[quote=“A-ha”]Now it is the (hopefully) last bit of waiting 10 to 14 days she said, before I can go and do the ID part at the HHRO. I’m wondering what surprise document requirements awaits on that occasion. Family register of the landowner and his concubines? Voting records for the previous elections? The mind boggles.
I am “gatvol”! :fume:[/quote]
Ouboet, you’re home free. You wait for 8-10 days in my guestimation before you get a card to go pick up a letter at the post office. You will take said letter to you HHRO where they will ding around on the computer asking you a variety of questions (probably where your wife’s Hulou is etc :roflmao: ), but soon as you can say “I shat my pants” you will have the coveted “trophy”!
By the way. You do have Household Registration, right? If not, go set that bastard up now!!!
You will need:
Household registration
They fill in the form and do whatnot on the computer.
NT$50
A ID card/passport sized photo (have two or three handy, just in case)
And Bob’s your uncle.
The letter you got in the mail.
So, how does it feel running around with nothing to identify yourself except a Health Insurance card (assuming your has a picture) and possibly a driver’s license???
[quote=“bismarck”][quote=“A-ha”]Now it is the (hopefully) last bit of waiting 10 to 14 days she said, before I can go and do the ID part at the HHRO. I’m wondering what surprise document requirements awaits on that occasion. Family register of the landowner and his concubines? Voting records for the previous elections? The mind boggles.
I am “gatvol”! :fume:[/quote]
Ouboet, you’re home free. You wait for 8-10 days in my guestimation before you get a card to go pick up a letter at the post office. You will take said letter to you HHRO where they will ding around on the computer asking you a variety of questions (probably where your wife’s Hulou is etc :roflmao: ), but soon as you can say “I shat my pants” you will have the coveted “trophy”!
By the way. You do have Household Registration, right? If not, go set that bastard up now!!!
You will need:
Household registration
They fill in the form and do whatnot on the computer.
NT$50
A ID card/passport sized photo (have two or three handy, just in case)
And Bob’s your uncle.
The letter you got in the mail.
So, how does it feel running around with nothing to identify yourself except a Health Insurance card (assuming your has a picture) and possibly a driver’s license??? [/quote]
You see, I don’t have Household Registration because I am single. Herein lies the trixy. It seems like our friendly government officials are totally dumbstruck when it comes to dealing with single people gasp! getting citizenship gasp! Why could you possibly want citizenship, if it isn’t linked to procreation?
Honestly, not having a TARC to identify myself with is not an issue for me. My greatest source of irritation over the past year was explaining (to the bank and to the TAX OFFICE) why I don’t have a passport. It was almost impossible for the tax people to understand why on Earth I wouldn’t have a passport. How would I be able to prove that I’d been in the country for more than half a year in order to pay the lower tax rate? This, despite the fact that I had my TARC AND Naturalization Certificate to show them.
On the HHR (Hukou), I thought you had to do that in the TARC year? What are you going to do when you rock up to get your ID Card?
Edit: I have to admit, though. Being legally married did sort out a lot of the headaches, but my problem on the day was trying to explain the second son I have that isn’t really my son. :fume:
Question: How do they handle your roman-letter name on your new passport (or hukou, if that even has a blank for romanization)? I guess the Chinese version comes from your PARC, or whatever chop you give them, but is the romanization based on your old passport, or do they romanize the Chinese? Or do you get to pick?
Also, which roman letters or characters are allowed? For example, what about hyphens or apostrophes? (I’m guessing that umlauts and cedilles are out of the question…)
you can use the same English name as was on your earlier passport…at least that is what I filled up in the application form and that is what I got on the passport…
I have APRC, and when I asked about getting citizenship, they said it would be easier after I get APRC.
Do you know if this is true? Will it be easier to get citizenship since I already have APRC?
Hey, now that’s an interesting question: what do we APRC holders need to add the Taiwanese nationality to our list of accomplishments? Since they removed the criminal record requisite from APRC, it stands that they would do the same from nationality checks?
And it’s basically the same deal, except you need to add getting a criminal record check and a few steps, including:
Applying for Candidature and pass the language prerequisite.
On receipt thereof, apply for renunciation.
After that, apply for a TARC.
Wait a year - Apply for an ID Card.
I didn’t want to do almost the same thing twice, so didn’t bother with the APRC. But if you’re already on an APRC, that may be enough, because otherwise you would have to be on an APRC for five years before you can start, and then it will take another 2-3 years to complete.
Taiwanese citizenship isn’t for everyone. Depends what your future plans are. I would think about it carefully before committing to the process. I have a child here, and my country of origin is severally racially discriminitory towards people of my hue and only getting worse (now you can’t even buy more than 49% of a franchise, or invest in certain companies anymore), and the SA passport is shit. The choice was easy for me. If I was American, Canadian, Australian, a New Zealander or even a Brit, I doubt I’d even still be here (not that I don’t love Taiwan or anything).
