Hi everyone! I would like to ask, if there’s someone here that has a Filipino Migrant under ARC labor status that apply for dependent visa directly?
I was confused because, my husband and I went to Taipei immigration office and they said that I cannot apply directly from labor to dependent visa.
I should go back to my country and there file a visit visa with extension or residence visa.
As for my friend who is also a migrant worker, the immigration office in Zhubei told her that we don’t need to go back to our country before applying dependent visa here in Taiwan.
Hope someone could help me with this matter. Im just worried about TECO in our country .
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Where an alien enters the State with a residence visa meets any of the circumstances mentioned in the preceding Paragraph due to the change of the reasons for residence, he/she shall apply to National Immigration Agency for modification of reasons for residence. An alien who falls under the exceptions provided under Subparagraph 1 of the preceding Paragraph shall not apply.
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you need to go out of Taiwan to change your status. iiuc
do you mean your friend asked on your case at immigration office?
i think i refered a wrong article. the article may mean you cannot change your status when the foreigner who is supposed to sponsor your ARC is on a migrant worker ARC.
is your marriage already registered in your country and it is already authenticated? If you have all the documents and your husband is not an ROC citizen, I haven’t found a regulation saying you need to go out of Taiwan.
Our marriage registration to my country is on going. And since the answer to the immigration office was negative. I guess, we have to follow it. My friend asked because we have the same situation. Though we got different answers. Anyhow, I’m just wondering if there’s someone here that have the same situation like us.
when a migrant worker gets married to a roc citizen and changes the status, going back to their home country is mandatory. it may be not because of the migrant worker status, but the marriage should be registered in Taiwan for the dependent ARC sponsored by the citizen spouse. marriage between a foreigner from a SEA country and a citizen should be registered in the foreign country first, then the foreign spouse basically needs to be interviewed at TECO, before it is registered in Taiwan.
your spouse isn’t a citizen, so if you can get a authenticated marriage cerificate, you might not need to go back. can you get the certificate from MECO in Taiwan?
it is not rare that different immigration officers say different things.
Hi, I already called MECO Taipei and asked about this matter but they said, changing a visa is not on their part. It should be either MOFA or Immigration office. We’re thinking of going to zhubei immigration office.
i mean, can you get the filipino marriage certificate at MECO? or should it be issued from PSA in Philippines?
a document issued in philippines should be authenticated at TECO, but if the marriage certificate can be issued from MECO, it can be authenticated at BOCA/MOFA so you can avoid TECO in Manila.
No they cannot provide marriage registration. They can help us register it to the Phil. And apply to PSA. That’s what they said sadly. I can imagine the horror I’m going to deal when I get back to my country.
Yeah, that’s what we’re thinking. In that case I can ask the agent to help me out so when I go back to my country, it’ll be easier for me. Thank you for the response. Godbless.
So just curious… If a foreigner with an APRC get’s married to say a Philippines…
Do they need to register the marriage in both his home country and the Philippines or just the Philippines?
Also does the APRC holder need to go to teco for the interview?
what you need to change your status to a spouse of a foreign resident is an authenticated document to prove your marriage. They dont accept Taiwanese martiage certificate, though. so, if the marriage is registered in a country, it may suffice.
no, an interview at TECO should not be necessary, if the marriage is between two foreigners.
when a foreigner and a cituzen register their marriage in Taiwan, if the foreign spouse from SEA has an APRC, the interview is not required too, iirc.
“Spouse of ROC citizen - “Marriage registration certificate” from foreign spouse’s country”
We’ll work under the assumption that the spouse is Filipino (or someone from this list of countries).
If a Filipino intends to marry an ROC national, they need to return to the Philippines, get married there, do the interview at TECO Manila, get some proof of marriage (a marriage certificate, for example), and then apply for a spouse visa either in Taiwan or in Manila, depending on the Filipino spouse’s visa status (blue collar migrant work vs white collar). From what I know, unless the Filipino spouse has APRC status, the couple won’t be allowed to register their marriage directly at a household registry office in Taiwan. Also, a little known fact about the interview requirement is that it can be waived if the TECO officer thinks the couple’s relationship is “genuine” enough - they’ll still need to register their marriage in the Phils. first though.
On the other hand, if a Filipino intends to marry a non-ROC national, technically they should be able to register their marriage directly in Taiwan without going overseas (it seems like OP was able to do this without too many issues). But based on threads I’ve seen, it doesn’t seem like NIA will accept a Taiwanese marriage certificate, so they’ll probably still need to procure a marriage certificate from the Philippines. To do this, the Filipino spouse needs to register their marriage with MECO, get a copy of their marriage certificate issued in the Phils, and then have it authenticated by TECO Manila. In this case, I’m not sure if the Filipino spouse can change their visa status without leaving the country.
TL;DR: In both cases, the couple will need to get a marriage certificate from the Philippines (not sure if another certificate is needed in the case of two foreigners getting married). I suppose the key differences are: the interview requirement (not needed for two foreigners) and where the marriage is conducted.
this may be the hardest part from what I’ve heard. This could be done by agent with power of attorney in many other countries, though.
That is what I tried to explain here.
I answered to the question that in the case of a marriage between two foreigners, whether the marriage should be registered in both countries, and I think a certificate from the applicant’s country would be enough.
