JFRV based ARC versus "Dependent ARC"? Difference?

Legal Visa & Residency
21

Hey guys, I just put some of the new policies to the test, and here’s what I found out.

I’m an American citizen recently married to a Taiwanese woman, and currently on a 60-day multiple-entry visitor visa (old-fashioned, I know). I’m in the process of getting my FBI background check for the JFRV, etc., but yesterday I decided to head over to the NIA in Kaohsiung anyway just to see if any better solution has shown up.

Short answer: I still need the background check and health certificate, because I’m only on a tourist visa. Skipping those documents is only for people who already have another kind of ARC (e.g. for work, etc.) and just want to change it to a joint family ARC. However, I did learn that you can now skip the MOFA and take the JFRV application documents directly to the NIA to get your ARC (I suppose this means the “JFRV” itself is technically not necessary anymore, though the requirements are still the same). Not sure whether this would work for someone on visa-free entry though - you’ll have to find out for yourself.

When my wife and I showed up at the information window of the NIA office in Kaohsiung, the first guy I talked to said my situation was MOFA business, so I should go there (visas = MOFA, right?). So I went to the MOFA, where I think I was told, “You can apply for a JFRV here if you want, but the process will be easier if you just go straight to the NIA.” She directed me to a different part of the NIA office than I had been to before (on a different floor of the building). At the other NIA place, the lady at the information desk seemed to be under the impression that I could just get my ARC right now (seemed like maybe the MOFA person had thought that too), and had me fill out a general purpose application form, checking “ARC” as the reason. My wife filled out part of the form with her information (though I never figured out for sure whether she technically needed to be there), and we took it to the service desk.

The NIA officer, assuming that we knew I couldn’t apply for my ARC yet without the background and health checks, assumed I was just applying to renew my visitor visa for another 60 days. Once we sorted out the confusion, he told us that yes, I can apply for a joint family ARC with him, but I’ll still need the same documents that were always required for a JFRV. He gave us a checklist of requirements which appears to be the Chinese version of this page on the NIA website.

He offered to at least renew my visitor visa - my last day should have been January 23, and he stamped my passport with an extension to March 24. That actually helps me a lot, since two weeks from now probably would have been too soon for me to finish the whole application process. And there were no additional questions asked - he seemed to take it for granted that being in the middle of JFRV/ARC paperwork was a good reason for my tourist visa to be extended.

Luckily all these offices were in the same building, so the runaround they gave me was no big deal. If anyone else is going to the service center in downtown Kaohsiung for ARC stuff, the NIA office on the seventh floor is the one you want.

Hope that’s helpful!

22

[quote=“Evzob”]

Short answer: I still need the background check and health certificate, because I’m only on a tourist visa. Skipping those documents is only for people who already have another kind of ARC (e.g. for work, etc.) and just want to change it to a joint family ARC. However, I did learn that you can now skip the MOFA and take the JFRV application documents directly to the NIA to get your ARC (I suppose this means the “JFRV” itself is technically not necessary anymore, though the requirements are still the same). Not sure whether this would work for someone on visa-free entry though - you’ll have to find out for yourself.

Hope that’s helpful![/quote]

Thank you for replying, I actually did about the same thing.

And well I went with the wife last month to the NIA offices in Nantou City and apparently they wont answer me but to my wife in Chinese. So I tried pushing a little bit to get some answers and I think I got them.

Apparently the foreign spouses exempt of Police Records are meant to be married to a Foreign ARC holder, from the same nationality and been married before coming to Taiwan. She even called I guess MOFA or somewhere else and she told me that a way to skip the Police Records is getting a Resident Visa in HK TECO, and she told me that with that I would get a ARC with them right away, but I don’t think that means free work rights, but perhaps would lead to later switch from ARC to JFRV without the Doctor and Police checks, I guess that is the way around.

