Citizenship with a Taiwanese mom who lost her household registration

Hey there! I’ve been looking all over the forums, but I can’t seem to find an exact answer for my particular situation…

My mom was born outside of Taiwan, but held a Taiwanese passport (with household registration) because her father was Taiwanese. When my mom turned 30, she got a Canadian passport, and just forgot about her Taiwanese passport. She’s got an old 身分證 because she used to work in Taiwan and she used to live with her relatives (who have now passed away). Now I’ve just spent the past year studying Chinese and have been working in Taiwan for the past 6 months now, and I’m trying to figure out how to gain citizenship.

My mom just reapplied for a new Taiwan passport for the sake of helping me get a passport, but since her ID card expired, TECO now issued her a national without household registration passport. She also can’t renew her ID card because her relatives have now passed away, meaning she can no longer join in their household registration. I’m currently about to apply for my own overseas taiwanese passport, but does anybody have any idea how i can transition to a citizenship given my mom’s situation? Can i apply for a TARC and or is it an APRC?

a little info about me, i have an ARC, am above 20 years old, and have been in taiwan for about 1.5 years now. Thanks in advance!

Is this case similar to yours?

I think the unusual part of your case is this:

I am definitely not an expert on this topic (I am starting to research it myself), but this part seems unusual to me. If your mother would be able to renew her ID card and her household registration, then that should be enough for you to apply for a TARC. But since she cannot renew her ID card and household registration, you’re in a more complex situation.

The question for me is why your mother cannot renew her ID card and household registration. This seems to imply that your mother only had rights to live in Taiwan because of her relatives’ household registration, but never had rights to live by herself in Taiwan. Am I understanding the situation correctly? That means your mother, while in Taiwan, did not attempt to establish her own independent household registration through a 定居 procedure?

If that is the case, then one possible path (though difficult) could be for your mother now to establish her own residency in Taiwan – meaning, she would apply for a TARC, live 1 year in Taiwan, and establish her own household registration. She probably has rights to do this because her father was Taiwanese. Then, after she establishes her own household registration, she could serve as your lineal relative (with household registration) to “sponsor” your TARC application.

I should again stress that I am a newcomer to this topic myself. I hope others with more experience will add their experience.

Your mother’s HHR is now moved out, so she should move it in Taiwan again, before she gets a new ID.

中華民國海外僑民如何辦理換發新式國民身份證

戶籍已遷出國外者,須持中華民國護照入境,另攜帶戶口名簿,向遷入地戶政事務所辦理遷入登記,同時換發新證。如已領有舊證,其返國後第1次申請換發新式國民身份證,免收規費。惟當事人舊證遺失,仍應依規定繳交補證規費。

How to reactivate a HHR

People who don’t have 戶口名簿 to be moved in can use a rented place instead.

辦理遷入單獨成立一戶,應提憑哪些文件?

  1. 遷入本人、配偶、直系血親、直系姻親所租賃之房屋者,除提憑經法院或民間公證人公證之租賃契約書者外,如提憑未經法院或民間公證人公證之租賃契約書者,應同時檢附出租人之房屋所有權狀或最近一期已完稅之房屋稅單或最近6個月內買賣契約書或其他足資證明所有權之證明文件辦理。如個案情形特殊,租賃契約書仍應 繳驗正本外,出租人所有權之證明文件得以經房屋所有權人註記與正本相符並簽章之影本代替。

You cannot apply for APRC because you are a national, and your mother’s HHR should be reactivated if you apply for TARC as her dependant.

hi Hayashi! thanks for the response. my case is a little different compared to the first link you sent me since i am still applying for NWOHR and not TARC (next step). I’ve asked around and it seems like she can renew her ID but as you mentioned, it’ll take a lot of effort. she’ll have to move back to taiwan to establish her household registration and all that… my mom’s a little old now so moving back to taiwan would be out of the question unfortunately. for now, i’m trying to see if it’s possible to apply for my overseas passport despite my mom not having an existing household registration. please let me know if you have any tips from your own experience you can share here. thanks a lot :slight_smile:

hi @tando, thanks for your response! yes, i was worried this would be the case… but would it be possible for me to apply for a NWHR even if my mom’s HHR has already expired? my mom has no plans to move back to taiwan, so she’s basically just doing everything needed to help get citizenship. if it helps, i’ve found a taiwanese friend willing to list me or my mom in their family’s HHR. thanks again!

to get a passport as a NWOHR, your mother’s HHR doesn’t need to be activated. What you need to prove is your mother’s ROC nationality at your birth, and parent-child relationship of you and your mother.

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@banana_me As far as I know you cannot get household registration through your mom if hers is expired.
Any updates or changes?

I know this is an old post but would re-activating a parent’s HHR then cause them to be liable to overseas income tax (AMT) if greater than 6.7M NTD? I read that staying atleast 1 day in Taiwan as a citizen with HHR could mean having to pay overseas income tax, and possibly capital gains tax.