[quote]Oh r-i-g-h-t ! Sorry…I put Ren’ai and Mackay at the very bottom. I’d rather see a vet than go to either “hospital”.
[/quote]
I wasn’t talking about their emergency room. It’s their health checks for foreign workers setup that is convenient.
That scandal with the little girl was apalling, but Renai was just the first of 30 Taipei hospitals that refused her. If you write them off because of that, may as well write off the other 29 too.
Brian
And yes, you can produce your shit sample in the comfort of your own home if you like, but it means an extra trip to the hospital to drop it off.
What is this? House registration.
I am British my wife is Filippino. Do I need this to bring here here to live?
[quote=“WolvesMon”]What is this? House registration.
I am British my wife is Filippino. Do I need this to bring here here to live?[/quote]
Household registration is for when one partner is an ROC national so this won’t apply to you.
Regards
[quote=“pumpkinslayer”] Second, changing your VISA
Next part in the process is to change your Visa to what is called a JFRV (Joining Family Residence Visa). This is not mandatory, but it means your stay is connected to your spouse, not to your employer.
Cost: NT$3000 (Americans: $NT4400)
[/quote]
This NT$3000 is single entry or multiple entry?
Americans: NT$4400 (The BOCA website stated NT$3600)
Where did you find out that Americans needs to pay this much NT$4400?
Any Americans paid this fee of NT$4400 for their Resident Visa? Is this single entry or multiple entry?
TIA
All Resident Visas are single entry. Once you receive your Resident Visa you will apply for an ARC and Re-Entry permit which you can use to enter and leave Taiwan as long as your ARC remains valid.
All Resident Visas are single entry. .[/quote]
But then why BOCA website mention of multiple entry fee of NT$3000 if you mention all Resident Visas are single entry? Isn’t this contradicting?
And does that mean if you are a foreign spouse applying for Resident Visa, you CAN ONLY apply for single entry? :loco:
Once you receive your Resident Visa, you will apply for an ARC OR Re-Entry Permit. As what I know, you don’t need to have both to enter and leave Taiwan if you ONLY have a valid ARC. Correct me if I’m wrong 
It is indeed puzzling why they list that, given that a multiple entry resident visa is kind of pointless.
You only need the resident visa once. It’s no longer needed once you have your ARC and re-entry permit.
You are wrong.
You must apply for an ARC within 15 days of entering Taiwan on a resident visa or receiving a resident visa in Taiwan. You also may apply for a re-entry permit at the same time as applying for an ARC. In practice, they usually give you both at the time you apply for an ARC. And yes, you need both a valid ARC and re-entry permit to re-enter Taiwan as a resident. If you have only an ARC and no re-entry permit, you may not re-enter Taiwan as a resident. If you have both, you can come and go as often as you want until they expire.
Thanks 
[quote=“pumpkinslayer”]
Regarding 4): This means you need to choose a Chinese name.[/quote]
At the risk of sounding “xenophobic”, is it a MUST that you choose a Chinese name? What would happen if you adamantly refused to give a Chinese name for the marriage/JFRV process?
And yes, I know…most will say “who cares”, “it’s not a big deal. just do it” etc… but seriously speaking, is there a law somewhere that states a foreign spouse MUST take a Chinese name? Or is this just enforced to make things easier for paperwork?
I recall running across a man (married to Taiwanese) who claimed to have no Chinese name; said that he refused to give a name and in the end, they used his English surname. Just curious if that’s possible or if it was all just BS.
Thanks for your knowledge!
oZzo
AFAIK, yes, you need to choose a Chinese name. You need to provide a translation of your marriage certificate into Chinese, which includes your name.
You can try to refuse and see if they also refuse to process your application. This is a Chinese country, their systems don’t handle English too well. They handle Chinese really well though. YMMV.
The translation of the marriage certificate I used has my name in English only and was accepted by the Shilin District Court without a problem. I believe the first place they required my Chinese name is on the household registration. If anyone married to a local says that they don’t have a chinese name, I’d want to see a copy of their spouse’s household registration.
The translation of the marriage certificate I used has my name in English only and was accepted by the Shilin District Court without a problem. I believe the first place they required my Chinese name is on the household registration. If anyone married to a local says that they don’t have a Chinese name, I’d want to see a copy of their spouse’s household registration.[/quote]
The law says that a person married to a ROC National must register that marriage in Taiwan which includes the HRC part. So if you’re married to a local in Taiwan and register the marriage, you’re going to have a Chinese name. Don’t believe there’s getting around it. A lot of foreigners however, do not register their marriages to a local in Taiwan if they were married outside of Taiwan. Not a smart move IMO.
Ok, was just curious about that. I’m certainly a “when in rome, do as the romans do” kinda guy; and also quite culturally sensitive. But was hoping I could find a law somewhere that said I must have a Chinese name. If it’s written down in a law somewhere, then I’m all about cooperating with it. But if it’s just a standard policy (in other words, it’s put into use because it takes more work to use English characters than Chinese characters) then I’d rather try to use my English name. I guess names have always been a sensitive subject with me. A bit crazy :loco: sure.
