I am just applying to renew my JFRV for three years (for the third or fourth time) and it has been suggested I bite the bullet and get an APRC.
According to the visa office if I leave Taiwan for greater than 183 days in a calendar year I lose the APRC. The JRFV on the other hand has no such restriction. I can leave Taiwan for greater than 183 days (within the valid period of my ARC) and it has no effect.
This surprises me. Has anyone put this to the test, or have other knowledge?
I probably will be off island for a year due to work, so I’d be grateful if anyone can confirm.
Yes, I have been out for almost a year on a JVRC without issue. As for the APRC last I heard was that if you just kept immigration informed that you planned to come back they would not cancel it. But do confirm that last bit.
@markKHH Did you get an answer to this question? I’m asking myself the very same thing.
More specifically, if I shift from ARC-JFRV to APRC and then divorce, does that mean that staying more than 183 days abroad would revoke my APRC?
I’ve read in places that it is the case for APRC that are obtained on a JFRV basis, while people who are on APRC that are obtained on a work basis can simply visit Taiwan once every 5 years to maintain their residency (not even more than 183 days!).
As your post is a few years old, maybe you can share your experience on this?
A day or two later you’ll receive an email confirming your two year exemption allowing you to remain outside Taiwan (with no re-entry requirement). I was told all I have to do is apply for an exemption every two years and I can remain outside Taiwan indefinitely. So far that’s proved true.
That’s useful, thanks. The way you write sounds like you already used this form while being outside Taiwan when you were already 2 years abroad in order to extend that to four years?
If other people can confirm this applied for them too, it would be very useful to know.
Also, is it relevant to ask if you’re still married? (I guess it’s not, as I assume your residency now depends on the APRC status, not the marriage status.)
The rule use to be you needed to be in Taiwan 183 days each year to maintain the APRC or had to apply for an exemption. Since January 2024 the rule has been updated to an average of 183 days over the past 5 years and the exact implementation on the exemption isn’t yet clear that I’ve seen.
The National Immigration Agency shall revoke or terminate a person’s permanent residence permit and cancel his/her Alien Permanent Resident Certificate if he/she meets one of the following circumstances:
…
4. Has not resided for one hundred and eighty-three (183) days for each year on an average basis in the past five (5) years during his/her permanent residence in the State. The person shall be exempted if he/she has the approval of the National Immigration Agency to study abroad, seek medical treatment, or for other exceptional reasons. Immigration Act - Article Search/Content Search Result - Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China (Taiwan)
Article 18-1 was also recently added to the The Enforcement Rules of the Immigration Act:
The term “has not resided for one hundred and eighty-three (183) days for each year on an average basis in the past five (5) years during his/her permanent residence in the State” as prescribed in Paragraph 4, Article 33 of the Act refers to aliens whose permanent residence duration is over five (5) years but has not resided for one hundred and eighty-three (183) days for each year on an average basis in the latest past five (5) years; the annual calculation starts from January 1st of the year after the alien’s permanent residence certificate was issued.
The period of staying abroad specified in the proviso of Paragraph 4, Article 33 of the Act shall be limited to a maximum of two (2) years each time. The Enforcement Rules of the Immigration Act - Article Search/Content Search Result - Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China (Taiwan)
Here is the explanation and a translation to why that article was added:
Due to the stipulation in Article 33, Paragraph 4 of this law regarding the most recent five years, revoking the permanent residency permit for those whose permanent residency period has not yet reached five years may lack legal basis. To avoid unnecessary complications in future interpretations and applications of the law, it is therefore clearly specified in the first part of this paragraph. For instance, if Person A was granted permanent residency on February 1, 2023, and then immediately left the country, returning to Taiwan on August 1, 2025, even if Person A resides in Taiwan until January 31, 2028, at that time still falling under “during the permanent residency period, the average annual residence in the most recent five years does not reach 183 days”, then could the permanent residency permit be revoked on August 1, 2025? This could lead to ambiguities, hence the necessity to add this paragraph. Moreover, the calculation for the five-year permanent residency period begins on January 1 of the year following the issuance of the Alien Permanent Resident Certificate. For example, if Person A was granted permanent residency on February 1, 2023, the counting of the permanent residency period starts from January 1, 2024, reaching five years on December 31, 2028, as indicated here. 內政部公告：預告「入出國及移民法施行細則」部分條文修正草案-眾開講-公共政策網路參與平臺
That’s great news about the average. The last time I was out of Taiwan for a bit (almost a year, I think 7 years ago) I was also on APRC and they said you could apply easily online for 2 year exemption. Which held true. But I was quite worried and recorded their conversations just in case, they tend to be wrong often enough.
Always have it in writing. At that time it was online, just sent it on the phone and they let me back in after a year absence.
This average over xx years things is faaaar nicer! Thanks for posting this!
When you use the online exemption request form I link to in post 4 you receive an email a day or two later confirming in writing the term of your exemption so there’s no confusion. I haven’t spent more than 120 days or so a year in Taiwan since 2014 (except for 2020) and my APRC is alive and well.
There is an official limit of only twice.
But immigration when I talked to them about it said they usually just constantly approve them as long as you make sure to keep applying on time (although I wouldn’t bet the house on that…). Also it seems like the “reason” doesn’t matter you can put anything down for that.