ARC application -- is a lease required?

You could have someone rent you a room for free.
My company (I live there for a quite while) used to give this statement on a written paper every time I renew the ARC.
They just need a written paper stating that.
The immigration likely surprise visit you in your “place of living”.

I was being a bit flippant about the fine being so freaking tiny for this sort of indiscretion. It’s kind of a non-issue, unless one is particularly anal about walking the legal line. Which, of course, I am - but I try not to judge others.

Yeah, I’m sure they often don’t even bother to charge anyone.

I’m not a lawyer here, and this is not legal advice. Any advice here is intended to be in the nature of practical advice, not legal advice.

There’s a set of rules called “Regulations Governing the Stay, Residency, and Permanent Residency of Foreigners.” Here’s a translation of part of it:

http://glrs.moi.gov.tw/EngLawContent.aspx?Type=E&id=239

There’s a document that may no longer be in current use (I’m not sure), called “Instructions for Application for Residency Status by Foreign Nationals with Visitor Visas (Serial No. 0915).” It says, among other things:

This perhaps superseded document is available here (please be advised that clicking the link will cause the document to automatically download):

https://www.immigration.gov.tw/public/Attachment/2103015313472.doc

There’s also a document called “Multipurpose Application Form for Foreigners.” On the surface of it, the apparently new document only seems to require proof of residence for changes of address. Now, it’s a multipurpose document, so it’s possible they couldn’t fit everything in, or that they simply omitted the proof-of-residence requirement for ARC applications. Or it’s possible that they’ve included that requirement, and that I’ve misunderstood it somehow. Or I guess it’s possible that it’s no longer a requirement, but I’m not at all sure of that. Anyway, here’s a link to that document:

https://www.immigration.gov.tw/public/Attachment/4921040714.pdf

I’d go by what the people at Immigration say. However, the advice in this thread about bringing electricity bills or the like–or any other advice that doesn’t involve risking legal trouble–looks like it’s worth a try.

EDITED TO ADD: If I’ve messed anything up in this post, I hope @yyy or some other smart, perceptive person detects it. :slight_smile:

Do you have to go to NIA in the area you’re moving to?

If you are moving from Taoyuan to New Taipei City, do you need to go to NIA in NTC or can you do it in Taoyuan?

Unfortunately you have to go to the office where your new residence is located.

All three apartments I’ve rented have been signed by my (then boyfriend, now husband)'s mother. So at first I printed and filled out a simple one saying I was paying rent to her, at her address, since I couldn’t receive mail at the dodgy rooftop apartment I lived in. This was acceptable for processing my ARC.
My address has been the same this whole time, according to NIA.
Even after getting married, my husband’s household registration is neither where we live, nor his mom’s address. We told the NIA lady this in person when I changed my visa to marriage-based. We also explained that it’s easier for us to get mail at his mom’s address, and the lady didn’t care, and let me keep the same address.
So, I mean, hopefully you’ve gotten around to processing your ARC by now, but - in my experience (we all know how much this can vary!), it doesn’t really matter as long as you have an address.

I would want a rental contract to receive the 5000nt rental allowance my job provides me if renting a house. So I will just “rent a room” for 5000nt lol.