In the end, I imagine (law or no law) I will have to pick a Chinese name. My guess, Taiwan doesn’t want future Taiwanese children walking around with foreign names; who will have children with foriegn name, who will have children with foreign names, who will have…etc…etc… where in the end, several generations down the line, a good percentage of the population will have foreign names.
Anyhow, if anyone sees a law regarding this (Chinese verson ok) I’d love to have a look.
Thanks!
oZzo
Umm . . . is this $4400 amount correct for Americans? I just saw something on the BOCA website that says US citizens must pay only $3600 for a Resident Visa. That seems like a pretty big price difference.
And the $3600 (approx US$100) amount seems to make a little more sense, as that’s what the reciprocal fee is for applying for a US Visa here in Taiwan.
Oh well . . .
Boy, is it me, or is it getting more and more expensive to be an American living in Taiwan? :s
The amount is adjusted quite frequently, so your best bet is to go ask someone at BOCA directly if you want to know the exact amount. I wouldn’t trust anything older than a month to be accurate as to the current fee.
Thanks!
Yep, asked today while at BOCA getting a document authenticated. The current RV fee for US citizens is NT$3600.
BTW, if any US citizens currently living in Taiwan need to obtain a Police Clearance Letter from your home state by mail, it is indeed a fun one. I know, I just did it.
First, you have to request the application form from the Dept. of Justice in your home state. They’ll send you the form and a fingerprint card. It is acceptable to get fingerprinted by the police here, but you have to go to a major precinct office. Then, send that all back to the Dept of Justice and in around 5 days they’ll get you the document. Then you can have them mail it directly to the TECO office in your area for authentication.
The next part gets tricky. In order to authenticate the letter, the TECO office wants an application form AND your passport. 
You can send them your passport thru the mail if you’d like, however you can also just send a copy. . . an OFFICIAL copy taken at AIT and then authenticated at MOFA. Dude. Once you got that, you send the form and the passport copy to the TECO office, along with a money order for US$32. CALL THEM and make sure they got it and are processing it. In a few days they should be able to send the authenticated Police Clearance Letter to you in Taiwan by express mail.
Phew! Just one piece of the JFRV puzzle. If you have family or friends in the US, it makes a little bit easier, but not much.
Best bet is to take care of it next time you go stateside . . . :s
"First, you have to request the application form from the Dept. of Justice in your home state. "
what’s the name for the application form, just police clearance form? can you list the url for your home state’s application form? and I was born in NJ but got my license and lived in CA…so I guess I go by CA?
They’ll send you the form and a fingerprint card. It is acceptable to get fingerprinted by the police here, but you have to go to a major precinct office.
Major precient…how do I know if the station is major enough? just ask them if they will verify fingerprint for this purpose?
jeez so many procedures…like about how long I can get the police clearance letter?
You should get the letter from the state that you lived in for the past five years (in your case, CA I would imagine). If you’ve been in Taiwan that long, I don’t think you need it, though. You just get one from the the local police. If not, just call any police station in CA and they’ll transfer you to the central records dept for that state. Just ask them for a Police Clearance Letter (it’s a very common procedure for them) and they’ll send you an application forn (sorry couldn’t find URL).
Typically you can’t get the fingerprinting done at the smaller neighborhood stations. But in every district, there’s a major precinct office where they’ll have someone that does fingerprinting of criminals and foreign laborers. Any police officer should know the one nearest you in your city. 
How long? It took me, from start to finish, about a month. That’s using express mail back and forth. Good times.
. . .I was born in NJ but got my license and lived in CA…so I guess I go by CA?
. . . It is acceptable to get fingerprinted by the police here. . .
Major precient…how do I know if the station is major enough. . .
jeez so many procedures…like about how long I can get the police clearance letter?[/quote]
[quote=“tienfubin”]You should get the letter from the state that you lived in for the past five years (in your case, CA I would imagine). If you’ve been in Taiwan that long, I don’t think you need it, though. You just get one from the the local police. If not, just call any police station in CA and they’ll transfer you to the central records dept for that state. Just ask them for a Police Clearance Letter . . .
How long? It took me, from start to finish, about a month. That’s using express mail back and forth. Good times. [/quote]
Yea, I almost quit on the process because it seemed like such a pain in the ass. I wasn’t sure where to go in the US either, because I’ve lived in different places, but on my last visit to the states, I called the police dept where my parents live (and I was visiting). They did fingerprinting only on certain days, but I didn’t have the proper request form so they couldn’t do it. It appeared that the County Sheriff could do it, but they were located a 45 minute drive away and I wasn’t sure it would work either. So I did give up.
But then I got hired by a Taiwan company with a very helpful HR Dept, and they said because I’ve been in Taiwan over 5 years I only need the clearance from Taiwan, which the HR girl went down and got after I signed the form she gave me. So, if you’ve been here over 5 years, forget about getting the police clearance from your home country; get it locally.