We have survival rations of Irish v British no holds barred banter here on forumosa weekly. if the cockles of your heart need warming whilst in Taiwan please refer to @crusher @Brianjones and @BiggusDickus 
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A friend of mine had this police check issue when applying their visa.
From Northern Ireland with an Irish passport, didn’t have residency in ROL so the garda wouldn’t issue the check.
How they solved it was using ECRIS to apply the police check from Ireland.
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Hello, did you ever resolve this? My boyfriend is having the exact same issue. The company is insisting he needs a police check from the Garda despite never living in ROI. I’d appreciate any information or updates! 
Hi Hannah, I just saw this now: I ended up getting this sorted though it was the most ANNOYING process in the world.
They refused to give me a police check over and over, eventually I just ended up sending literally about 15 emails to every TD, MP, MLA, Councillor, everyone I could get in contact with from the angle of “I’m an irish citizen being denied equal treatment”, sent the same email citing the Good Friday agreement to the police station that refused me, within a day it was in the post. Be persistent and make sure to bring up the GFA.
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Really glad that it worked out for you.
It can be kinda annoying to get caught in ridiculous nationality chess. the people behind the counters take this nonsense seriously, in a way that actually can obstruct people’s lives. And that’s not an unusual thing I’d say it’s it the norm. So congratulations on getting through the hoops
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Pricks, lol.
I have similar worries.
Thank you!
Yeah, it was completely ridiculous.
I ended up having this exact conversation with my local garda station:
Guard: Sorry, if you don’t live in the Republic then I won’t be able to check if you have a criminal record.
Me: Are you capable of arresting, prosecuting and jailing someone from the North without them living in the republic?
Guard: Yes, but have you ever been to jail or been arrested?
Me: No.
Guard: Then you won’t be in the system, so I’m not able to confirm if you have a criminal record.
Me: But if I’m not in the system, surely, I don’t have a criminal record?
Guard: It doesn’t matter, you’re not officially resident of the Republic of Ireland. Have you tried getting a British passport?
This was after we got our jobs and we’re waiting for work permit approval. Definitely the most stressful 2/3 weeks, especially after paying for the medical etc
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To cut a long story short, if I was from the north I’d travel on a British passport. That’s what James Joyce did
There is no shame in that. Personally I have lost a lot of respect for the racist leprechauns that have refused to process a visa for my wife with the result that my youngest has never met his grandparents.
You would imagine that your own state would stand up for you, but in reality that unfortunately in my experience is not what happenes, and i recon that is more usual than it is unusual.
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I could give you 2 likes for that post. 
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LMFAO now that is a sneaky way of trying to turn people British.
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If you owe them taxes they care about you other than that not much. Think of Ireland as your land , the state is just a social construct. However, yes civil servants are generally power crazy c…ts.
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I was pretty annoyed, mainly because I live right on top of the border, most of my family works in the south. I definitely would associate myself more with the republic than I would NI.
It’s really honestly just compounded on all the shite here that made me want to leave in the first place 
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I got detained once at an airport for losing my cool with an immigration officer. Since then I just blankly stare at civil servants and talk in monotone, like a soulless human being. They have power in those pens to make life very inconvenient.
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I was detained in China once at immigration, or was that twice? Anyway, that wasn’t much fun
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It seems that bureaucracy is hell for anyone from NI with an irish passport. Since I’ve been planning to move to Taiwan I’ve never heard of someone in our same situation having a good time 
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I commiserate with Liam and yourself, been trying to get passports for my kids and it’s been…Hard going. Hopefully we are making progress now. It’s just hard all round getting things done from here. Getting anybody to give a shit about your problem with faceless bureaucracy. Just getting a straight answer to a simple question = computer says no. Or computer doesn’t say anything all, just doesn’t reply.
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I would say so. I hope you both will get things sorted soon - especially with COVID throwing everything off too.
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I have been granted a work permit for business but still not able to get a Visa - due to Covid and needing special permission.
But I believe some students and technical brains can get it through a Taiwan special permission channel but not me.
You will find bureaucracy in Taiwan also challenging.
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The school has already tried getting a few teachers in via special permission & have had these rejected unfortunately.
Yeah, bureaucracy is definitely not on the list of things I’m looking forward to
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