I went to get my household registration today and then took it along with all the other relevant documents to MOFA.
I have been told to return on July 28th to pick up my spouse visa. I understand that I will then have to take my passport with new spouse visa it to the NIA to get my new ARC. My question is - will they issue it on the spot? Just wondering for two reasons - one my current ARC will expire on July 31st (should i then be worried about this?) and two, I might want to go on vacation, so of course would need my new ARC!
Hope someone can help.
Thanks
TFL
After giving the forms to the NIA, your ARC will take a week. It doesnāt matter if your current ARC expires during that week, as it will count as issued and they will provide you with a form which you can use to renew driverās licences etc. You should probably be able to travel on that too, but ask about that.
Brian
Thanks for that Brian. I like the idea of getting that form saying that an ARC is being issued as my credit card is also due to expire on the same date and of course I canāt be reissued another one until I have a new ARC. Perhaps with this form, I will be able to sort one out! Cheers.
TFL
Damn, all that stress, and it all went very smoothly at the marriage registration office. The people looked completely shocked when we walked in and started asking each other what they should do. I think that was what made it so easy because they did not seem to know what I needed from SA. It was also cool that you donāt need witnesses present anymore. Of course, I didnāt get the Marriage ARCā¦that will probably cause another round of headaches!
[quote=ātwonavelsā]On the first page of the thread it states that all documents needed are only valid for 3 months. Is that true? My single certificate has it written at the bottom that it is valid for 6 months. The police clearance certificate has no such restrictions on it.
Is this a Taiwan rule?
And a dumb questionā¦does the copy of the ID or passport have to be the whole thing, every page, or just the page with the info, photo, etc?
Thanks![/quote]
Sorry, way late reply.
ZA documents say 6 months, but the standard her in Taiwan is 3, I had to assure them that it was fine and they accepted it.
Just the page with photo and details. Take along the passport so they can check it against this. I remember that in ZA the whole passport needed to be copied and every page certified by the local police station. I brought those sort of copies when I arrived in 2001, but I never needed to use them.
The original post needs to be modified to let Canadians know that they donāt need a āpoliceā criminal search. They need an RCMP criminal searchā¦which should be applied for roughly 6 months before the wedding if you plan on getting it by mail. I didnāt know this and had to fly to Canada to get one as I didnāt want to wait for 6 months to get my JFRV.
For my non-marriage search I had it translated and confirmed by a consular. But in the O.P. it says just take it to the MOFA. The translation and consular stamp took a day or two. Is it while you wait at MOFA?
Iām done with the non-marriage search. But the reason I ask is because I want to know what to do with my criminal check before presenting it to them.
Iām doing some research here and the original post might be invalid. As we all know the rules change regularly. And it seems theyāve made some major changes recently. I was on the phone with immigrations and they showed me the new rules in Chineseā¦but as the rules are very newā¦they donāt have an English version as of yet.
immigration.gov.tw/aspcode/s ā¦ _disno=206
She said something about in the past you needed to go to MOFA or Taipeiā¦something like thatā¦but now you donāt need to. And that your local foreign affairs police station can do everything. Something like that.
Ok so I donāt need a JFRV as I live in HK but we are having trouble getting a dependents visa in HK because we are not registered as married in Taiwan (married in USA). We have spoken to Taiwan authorities and because we had a banquet in Taiwan they will recognise the wedding providing I can prove Iām not married to anyone else.
As a Brit - how do I do this?
TIA
Edit: I should say I remember seeing something on this in the forum before but I have searched and canāt find it.
Edit again: I am an ass it was here viewtopic.php?f=64&t=70293&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=uk+jfrv+single+certificate&start=10
Hi there, Iād like to apply for my JFRV. Could anyone please confirm the following process is still valid:
- Go to MOFA and take
Visa Application
Spouseās Taiwan National ID Card
Existing ARC
Passport
2 Photos
Household Registry (2 originals)
Health Check Certficate
Wedding Certificate
Authenticated Police Clearance Certificate
Authenticated document that states marriage has been registered in home country
(+ copies)
-
Return to MOFA at the appointed date to pick up your passport with your new residence visa. This will be 10 days after you applied.