Fair enough, caveat emptor and all that jazz. What I tell my friends here is that a certain point, I will be too old to get on a plane to who knows where they decide to make me go to get a passport or national ID of the old country. They have no representative office here nor ever will. And since Taiwan is my home, makes sense to make your life as simple as possible and snuggle in, if you know what I mean. This place ain’t perfect, but it is home.
And it’s basically the same deal, except you need to add getting a criminal record check and a few steps, including:
Applying for Candidature and pass the language prerequisite.
On receipt thereof, apply for renunciation.
After that, apply for a TARC.
Wait a year - Apply for an ID Card.
I didn’t want to do almost the same thing twice, so didn’t bother with the APRC. But if you’re already on an APRC, that may be enough, because otherwise you would have to be on an APRC for five years before you can start, and then it will take another 2-3 years to complete.
Taiwanese citizenship isn’t for everyone. Depends what your future plans are. I would think about it carefully before committing to the process. I have a child here, and my country of origin is severally racially discriminitory towards people of my hue and only getting worse (now you can’t even buy more than 49% of a franchise, or invest in certain companies anymore), and the SA passport is shit. The choice was easy for me. If I was American, Canadian, Australian, a New Zealander or even a Brit, I doubt I’d even still be here (not that I don’t love Taiwan or anything).
Just my point of view. Use it, don’t use it. [/quote]
I wish I’d had that hindsight lol
But I agree with you. My country of origin does not have good benefits and it is not conducive to working and getting paid well. I thought if I get an APRC, I would be able to start with the pension and other benefits without having to change nationality. I was mistaken sigh. I think I will ask about changing my nationality. I love it here and find it a safer and better country.
Does anyone know how easy it is to get a visa for the U. S. or China during the year wait after receiving the TARC? I realize any travel during that period resets the clock for receiving Taiwan ID.
I only know about the U.S. When you get your TARC, you are eligible to apply for your Taiwan passport. Instead of an id number, the passport issued to you will be your TARC number. With your Taiwanese passport, you can go to the US. Taiwan passport holders no longer need a visitor’s visa to travel to the US due to the visa exempt status which was recently granted to Taiwan. Have a nice trip.
I only know about the U.S. When you get your TARC, you are eligible to apply for your Taiwan passport. Instead of an id number, the passport issued to you will be your TARC number. With your Taiwanese passport, you can go to the US. Taiwan passport holders no longer need a visitor’s visa to travel to the US due to the visa exempt status which was recently granted to Taiwan. Have a nice trip. [/quote]
Thanks, man. I asked the nice lady at Household Registration the other day if she knew whether I could travel to the U.S. on a TARC passport and she said her understanding was I wouldn’t qualify for visa free travel until I had my Taiwan ID number and that she had heard it was difficult getting the required visa. Did you actually go to the US using your TARC passport?
Taiwan Household Registration Office workers don’t know jack shit about American immigration policies and should not be considered a trusted authority on anything American.
Your authority is the US Department of State. In Taiwan, the official representative would be the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). This is who you need to consult with regarding whether or not you are eligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) or whether you need to apply for a standard visitor visa based on being a Taiwan national, but not a citizen with a TARC and a Taiwan passport.
You have two choices in your case.
Go to the AIT website and log into the Homeland Security’s Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Fill out the online application and if you meet their criteria and eligibility, you can be granted entry into the US on the VWP without obtaining a visitor visa.
If you aren’t qualified to travel on the VWP because you’re not qualified through the ESTA, then you need to go to the AIT website and make an appointment to apply for a regular visitor visa. Additionally, if you are qualified to travel under the VWP through ESTA, you can still go to the AIT and apply for a visitor visa instead. Just because you are qualified to travel under VWP doesn’t mean that you are required to. Some people would rather travel under a visitor visa because that visa status can be changed to a student visa or a business visa without leaving the US, but traveling under the WVP doesn’t have any provisions for changing the visa status once you’ve entered the US. People traveling on the WVP must leave the US and re-apply for a new status such as student or business.
Familiarize yourself with the following link on the AIT website. It will tell you everything you need to know.
No, that would be stupid unless I had an emergency reason to travel during my TARC period. About the only reason I would do it is if a family member were gravely ill and dying and my presence were required. Why would I want to reset my clock for any other reason? At any rate, if it became necessary to travel to the US during my TARC period, I would consult with the only valid authority regarding this matter which is the AIT.
Thanks for the detailed advice, Northcoast Surfer. I’ll dig into it with the AIT. Just to confirm my understanding though – no one here has traveled abroad yet on a TARC Taiwan passport?
I know of two individuals who have traveled abroad on their Taiwan passport during their TARC period. But I don’t see how that would relate to you and your situation.
So no visa-free travel during the NWOHR waiting period but whether an individual country will even grant visas to such “stateless persons” is a bit fuzzy and requires more research.
Family register of the landowner and his concubines? Voting records for the previous elections? The mind boggles. 
