APRC before registering as NWOHR by lineage?

I wouldn’t do that. Double check if you’d need to renounce your other citizenship when re-acquiring Taiwanese citizenship this way.

Just do the military service. Staying on a tarc etc to avoid it, is unethical. They can always up the age for military service come a war anyway. Wait until over 36 on tarc, get HHR….War breaks out and they increase the age to 50.

Appreciate everyone’s input. I’ll look more into the TARC requirements and probably create another thread.

Since I only found out about my NWOHR status recently, I’m curious what would have happened if I didn’t find out until even later. Say I’d already done the Gold Card → APRC conversion and only found out about my NWOHR a few years later.

(in other words, what did I just avoid having to deal with?)

  • Leaving the country for the duration of time needed to actually get the NWOHR passport.
  • Losing my APRC per Article 33 of Immigration Act.
  • Needing to apply for a TARC from scratch and start the 1/2/5 year clock.

Anything else?

But totally not illegal

Are you referring to this?

五、持我國護照入國,在臺灣地區合法連續停留五年以上,且每年居住一百八十三日以上。

5. Holds a passport of the State to enter in the Taiwan Area in the legal visit status for consecutive five (5) years or over, and to reside for the period of one hundred and eighty-three (183) days or over each year.

I thought this method requires entering on my NWOHR passport (meaning no ARC)? I read in other threads that this essentially means visa running every six months for five years.

I thought I read somewhere that it’s also possible to get a work ARC / Gold Card on your NWOHR passport. But also not sure about this.

Point 2 here seems to suggest otherwise. Can a foreigner with the R.O.C Nationality apply for an … | Taiwan Gold Card

I would understand point 2 as having to apply for the Gold Card from abroad in this case, i.e. not already being in Taiwan during application.

But point 3 could also be an issue:

Having neither an Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate for the purpose of military service nor an Overseas Compatriot Identity Endorsement on his R.O.C. passport

Not sure if not having HHR would automatically entitle you to this and what would be the process for getting this…

Easy to say when you’re not the one with a family depending on you. Some of us have wives, kids, mortgages, and jobs/businesses that don’t just go on pause because the government wants a few months of our time to sweep floors and eat substandard food (just because we are men and not girls).

Surely when you take on a new nationality you would want to serve as any other national would be required to do so. Maybe Taiwan should consider revoking nationality if someone drags their feet re hhr beyond service age.

Propose it to LY to your representative

The reality is most people who naturalise are already past service age anyway…

Are you past service age?

Article 32 of the Immigration Act also comes to mind. Holding a Taiwanese passport doesn’t trigger cancellation of your ARC, but entering does.

6. Has had the nationality of the State and has entered, exited, stayed or resided permanently as a national of the State.

Anecdotally it looks like the guidance is to apply for the gold card as a foreigner only.

Regarding Point 3,

As a non HHR holder, there is no compulsory military service, so I think the category of “not completed compulsory military service” shouldn’t apply. In any case, getting the OCAC stamp is relatively straightforward as NWOHR, so it’s a quick fix if needed.