Anyways finally I found somebody to help me get my records in Mexico but I don’t think I have time for that since this, my last extension ends in March 6, so I will probably just go and get the Resident Visa from HK for now. Nevertheless I had the wife call the TECO office in HK and the first person answering gave us green light about the resident visa saying that I would only need the things I showed in my last visa run, but the wife made a lot of emphasis in the fact that the person answering the fun had a “Hong Kongnese” accent so she called MOFA or BOCA I’m not sure, we have communication problems, and they said I still needed the Police Records, so she called back to HK TECO and now a Taiwanese answered, I have no idea what she said but now she is convinced I need the Police Record in HK too… le sigh…

23

[quote=“TexMex”]
And well I went with the wife last month to the NIA offices in Nantou City and apparently they wont answer me but to my wife in Chinese.[/quote]

Yep, that’s standard. If you go by yourself, they’ll happily have a conversation with you in English. If you bring a Taiwanese person, they ignore you and just talk to them. I can get a word in sometimes, but then they still answer to her. :unamused:

[quote=“TexMex”]
Apparently the foreign spouses exempt of Police Records are meant to be married to a Foreign ARC holder, from the same nationality and been married before coming to Taiwan. She even called I guess MOFA or somewhere else and she told me that a way to skip the Police Records is getting a Resident Visa in HK TECO, and she told me that with that I would get a ARC with them right away, but I don’t think that means free work rights, but perhaps would lead to later switch from ARC to JFRV without the Doctor and Police checks, I guess that is the way around.

Anyways finally I found somebody to help me get my records in Mexico but I don’t think I have time for that since this, my last extension ends in March 6, so I will probably just go and get the Resident Visa from HK for now. Nevertheless I had the wife call the TECO office in HK and the first person answering gave us green light about the resident visa saying that I would only need the things I showed in my last visa run, but the wife made a lot of emphasis in the fact that the person answering the fun had a “Hong Kongnese” accent so she called MOFA or BOCA I’m not sure, we have communication problems, and they said I still needed the Police Records, so she called back to HK TECO and now a Taiwanese answered, I have no idea what she said but now she is convinced I need the Police Record in HK too… le sigh…[/quote]

My understanding is that you will need the police records no matter what, unless you first get a job that gives you an ARC for work. The people who have gotten their marriage ARCs without the police records have been people who already had a work ARC. Normally any marriage-based ARC you get will give you work rights, though I guess there could always be an exception. You wouldn’t be switching from an ARC to a JFRV - it’s the ARC that gives you the work rights; the JFRV is an intermediate step (perhaps now obsolete for visitor visa holders) on the way to getting your marriage-based ARC. The idea was that the NIA can’t issue you an ARC until the MOFA changes your visa status to “resident”.

The BOCA and the MOFA aren’t different organizations, by the way. The BOCA is just the branch of the MOFA that deals with “consular affairs”, but you don’t need to worry about that because it’s all in the same place - you just go to the MOFA service center and find the window labeled “Visas”.

“Hong Kongnese” :slight_smile: This is the way my wife says it too. It seems to be standard in Taiwan English (though not in American English, Hong Kong English, or any other place I know of…). :wink:

24

Evzob,

Thanks for updating the thread with your story. Good to know. But, you know what? The situation is still stupid and makes no sense whatsover. You still shouldn’t have to provide an FBI criminal background check. It’s asinine that the stupid Taiwanese government would require it. Why? Glad you asked. Ok…here goes.

  1. A nasty convicted felon from the United States gets a passport and a visitor visa to Taiwan.

  2. He arrives in Taiwan and finds an English buxiban who will hire him as an English teacher because he has a BA degree in underwater basket weaving.

  3. The school applies for a work-permit on his behalf and after it is granted, he takes it to the NIA who issues him an employment based ARC.

  4. The next week, he marries his Taiwanese sweetheart, takes her, the household registration, and his other documents to the NIA and changes from his employment based ARC to a JFRV ARC based on marriage. He then quits his job the next day because he now has open-work rights because his ARC is now based on his marriage and not on a work-permit.

============================================

That’s how you can go from a visitor visa to a work-permit ARC to a JFRV marriage ARC…WITHOUT EVER PROVIDING A CRIMINAL RECORD CHECK!

