How to get Taiwan Citizenship - Primer, FAQ, and Resources

Legal Dual Nationality
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Bliss… No mercy No regrets not tears no take backs…

Of course I fel even less sorry for the ABC and CBC and other furriner gits who wan to place bets I’m not an ROC Citizen. :roflmao: :roflmao:

Was recently playing poker at a casino in Manila when a stupid Texan bet me over US$1100 I wasnt a Taiwan Citizen… hehehehehe My clients who were there at the time were pissing themselves laughing after the red neck lost all his chips by going all in on that bet.

You will learn how to fleece… erh I mean take a few bets from time to time. One CBC at the Brass Monkey was all offended and outraged that I called myself a Taiwanese citizen. I just replied that there are bigots everywhere and a lot of them aint white. Thats ended in tears when the CBC put down some cash to make a bet when I refused to show my ID Card. You’ll see.

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Doesn’t that get old after a while?

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As long as he can cash on it… :smiling_imp:

I foresee lots of fun in the nearby future. I already get a lot of “where are you from? wild guesses”, will be even funnier when I can pull a Sat TV on people. :notworthy:

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Yes and no. I am sure you ahve faced the same situations. There are those that will accept what you say and ask how you managed to become an ROC Citizen. There are those who will say they know the law and that whites cannot be ROC Nationals as they are not Chinese.

There are many locals who wil ask "But didnt you have to give up your foreign nationality first? There are some locals who will say they don’t agree with foreigners becoming ROC Nationals. There are other white foreigners who will tell you that you are just plain lying.

I mentioned to one furriners friends wife I might run for local elections and she got very angry saying furriners had no right to run in local elections. I had to remind her that in that case she should not have voted for President Ma, seeing as he is also foriegn born.

Still… it’s only money. Usualy not a lot so doent harm anybody.

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It’s hard enough trying to convince the lcoals I live in Alishan :noway: , let alone being a Taiwan National. :astonished: lol

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ok new twist to the citizenship process…one of my friend’s is also interested in getting the citizenship but he wants to get married to a PRC national (they are already engaged). He is afraid that this may be a hurdle in him getting the citizenship…

what would be the best way for him?? i mean does he wait to get Taiwan citizenship and then marry or get married now and let the authorities here know that he is already married??? he said if the wait time was not 1 year then he would just wait and get his citizenship and then get married…since he will not be able to move from Taiwan for a year it is going to be a strain on his relationship…

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[quote=“speed_maniac”]ok new twist to the citizenship process…one of my friend’s is also interested in getting the citizenship but he wants to get married to a PRC national (they are already engaged). He is afraid that this may be a hurdle in him getting the citizenship…

what would be the best way for him?? I mean does he wait to get Taiwan citizenship and then marry or get married now and let the authorities here know that he is already married??? he said if the wait time was not 1 year then he would just wait and get his citizenship and then get married…since he will not be able to move from Taiwan for a year it is going to be a strain on his relationship…[/quote]

It will make no difference for his citizenship application but he may not be ale to get a visa for her to live in Taiwan very quickly.

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Bliss… No mercy No regrets not tears no take backs…

Of course I fel even less sorry for the ABC and CBC and other furriner gits who wan to place bets I’m not an ROC Citizen. :roflmao: :roflmao:

Was recently playing poker at a casino in Manila when a stupid Texan bet me over US$1100 I wasn’t a Taiwan Citizen… hehehehehe My clients who were there at the time were pissing themselves laughing after the red neck lost all his chips by going all in on that bet.

You will learn how to fleece… erh I mean take a few bets from time to time. One CBC at the Brass Monkey was all offended and outraged that I called myself a Taiwanese citizen. I just replied that there are bigots everywhere and a lot of them aint white. Thats ended in tears when the CBC put down some cash to make a bet when I refused to show my ID Card. You’ll see.[/quote]

Doesn’t that get old after a while?[/quote]

Wouldn’t know about that, but it sure gets old being pointed at and called a waiguoren the whole time. Imagine that would be even more tiresome if you’re not. Kinda like when ignorant prats stare at my wife and give her the “you’re so shameful” sneer look when she’s alone with my son.
Dipshits are everywhere and I imagine it never gets old putting them in their place. Kinda like on your blog where the kid asked you at Taichi practice how long you’ve been in Taiwan. If I remember correctly, your answer was, “Longer than you!”
That was priceless. :thumbsup: :roflmao:

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Been looking about on the web and this site ( nca.gov.tw/EngVer/eng-6.asp ) on info regarding conscription. I’m 33 and just want to start the process, but then it struck me. I spent 6 years in the South African Navy, which in itself may not be that big of a deal, but of those six years I was in Military Intelligence for five years.

