APRC "old and new passport" and other Q's

Legal Visa & Residency
1

Hello!
I’ve been working for like 5 years now, naturally thinking of applying for APRC. After I read the stickied notes and also Taiwan’s immigration site, a few questions pop up. I am from America, so some things are particular to that.

#1 I only have one passport. Not too recent obviously, and I think it would expire within a couple years. First, is the APRC connected to the passport number or something, so I should get a new one anyway? I don’t know if the passport number changes when I do that, or if I keep old passport numbers. I might even consider something like AIT’s passport renewing service (Technical Difficulties). But then would I have both “new and old” passport? NIH on their website asks for original and copies of new and old passport, and also AIT on that site says they’d return the cancelled old passport, so I guess I could just squeak by that way.

I would prefer to go to AIT if possible but I don’t think they like in-person visits, right?

#2 Do I have to print out the white card stock for fingerprints before going to NIH for that service, or do they have it there?

#3 I don’t have a real credit card at the moment, so I wonder if I’ll run into trouble paying for various things. Again, maybe I’ll squeak by because AIT’s criminal record service seems to use a pay site I could use. But yeah, terrible if I’m caught with pants down halfway through the mess.

#4 Also the ability to receive mail at home. I tend not to get the stuff that is mailed to me, it seems. My apartment is one of the old 4-storey buildings with no elevator and a mail slot that seems to ask people to just take letters or whatever. I’m sure the address is correct at least. Because I’m giving people passports and other stuff I’d hate to lose, are there options at every step to pick it up when it’s ready? Or maybe ask to use the convenience store as the place to pick up?

#5 “applicants who travel abroad for periods of less than three (3) months during their lawful continuous residence for permanent residency application are exempted from this (health exam) requirement.” I think this is me, I’ve only been out a month at a time and only two of the years. Right? So I don’t need a health check? Or try to apply without it?

#6 Do I need to get new documents about taxes or income statements from the last 3-5 years for proving I’ve been working? My monthly income is more than ~NT$57,180 (number from another thread). I think I’ve read somewhere else that the blue tax receipts are the most expedient way to do that. Do I also need to somehow print bank statements or something?

I’ll also have to prepare a proof of employment from work within a month of applying. I think this should be OK, they’re nice at work. Oh, I guess I’m not asking a question, I’m just going through the list. Anyway. I’ve been with them continuously for 5 years so I think the 10 proofs are enough.

It’s kind of a mess. I think the first thing to do is fingerprinting for a background check, and that seems it would take about a month, but passport business might take longer. Seems that being American has some nice benefits.

Thanks for looking! Wish me luck. I’ll probably have missed something before the end.

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Not sure what you are asking here. But maybe this helps: when you change your details such as address or passport you just go to immigration and fill out a change of information form and they re-issue the card with the new information on it. It’s pretty routine.

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I mean I’ve literally only ever had a single passport. The rules for getting APRC ask for an old and new one, two total, but there’s just one for me.

Have you gotten APRC with just a single passport?

But if I do somehow get APRC with just one passport, and then go to get a new one, this does sound helpful for that case. Or for someone else’ case, they might not need or want to get another renewed passport.

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The APRC card has your passport number listed on it, and your passport number will change when you renew it, so the only time you actually need to update your APRC is when you change your passport, minimum every ten years, although this update of information is free. If you have a few years remaining, I would not bother renewing the passport yet.

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I finally got around to going to immigration today and applying for APRC.
They took my documents and money, I suppose a good sign.
There was no request for “new and old passport”. I was fine with just one (and the photocopy of that). And all the other documents. So, I’m still not sure what the language of the immigration website means about “new and old passport” and they didn’t ask me for an older one. Which is good because I’ve only had one anyway.
I haven’t left Taiwan for more than 3 months at a time, so two of the tougher requirements (health check and home country police record) were waived. Nice! Thanks! Maybe someday I’ll interact with AIT, like when renewing my passport (set to expire in 2027), but for now unnecessary. No fingerprints either, nothing sent through the mail. I picked up the Taiwan’s police record from a local station and they had a nice list of options. Last year’s tax statement was also sufficient. Proof of employment was the same document as for ARC renewal with just some dates changed. The work approval letter was also not a new document, just a photocopy of the one I had from the government before.

I might have had a nap while waiting in line at immigration but whatever.

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Did you have to make an appointment in advance? Or did you just show up and apply?

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No appointment for the immigration building. That one was just prepare all the stuff, go to the building, take a number, see someone at a desk.
The police criminal record certificate I ordered online here: 警察刑事紀錄證明

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8

Thanks for the info, @depot. I read in some older posts that an appointment is needed for APRC application. It’s good to know that it’s no longer the case… or maybe it depends on which office you go to. We’ll see (I’m in Taoyuan). Thanks for the link. It’s very helpful. I’ll be eligible for APRC later this year.

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It does depend on the office you go to.

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Address changes also need to be updated.

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