So, for you. You could have done the same thing. Applied for a job, gotten your work-permit ARC, then married your wife, then changed from the employment based ARC to the marriage based ARC, then quit your job the next day. All without having to waste all the time and money on your FBI background check!

So, this criminal record check requirement for some, but not all is completely pointless when you can see the work-around as I have illustrated it above. Taiwan…stupid is as stupid does! :loco:

25

Agreed - the system is extremely silly. I would also recommend people get the work-based ARC first if possible. It just didn’t work out that way for me for various personal reasons.

Probably no one planned it out or thought about it. They’re just changing things one by one as they think of them, and they’ll eventually work out the kinks later. Maybe after awhile they’ll make the criminal background check a requirement for all first-time ARC applicants.

26

If they change that part, though, people (at least Americans) won’t be able to look for work on a visa-free entry in any reasonable time frame, unless the FBI begins processing visa information much more quickly.

27

Or people do their criminal background check before coming to Taiwan… It’s not that hard to plan out something like this when planning to move to the other side of the world.

28

Or people do their criminal background check before coming to Taiwan… It’s not that hard to plan out something like this when planning to move to the other side of the world.[/quote]

It’s not a huge impediment if you’re already in the US. South Korean and Japanese officials demand as much.

29

Or people do their criminal background check before coming to Taiwan… It’s not that hard to plan out something like this when planning to move to the other side of the world.[/quote]

It’s not a huge impediment if you’re already in the US. South Korean and Japanese officials demand as much.[/quote]

It’s not that much of an impediment if you’re not in the US. Go to NIA and get your fingerprints done. Mail it to the FBI. Include a postage paid envelope and wait several months. Pretty simple.

The issue would be if you decide to wait until you get a job and you need it faster than the 2-3 months that it takes to process. And everyone knows that planning ahead isn’t going to happen for most people.

30

Or people do their criminal background check before coming to Taiwan… It’s not that hard to plan out something like this when planning to move to the other side of the world.[/quote]

It’s not a huge impediment if you’re already in the US. South Korean and Japanese officials demand as much.[/quote]

It’s not that much of an impediment if you’re not in the US. Go to NIA and get your fingerprints done. Mail it to the FBI. Include a postage paid envelope and wait several months. Pretty simple.

The issue would be if you decide to wait until you get a job and you need it faster than the 2-3 months that it takes to process. And everyone knows that planning ahead isn’t going to happen for most people.[/quote]

In my case in Mexico they need a letter from the Mexican consulate in Taiwan requesting, and then the certificate is valid for 3 months only, nevertheless I traveled straight from US. Because in the site I was looking at is not listed as a requirement.

31

[quote=“TexMex”]

In my case in Mexico they need a letter from the Mexican consulate in Taiwan requesting, and then the certificate is valid for 3 months only, nevertheless I traveled straight from US. Because in the site I was looking at is not listed as a requirement.[/quote]

We were talking about additionally requiring the same criminal background check of English Teachers and there aren’t many Mexican passport holding English teachers (w/o open work rights). Your situation sucks though.

32

[quote=“Abacus”][quote=“TexMex”]

In my case in Mexico they need a letter from the Mexican consulate in Taiwan requesting, and then the certificate is valid for 3 months only, nevertheless I traveled straight from US. Because in the site I was looking at is not listed as a requirement.[/quote]

We were talking about additionally requiring the same criminal background check of English Teachers and there aren’t many Mexican passport holding English teachers (w/o open work rights). Your situation sucks though.[/quote]

Is pretty messed, I need to go at least 5 places (attorneys, and legalization/translation offices) and my friend in Mexico need to go to at least 4 different offices. They say Mexico blacklisted Taiwan as terrorist supporter after 9/11 (they asked for an explanation, we denied it, never got solved). In fact from Mexico I would only be able to get 30 days no extension visa, but TECO in HK overlooks that I suppose.

But not really interested on teaching. I just want a driver license and a local bank account that’s all.

33

I’ve been on work ARC’s since 2008. My current one expires on July 9th. I was married last June and registered at my wife’s local household registration office in Yunlin.