Several of my colleagues applied for and were accepted by the Royal Australian Navy (and one was accepted by the Royal Navy), but because of my intelligence background, even though I was a fully qualified combat operator with a bridgewatch keeping certificate, astronav and naval weapons systems qualifications they wouldn’t even consider my application. Which, was fair enough.

How would this affect my application, if any? Would it count against me?

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Do you have to tell them about your past as an intelligence analyst?

I don’t think so?

Satellite TV was a diplomat for crying out loud.

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Wella s I told Bsmark when I met him in Tainan a few weeks ago, you cannot be drafted if you have already served in another country’s military service.

So Bismark just go ahead and apply for ROC Nationality.

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Ok, so I got the English version of this: Flowchart for the application of Naturalization

The nine blocks on the left are as follows:

  1. Marriage Registration
  2. App. for Residence Visa
  3. App. for ARC
  4. App. for “Certificate of ROC Naturalization Candidature”
  5. App. for Abdication of Original Nationality
  6. App. for Naturalization
  7. App. for Resident Certificate in ROC
  8. App. for Registered Permanent Residency Certificate in ROC
  9. App. for HH registration certificate and collection of ID card

I understand that it flows from top to bottom. I have registered my marriage (obviously, as we got married in Taiwan and I have HH registration). I skipped two and have 3. ARC. The process for 4 and 6 are similiar, so what’s the difference? Must I do 4 first and then follow from there, or 6?

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I think this is the difference:

Some countries will allow you to renounce your citizenship. In this case you do step 5 (App. for Abdication of Original Nationality), then step 6 (App. for Naturalization).

Some countries don’t allow you to renounce your citizenship unless you have citizenship elsewhere. In this case you do step 4 (App. for “Certificate of ROC Naturalization Candidature”). This gives you pseudo-citizenship, and then allows you to renounce your original nationality, and then you can become a real citizen.

That’s what would have happened with me (NZ citizenship). I was hoping to get around the renunciation step, because Taiwan law doesn’t make you renounce if you can’t. Unfortunately, they have this extra step to get around it. Only citizens of countries (like Japan) that won’t let you renounce under any circumstances, will be able to complete the process without renunciation.

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Yes you start with 4 first. You get that then you send that with your renunciation to your own government,

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Ok, cheers guys. That makes more sense now.

Edit: Going to the HH registration offices tomorrow to get more info on how to get the ball rolling.

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[quote=“bismarck”]Ok, cheers guys. That makes more sense now.

Edit: Going to the HH registration offices tomorrow to get more info on how to get the ball rolling.[/quote]
Good luck Bismarck! Jiayo!

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[quote=“A-ha”][quote=“bismarck”]Ok, cheers guys. That makes more sense now.

Edit: Going to the HH registration offices tomorrow to get more info on how to get the ball rolling.[/quote]
Good luck Bismarck! Jiayo![/quote]

Cheers, mate. But it was pretty far removed from fun.

Here’s the lowdown.
All in all I spoke to a very helpful gentleman at the household registration offices, the military service guy next door (as to what happened there, see HERE ), and spent a very frustrating half hour at the national immigration offices…

At the HRO the guy gave me two booklets with info on becoming a citizen and spent some time talking my wife and I through the process. At first he (and the guys at NIA) were confused as to what I wanted to do. Once they realised I was married and had a work related ARC (not having applied for a JFRV in the two years we’ve been married) the kept advising me to do the JFRV first, as according to them that’s the easiest route.
Easier because married person need only be married for 3 years (and the 183 days a year clause) to apply for citizenship, unlike unmarried people who need to be on the same ARC for 5 years (with the 183 days a year clause). It took much verbal wrangling to make them see my point that I’ve been on the same ARC for six years and qualify on that. Only after that did they realise that if I applied for a JFRV now, I’d have to wait another 3 years before I can apply for citizenship…

So married guys who are interested in citizenship, don’t change your visa if you qualify on your work related ARC, otherwise you reset your clock, so to speak. If you want to gain citizenship and you haven’t applied for a JFRV yet, it’s only worth it if you’ve been on your work related ARC for less than two years.

