I am an American living in the USA with my wife of 12 years who is a Taiwan-born citizen of Taiwan and also has gotten US citizenship. She has expressed some desire to relocate to Taiwan, and after much consideration (obviously this would be a HUGE adjustment for me, I am staggered by the magnitude of change this would be for me–but I figure if she made that sacrifice for me 12 years ago, I can do the same for her. Plus, there are other advantages I can see to living in Taiwan.
Anyway, I was wondering how difficult it would be for me to become a citizen of Taiwan. I think I would be willing to renounce my US citizenship if absolutely necessary, though I would need to learn a lot more about the ramifications of doing that.
What I’m really asking, is would my being married to a Taiwanese citizen make the process of getting residency and/or citizenship easier in any way?
[quote=“Paul H”]My name is Paul and I am new to Forumosa.[/quote]Welcome to the party!
[quote=“Paul H”]Would my being married to a Taiwanese citizen make the process of getting residency and/or citizenship easier in any way?[/quote]Yes. You will first want to apply for a Joining Family Residence Visa (JFRV) using your wife as your sponsor. After three years of continuous residency in Taiwan, you will be eligible to apply for naturalization. For other applicants not married to a Taiwanese citizen, the wait is five years of continuous residency. You can read all about the JFRV and how to apply for it in the Visa & Residency Issues thread. Since you are still in the US, you’re going to want to take care of your FBI background check, marriage license authentication at your local TECO, etc. before you come to Taiwan. Otherwise, you’ll still have to do it, but it will have to be via sending documents back and forth between Taiwan and the US which is much more of a hassle.
A lot (like 900 posts worth) of info on this exact subject [url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/how-to-get-taiwan-citizenship-primer-faq-and-resources/10835/1
You are making a humongous move relocating your life to Taiwan. A lot of the ‘protections’ you enjoy regarding your marriage, money, property, civil rights and societal status will all be different. Depending on what you are bringing here to Taiwan depends on how all of these things will change. You are clearly dead-set on relocating to Taiwan, gaining residency is many years away. In that time frame, you will have to live as the rest of us do, as a foreigner. You need to read all the threads here on Forumosa about all the different aspects of life and what your rights really are. You WILL need to renounce your US Citizenship to gain Taiwanese citizenship, this is a big deal, it comes with a lot of big decisions.
As long as you are certain of your marriage, gaining citizenship isn’t necessarily the most important thing, many live here with their wives and husbands without it and worry very little. You need to read read read and develop a concept and realistic expectation of what your new life in Taiwan will be like. It ain’t like anything in America that’s for sure! Again, think of a subject that you think will affect your life here in Taiwan and Forumosa likely already has a thread about it. From how to buy a farm’ to ‘where to register your pet dog’, from ‘how to get a divorce’ to ‘where are the best taco’s’. It’s all here somewhere. and if you honestly don’t believe it is: just ask!
We’re pretty much four months into the process - partly (I think) because we did it from Taiwan. Taiwanese bureacra- …no, beuro- …no, boora- …no, (Let me look it up. Ah yes, that’s how it’s spelled…) BUREAUCRACY is nothing short of amazing.
Really.
I spent 15 years in yet another tiny country, and the culture shock initially took my breath away when I came here. I mean, this country is DIFFERENT!
This thread is a little old, but maybe you’re still checking it?
I have asked this same question and my answer has been “don’t do it.” Though I’m brand new to “Forumosa,” I’m not new to Taiwan. I started dating my current wife in mid-2008 and last year we got married. I wondered then if I should try to get dual citizenship, only to learn that I would have to give up my US citizenship to do so. Then my wife and I thought about what I don’t get as a foreign permanent resident in Taiwan. The answer is very little. I can’t vote. I can’t get a Tai Bao Zheng, which allows me to enter mainland China without a visa (as a US citizen you need a visa and hard to get one in Taiwan), but that doesn’t matter to me because I never go there anyway. There are other restrictions about property ownership that I’m not clear on. But the basic things are all fine: I can be on my wife’s National Health Insurance, we file taxes together, we both are legal parents of the children along with all the associated legal protections, etc. I am not yet a perm res, because that process also takes years. But even as a dependent ARC-holder, I can’t think of much that creates an impediment to our lives due to my being a foreign national.
That’s my take on it. It is, of course, your decision.
