Can anyone give me advice on whether or not defacto relationships have any legal recognition in Taiwan. Would it be difficult to register the birth here of a child born in Taiwan from such a relationship (Taiwanese mother and foreign father).and have the father’s name recorded on the birth certificate?
The mother and her spouse’s name (if any) appear on the birth certificate. If the father is not married to the mother, then his name does not go on the birth certificate.
After the child is born, the father can recognize 認領 ren2ling3 the child. The local household registration office can help with this. It would be a good idea to agree on the other three outstanding issues at this point:
custody
visitation
child support
A lawyer should draft a proper agreement about these issues. Some may be noted on the all-important household registration. Nothing should be signed unless both people can read it and understand it fully.
Thank you for your very helpful reply Feiren. Much appreciated.
I have dealt with these types of issues for many years as Chairman of the “National Network of Foreign Spouses.”
For Chinese/Taiwanese society, the sense of family is strong, so if you are having children, you are best advised to get married. This will insure the child’s rights at each stage of his/her development, and in dealing with all the relevant paperwork with government agencies, schools, etc.
Disagree (slightly). The sense of family may be strong, but the laws enforce it.
Chinese/Taiwanese society is also eminently practical. Won’t an unmarried but responsible dad be better accepted than a married alcoholic debt-ridden one? Knee-jerk “baby on the way, let’s tie the knot” might go down better with the bureaucrats, but might not be best for the bairn in the long run.
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Wrong, the mother can elect to place the fathers name on the birth certificate even if they are not married.
I know this to be the case of two young teenagers who have done this as well as some friends whose children were born here to foreign father and ROC mother even though not married.
Maybe in the past? Depends on the hospital? The standard form only has a field for ‘spouse’.