possible for me to acquire NWOHR, but I don’t have any known relatives in Taiwan. So, I’m concerned that I may not be able to complete this step. I’ve heard that it’s possible to be on a friend’s HHR (although I don’t have a friend who can help with this yet), but are there any financial implications for the friend involved in this process?
Household registration is tied to a physical address, it could be a place your renting or a friend or family members. You don’t need to be registered as part of their household but your own household at the same address. So you would still be the only one on your household registration. You would need a landlord, friend or family member’s permission and some documents as well. Technically landlords cannot deny you registering your household at the place you’re renting but they frequently do and the HHRO is not very helpful in this regard. This was my experience, there is a forumosan who had this problem and the HHRO visited them at the place they were renting and updated his/her household registration without the landlord’s permission. When I faced this problem the HHRO basically said ‘too bad so sad. Yes it’s illegal but it’s not my problem, see yah’ But path of least resistance is just tell the landlord straight up when you’re looking for a place.
Landlords don’t always like to let you use the place your renting cos they can’t avoid the tax man if you do.
Homeless people or people who don’t have a physical address they can use have their household registration at the Household registration office. But I doubt they would allow this for initial household registration and it causes daily life inconveniences too
As far as I know, no. People get a bit weirded out by it though
Oh i forgot to answer this bit
Having household registration is basically what would be citizenship in other countries
Being a NWOHR with a TARC is similar to permanent residency in other countries but you can hold a passport (if you’re not from China/HK/Macau)
APRC is similar to the special category visas of trans-tasman travel arrangements between AU and NZ
Thank you so much for the help, means a lot as i am clueless about the process and see varying information online. Btw what is HHRO? I assume its the organization that the HHR stuff? Side question… Also what is the typical premium payment for NHI? I did some googling and apparently it is around $25, but not sure…
No need. A passport is simply a travel document, and citizens are not required to have one. Just make sure their Taiwan ID cards are current, or that they at least get their household registration in order.
If you’re under 36 and have had a Taiwanese ID card for at least a year, then you’re obligated to join the military. If you don’t want to join, just make sure you don’t acquire your ID before then. You may remain in Taiwan indefinitely on your TARC, and you can keep renewing it as many times as you wish.
The law hasn’t come into effect yet. There is no timeline as of right now, but it will be soon.
Around 25USD for persons in the “other” category, which will be you if you will not be employed by a Taiwan company when you live here.
If you will be working for a Taiwan company, then the premium depends on your salary range.
I am a US citizen with a Taiwanese parent, and I went through the same process last year that you are trying to go through now, and I am now fully Taiwanese too. Feel free to PM me for additional questions.
assuming your parent got a household registration at birth and still has it. i mean, not actively renounced roc nationality.
the law already passed and proclaimed, but not become effective yet. they may be edditing some related regulations.
once it becomes effective, you just need a nwohr passport to get your hhr. you don’t need to get a tarc and live in taiwan for a year. but, once you get a hhr, you become a subject of conscription after a year, unless you can use some conditions for exemption.
for passport, hhr is not a must need document. for tarc or hhr, i guess at least your parents marriage should be registered, if not yet done. for tarc, parent’s hhr used to be required to be activated if they are alive and they did not renounce it after your birth, but an affidavit that they cannot return to taiwan to activate their hhr is accepted at least in some cases recently.
HouseHold Registration Office, which handles basically all citizenship and ID stuff, but not Resident Certificates (like A(P)RC for foreigners or TARC for NWHOR) which are managed by NIA.
Hi Tando, I appreciate your response to my post. It seems my parent’s Household Registration (HHR) has expired since they haven’t been in Taiwan for years. I’m wondering where I can go to reactivate it. Is there an office where this can be done, or does my parent have to personally visit Taiwan for reactivation?
Assuming we can reactivate it, would I be able to join their HHR even though they are no longer in Taiwan? My main question is whether my parent needs to renew their HHR (if that’s even a concept), or if I just need to find the HHR number for registration purposes.
I’m particularly concerned about this because, as a newbie to these processes, I’m not entirely sure if the HHR number is necessary when transitioning from NWOHR to TARC (I think for me applying to NWOHR, the HHR number is not needed but I could be wrong) . Any insights or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
I see, what does it mean to have it “activated” (since he is no longer in Taiwan and does not have an address in Taiwan) ? And is HHR the same as Taiwan ID card (shenfenzheng中華民國國民身分證) or is that a different thing?
He should get both the ID card and passport of the ROC parent. TECO office may ask for these. My son needed his mothers to get his NWOHR passport. Also parents name on the marriage certificate and children’s birth certificate should match. It can be an issue where the ROC parent uses a short name like Susie Chen which does not match the actual name on the ROC passport.
Household registration is a record that documents all citizens’ names, DOB, addresses, and the relationships between all residents of the address (mother/son/roommate/temporary visitor/tenant, etc.). If you are in the books, then you are a Taiwanese citizen. If you are a Taiwanese citizen living in Taiwan, then you must register.
If someone moved to a different address, they must inform their new household registration office in their district to update the address.
If someone moved overseas (like your parents did) then the address listed on their household registration will reflect the address of their local household registration office. That’s what we mean when we say their household registration isn’t “active”. It just means there is no real Taiwanese address on file, which indicates they’ve left the country permanently. It doesn’t mean they are no longer citizens.
To “reactivate” their household registration, they must update their address to a real Taiwanese address. To do that, they must move back to Taiwan and be able to prove their new address in Taiwan.
Different thing, but both essentially prove Taiwanese citizenship.
Household registration is simply a database kept by the HHR office of all Taiwanese people’s addresses and household members. You may request a paper copy of your information. That piece of paper is called your Household Registration Certificate (or something).
National ID is a card that Taiwanese carry in their wallets for daily identification purposes. You must be a registered citizen with a current Taiwan address in the household registration database in order to obtain an ID.
OK My son is not listed on my household registration as he does not have an ID Card. If he got his ID card then he could be listed on my HHR or get his own. The be listed on the HHR you must first get your ID Card. On the TARC you won’t have HHR.
opposite. You can have HHR without an ID card, but cannot have ID card without HHR. if you are an adult getting your hhr for the first time, most provably, you get both at the same time.
Also first get Taiwan NWOHR passport, apply for visa to enter Taiwan in the Taiwan passport. Apply for the TARC after arriving in Taiwan. Do not use a foreign passport to enter.
I always thought you were a Hong Kong Citizen…not sure why
Interesting!! So does this apply to everyone, e.g–> those who go the naturalization route vs those who obtain nationality via their parents? So if someone naturalizes (like myself), he/she don’t need to be on a TARC for a year and can get Citizenship immediately? (On the assumption once the law becomes effective)
I believe the law only applies to those getting nationality by descent and not by naturalization.
TARC it is for us mere mortals but those allowed dual citizenship go straight o HHR and ID Card, sure that is discriminatory? One for someone naturalizing to challenge?
