Irish Getting Married in Taiwan

Hi,

i am an irish citizen living and working here in Taiwan. I am going to get married to a Taiwanese girl , in summer hopfully.

In order to do this i need to get unmarried or Singles document from Ireland.

I contacted the DFA in Ireland and they told me that i cannot get this document unless i am in the country. Also, they said that as i am in Taiwan i need to go through the nearest Irish Embassy, which is in Beijing.

IS there no other way that anyone knows of that doesnt require me to leave Taiwan in order to get this document. It seems a bit ridiculous that i could not do the process from here, or that one of my parents could not mail the application form to me and have me sign it then send it back to Ireland and have it processes.#

If there are any Irish people who have experienced this in Taiwan or know a way around it would be great if you could offer some wisdom.

Thanks :slight_smile:

Hello compatriot :slight_smile:

I did it years ago so I can’t remember how I got the form at the time.

However you can work with the Beijing office remotely, what happens is they just pass the documentation back and forth between you and Ireland. It’s ridiculous and slow and cumbersome but I believe the Irish consulate Beijing office can advise you and help you, call them.

There was an office in Taiwan but it was closed down when Taiwan Ireland went visa free, they weren’t able to do much either anyway.

Why would you go through any embassy if you were back in Ireland?

I’m not Irish, I’m British, but there’s a similarly difficult requirement for obtaining a certificate of no impediment from the UK (spend an unproductive month in the UK to apply, overseas residents needn’t bother trying). I was able to do it from Taiwan the first time I got married but that was in 2000 so things have changed. My solution second time round (last year) was to go to Hong Kong for the marriage. Sorry it’s not the answer you were hoping to hear.

I am thinking about going to Hong Kong. Do you guys know in Hong Kong is this Singles Document necessary?

I wasnt back in Ireland when i contacted them , i just contacted them through email.

Thanks for the replies guys. do you have any idea if i need to sign the application form, ie fly to Beijing or i could just do it from here somwhow

(Slight edit to my post above for clarity).

That’s not what I meant, I was pointing out the contradiction in what they told you:
a. You must be in Ireland to get the document
b. You must go through your nearest embassy to get the document

I would still follow through on headhonchoII’s advice if possible; marriage in Taiwan is a good bit cheaper and will ultimately be less of a headache than going elsewhere if you can get that document done remotely.

You don’t need the document to get married in Hong Kong, you just need to swear that you’re single and provide documentary evidence of any divorce.

BlackAdder’s guide lays it out nicely:
forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi … 64&t=83057

Just contact the Irish embassy in Beijing, they’re very helpful and it won’t require any back and forth to Ireland (getting a passport renewed is an entirely different experience…). I went to Beijing a couple of years ago to get mine, having contacted them in advance, took less than an hour. I think the application form is available on their website.

Indeed it is, 10 seconds on Google got me to here…http://www.embassyofireland.cn/inner.php?eid=21

Going to Beijing should not be necessary, it is also very expensive. Phone calls and emails all the way. Level of service varies according to personnel working on your case and whether they are on vacation or not.

Ok guys, Thanks for the help

It is a shame that Ireland is so rife with bureaucracy. you’d imagine that in 2013 that all of these thigns wouldnt be necessary

Thanks for the replies. :slight_smile:

Ireland is not requiring the certificate from you, the Taiwan government is.

This kind of difficulty is commonly encountered by all foreigners in Taiwan, the lack of diplomatic links tends to make things that bit more troublesome.

Once you have the documents, it’s plain sailing here.