-
Go to NIA and take all of the same documents for MOFA visa issuance and bring along spouse
-
Wait 2 weeks for your ARC card to be processed
[quote=āsnowyā]Hi there, Iād like to apply for my JFRV. Could anyone please confirm the following process is still valid:
- Go to MOFA and take
Visa Application
Spouseās Taiwan National ID Card
Existing ARC
Passport
2 Photos
Household Registry (2 originals)
Health Check Certficate
Wedding Certificate
Authenticated Police Clearance Certificate
Authenticated document that states marriage has been registered in home country
(+ copies)
-
Return to MOFA at the appointed date to pick up your passport with your new residence visa. This will be 10 days after you applied.
-
Go to NIA and take all of the same documents for MOFA visa issuance and bring along spouse
-
Wait 2 weeks for your ARC card to be processed[/quote]
The list looks right. If you werenāt married overseas then you wouldnāt need to verify it overseas. The police check needs to be stamped by the Taiwan embassy in your home country. The only big change (and this is very recent) is you no longer need to go to the MOFA. I got the whole thing done by just going to my local foreign affairs police office in Taoyuan( Not that it was easyā¦the police check was a bitch).
A few months ago I would have needed to go to Taipei. Not anymore.
[quote=āMordethā]I got the whole thing done by just going to my local foreign affairs police office in Taoyuan( Not that it was easyā¦the police check was a bitch)ā¦[/quote]So you got it sorted out in the end? Good to hear.
Planning on heading to WanFang Hospital tomorrow morning for my JFRV health check.
I noted in a previous post, back in 2006, that this is a government āacceptedā hospital. Can anyone knowledgable please confirm this?
Thanks
Snowy: [quote]Planning on heading to WanFang Hospital tomorrow morning for my JFRV health check. [/quote]
Unlike the health check for teechurs, youāll be required to produce samples. Having a good session the night before should help grease the insides and ease delivery of the goods.
I was married in Taiwan and still need to have the marriage registered in South Africa, and then that marriage registration certificate needs to be translated into Chinese and both (Chinese and English) need to be authenticated by the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa (same story for my Police clearance certificate).
[quote=āMordethā] The only big change (and this is very recent) is you no longer need to go to the MOFA. I got the whole thing done by just going to my local foreign affairs police office in Taoyuan( Not that it was easyā¦the police check was a bitch).
A few months ago I would have needed to go to Taipei. Not anymore.[/quote]
Once I have everything I need to go to Hong Kong and re-enter Taiwan with a 30 day visa (they cancel my ARC in HK). Then once Iāve re-entered I need to go to the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the MOFA in Kaohsuing (they also have branches in Taichung and Hualien) where they will process the JFRV.
Thatās what I was told by NIA and the HRO in Tainan this week.
[quote=ābismarckā]
I was married in Taiwan and still need to have the marriage registered in South Africa, and then that marriage registration certificate needs to be translated into Chinese and both (Chinese and English) need to be authenticated by the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa (same story for my Police clearance certificate). [/quote]
Thatās odd. Maybe this is only for South Africans? I was married in Taiwan and no Canadian office (or Taiwan office in Canada) has ever set eyes on my marriage papers.
[quote=ābismarckā]
Once I have everything I need to go to Hong Kong and re-enter Taiwan with a 30 day visa (they cancel my ARC in HK). Then once Iāve re-entered I need to go to the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the MOFA in Kaohsuing (they also have branches in Taichung and Hualian) where they will process the JFRV.
Thatās what I was told by NIA and the HRO in Tainan this week.[/quote]
I got my marriage visa a month ago. I did the whole thing at the local foreign affairs police in Taoyuan. Didnāt need to go to MOFA. Although in the past they said I would have needed to. Unlessā¦Iām confused and Taoyuan has a MOFA. In which case Iād be wrong.