So, at the office he confirmed I’ll need to prepare the following documents:

  1. Application for “certificate of ROC naturaliszation candidature”, with 3 photos taken in the last year.
  2. A legal and valid Alien Residence Certificate or Permanent Residence certificate.
  3. An ARC certificate; this is a proof of residence certificate (3 years for JFRV holders, and 5 years for ARC holders) which is actually a piece of paper that you get from the NIA offices.
  4. Certificates of sufficient property or professional skills to be self reliant; which basically amounts to tax returns for the last year (although some websites say 3 years), obtainable through your employer or the tax offices.
  5. Certificate of basic language competency (test or 200 hours of sitting in classes).
  6. Certificate fee of NT$200

They also require the following documents, but these are acquired by the HRO:

  1. Certificate of arrival and departure dates.
  2. Police criminal record certificate issued by the Taiwanese police.
  3. Copy of Household registration with completed marriage registration.

So, after the HRO I went off to the NIA offices to confirm that I’ve been on the same unbroken ARC for five years or more (with the 183 days a year clause) and qualify to start the naturalization application process. There we also had a merry verbal walk around regarding the ease with which citizenship can be attained if one has a JFRV until I eventually got them to realise that if I apply for a JFRV then I reset my clock and have to wait another three years. Ok, so they checked the computer, and confirmed, I can begin the long walk to citizenship (kind of like Nelson’s Long Walk to Freedom, but with less prison time and more paperwork).

About an hour after returning home I got a call from the guy at the HRO. So sorry, but because I don’t have a JFRV or a PARC (both of which require police criminal record checks from your home country) I also have to get a police criminal record certificate from my original country. This also needs to be translated into Chinese and verified by both the Taiwanese liaison office back home and my country’s economic office in Taiwan.

So, this is where I find myself at present. If I understand the guy correctly, after I’ve collected all my documents (the criminal record check, it’s translation and verifications being the only thing that is really “mafan” :wall: ) then I have to get me off to the SA liaison office in Taipei and merrily sign away my Saffa citizenship.
Afterwhich I am basically stateless. At this juncture I’m sure if I’ll legally be able to work anymore… :whistle:
Then I have to basically gather the exact same group of documents as described above with the exception of a criminal record clearance from my home country (as I would have already done that, and would be stateless at this juncture…). However, I will also need:

  1. Application for Naturalization.
  2. Stateless certificate or certificate stating that I’ve relinquished my SA citizenship.
  3. Certificate fee of NT$1000

So, I’ll just prepare doubles of all documents to save me the trouble of doing everything twice.

:discodance:

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So because my visa was canceled about 12 days ago since my boss failed to apply for my work permit in a timely fashion, I’m having to go out of the country thursday to Macau and re-apply for my resident visa again. (It’s great getting this info from the NIA in person when you’re trying to apply for an ARC and not having any idea of it before hand). This resets my time back to 0 for naturalization, right?

I’m loving life right now :smiley:

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Bismarck,

One important factor to consider.

All your original documents must not pass 90 days. I suggest you don’t hurry on the easy ones (like police record and workplace document) and then have to wait for the hard ones and have to do them again.

In theory, it is impossible to proceed in January. Once January 1st rolls around, your 2007 tax document is no longer valid. You will have to wait until the accounting people of your workplace can produce your tax statement for 2008. Then it might be too late for any documents you acquire today.

I suggest waiting until early January. Start with your original country police report. As that is on its way, do all the easy ones. You will have everything on time in Feb or Mar. Once you submit that list of documents, you will receive a paper “preparing for ROC nationality”. Losing your citizenship in one year makes you a Taiwanese. An ROC national, but not citizen yet.

Get your military document at the same time. You can have them (military+loss of nationality) translated, notarized, stamped, sent to SA, sent back, stamped again… save a lot of time. You’ll get a TARC–Taiwan area Residence Card. For one year. During this year, you are eligible to get an ROC passport. You can visit any place in the world, except China.

After one year, you will be eligible for citizenship. If you look at your TARC, it is valid for 3 or 4 years. It is not necessary to do it right away. If you are worried about the military, you could hold off for a few years, but you won’t be able to visit China if that is important to you. You will also need to file a residency with your local police station every 6 months or less. That is 第六分局 if you are in South District. It is on 中蓽南路二 across from the 7-11 and fenced in basketball area, behind 南區區公所.

Then when you get household registry and ID card, you will be eligible to vote in 6 months, and immediately eligible to get a Tai Bao Zhen if you are interested in visiting China.

Bismarck, I am guessing that you live not far from me–just a guess.

Ray.

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Craya,

Is it your intention to become a citizen? Maybe you can ask the Household Registry office if this flub resets your clock or not.