I want to switch my work ARC to a JFRV. From what I gather here, if I’m on a work ARC right now, then I don’t need to get a health check or criminal check, right?

My coworker did the same thing last year, he is positive he didn’t need a background check and doesn’t remember getting a health check either.

So what do I need to bring to the NIA office in Zhonghe? Marriage Certificate and Household Reg. Certificate?

I want to take care of this soon because I’m going to HK for a few days right around the time my current ARC expires.

34

[quote=“PaddyB”]I’ve been on work ARC’s since 2008. My current one expires on July 9th. I was married last June and registered at my wife’s local household registration office in Yunlin.

I want to switch my work ARC to a JFRV. From what I gather here, if I’m on a work ARC right now, then I don’t need to get a health check or criminal check, right?

My coworker did the same thing last year, he is positive he didn’t need a background check and doesn’t remember getting a health check either.

So what do I need to bring to the NIA office in Zhonghe? Marriage Certificate and Household Reg. Certificate?

I want to take care of this soon because I’m going to HK for a few days right around the time my current ARC expires.[/quote]

So I heard, at least for the criminal records, not sure about the health check but I think neither. But I’m not sure if it works if you apply in HK and I’m also not sure if you can do it with an expired ARC, could work but it’ll be good to find out now.

35

GET YOUR NEW JFRV NOW!

No health check needed.

No criminal check either.

AS LONG AS YOUR WORK ARC IS STILL VALID!

Source: did this a couple months ago myself. I hung onto a really horrible job for an extra month while we got everything arranged. Even got my shifts covered for an “activity” I had to go to for a week. Then, after the activity, I called in sick for a week, until my JFRV arrived at the immigration office.

Pretty painless and cheap. I think it was 1000nt/yr.

Then you get open work rights too! Wooohooooo!

This applies to American citizens. I do not know for other countries. Call and ask.

36

So, if I read this correctly, I could now hypothetically change my student-ARC to a marriage based one with no police or health checks? Or is this just for work ARCs to marriage ARCs?

37

@ todegreeornotdegree

I did that switch years ago (student ARC to JFRV ARC).

Keep in mind that things may have changed in the meantime, but to apply for an JFRV ARC I had to redo the health-exam in Taiwan.
I also had to provide information my marriage is/was regristered in my homecountry and also my police record from my homecountry.
All documents in english accepable, but has to be pre notarized by your homecountry and got stamped by the local taiwanese “embassy”
in your homecountry too (in all an expensive procedure).

38

[quote=“MoTi”]@ todegreeornotdegree

I did that switch years ago (student ARC to JFRV ARC).

Keep in mind that things may have changed in the meantime, but to apply for an JFRV ARC I had to redo the health-exam in Taiwan.
I also had to provide information my marriage is/was regristered in my homecountry and also my police record from my homecountry.
All documents in english accepable, but has to be pre notarized by your homecountry and got stamped by the local taiwanese “embassy”
in your homecountry too (in all an expensive procedure).[/quote]

I don’t get it, so what is the difference between having an ARC or having a Visitor visa (actual visa) when you make the switch?

39

TexMex, I’ll be doing this in a month so I’ll let you know, but from my understanding, MoTi is talking about the old way of doing it and you’re correct that now you don’t need anything (health / criminal checks).

40

So just to update everyone here to be 100% clear: my previous post in this thread was correct (because I’ve just done it and everything was fine).

If you’ve already got an ARC, changing it to a marriage-based ARC (依親) is simply considered a change of purpose of residence. You go to NIA with your spouse and show them: your spouse’s ID card, your current ARC, and your passport. That’s all you need, plus a Multi Purpose Application Form and 1000 NT.

No other background checks, medical checks, or even a marriage certificate are required (your name will be printed on your spouse’s new ID card that they received at the time of marriage registration - note that this is your Chinese name so if you don’t have your Chinese name on your ARC you will need your spouses Household Registration document which has your name in both English and Chinese).

Very painless, took about 5 minutes and we weren’t asked any questions by the immigration officer. Seems immigration here has really improved a lot over the years!