[quote=āMordethā][quote=ābismarckā]
I was married in Taiwan and still need to have the marriage registered in South Africa, and then that marriage registration certificate needs to be translated into Chinese and both (Chinese and English) need to be authenticated by the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa (same story for my Police clearance certificate). [/quote]
Thatās odd. Maybe this is only for South Africans? I was married in Taiwan and no Canadian office (or Taiwan office in Canada) has ever set eyes on my marriage papers. [/quote]
Nope, not just for Saffas. I was told that without the guy at NIA or the people at the HRO knowing Iām from SA.
[quote=āMordethā]
[quote=ābismarckā]
Once I have everything I need to go to Hong Kong and re-enter Taiwan with a 30 day visa (they cancel my ARC in HK). Then once Iāve re-entered I need to go to the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the MOFA in Kaohsuing (they also have branches in Taichung and Hualian) where they will process the JFRV.
Thatās what I was told by NIA and the HRO in Tainan this week.[/quote]
I got my marriage visa a month ago. I did the whole thing at the local foreign affairs police in Taoyuan. Didnāt need to go to MOFA. Although in the past they said I would have needed to. Unlessā¦Iām confused and Taoyuan has a MOFA. In which case Iād be wrong.[/quote]
Could be that theyāve changed the law again, but I doubt it. Seems strange that you went to the FAP. They have nothing to do with the process, in fact, the FAP referred me to NIA. The NIA said I had to collect my documents and go to the BOCA offices in Kaohsuing. I went there to check the process before I go to the trouble to collect everything and they said that Iād have to go to HK first. Thatās in the last weekā¦
Then again, the story differs from office to office and bureaucrat to bureaucrat, and I have heard that people who live in Taoyuan and do the process there donāt go to HK. But before you that was just hearsay. Youāre the first one I know (even if only online) that didnāt have to go since the new laws were passed.
A friend of mine did his in February 2008 and wanted to go to Taoyuan after he heard heād have to go to HK, but they told him he couldnāt because his marriage is registered in Tainan along with family registration.
To be completely honest, I think the entire process is a fuck up.
- Thereās no centralised authority that handles everything the same way for everyone (or it seems that way, anyway).
- There is no single source of info on the process that is an absolute authority.
- There is no written process that you can use (regardless of where on the island you may find yourself) with everything you need and what to do.
- What is required and where the process is handled differs from office to office.
- The fact that I need an authenticated marriage registration when I was married here is absurd, besides the fact that the birth of my son and his registration is more than ample proof that our marriage is āgenuineā.
- I need an authenticated criminal record for a marriage visa, yet Iāve never needed one for a work visa. So itās ok to be a convicted child molester (or any other kind of criminal) and work with 6 year old kids, but not ok if you want to get a marriage visa (after alrady getting married)ā¦
It would make a lot more sense if you could go to either the NIA or HRO and get an official brochure (as with immigration/naturalization) with all thatās required and to process everything at either the HRO (as is the case with naturalization) or NIA (as is the case with PARCs).
And as I understand, UK citizens who got married here have it even worse because apparently the UK government doesnāt recognise marriages that take place here. They first have to get married in the UK and then register it thereā¦ 
Another thing that could just be overcome if the Taiwanese government would recognise their own marriage certificates and registration as sufficient proof for a marriage visaā¦
Be that as it may, Mordeth. Very happy you didnāt have to jump through all these ridiculous hoops and had an easier ride. I certainly donāt recommend the process as it is down here.
What documents did they tell you you needed?
What documents did they tell you you needed?[/quote]
RCMP Criminal check (Canadaās āFBIā) - Stamped by the Taiwan Embassy in Canada and translated in Taiwanā¦and stamped by a notary.
Other than that the rest was easy:
-medical check
-proof of Taiwan marriage (we got a paper from the local registry office)
-rental agreement as proof of address
-My wifeās ID.
- I think thatās it. Again, the only thing that took any effort was the criminal check.
Luckyā¦I need all that and a marriage registration (authenticated by the Taiwanese Liaison office) from back home. This fucks up the timing, because if it was just the criminal record checkā¦no problem. When it arrives you get going. Needing both requires timing it so that the criminal record isnāt older than 90 days when you applyā¦
Pisses me off no end, 'cos I really canāt see why I need a marriage certificate from back home when I was married here.