JFRV Current FAQ's and Whatnot

Legal Visa & Residency
1

Hey Everyone!

My name is Horateus (Hora or wHor is fine). I’ve been looking around forums and various government website for a while, so I’ve seen a lot of different (and conflicting) information regarding the current application for a JFRV. I’ve also called a couple of the agencies such as Taiwanese immigration and whatnot, but I was relayed to a couple of other agencies and it lead to a lot more finger pointing of which agency was responsible for what documents, and ended with no clear result of what I needed. I also stayed up and called the local TECO offices in the states, but none of it really gelled with what was mentioned on the Taiwan Immigration site. :doh:

In any case I’ll summarize my current situation and my awareness of the process, and I’ll update this thread as I step through the hoops to get the JFRV done. Anyone with experience feel free to add what they know or if there are corrections to what I’m suppose to be doing. Hopefully this can help someone in the future who might be in the same spot I’m in. :sunglasses:

Situation: I was born in Taiwan and thus have ROC citizenship, but immigrated to the US around 7 years old. I grew up there, obtained citizenship, and occasionally come back to visit. In June, I married an American citizen in the states and decided to move back to Taiwan to help out with the family business + lower the cost of living. Both of us came in to Taiwan on a tourist 2 month multi-entry visa. :bow:

What’s happening:
Since my 2 months are about up (mid-June entry into Taiwan), I’ll be doing a Visa run to HK and returning using my Taiwan passport for the work rights, etc. My wife however, will return on the same US passport.

JFRV Requirements for the wife:
1x Certificate of Good Conduct (Going to go to the FBI for this 1)* w/ copy. Also, this can only be requested by the person who’s getting their background checked.
1x Marriage Certificate (From local county. For us it will be Vegas, :roflmao: )* w/ copy
1x Hospital Checkup (Will be done in Taiwan)
2x Passport Photos

*For these two documents, I’m told it has to be translated / authenticated by the TECO office in the host country (in this case, the US). However, apparently only the head office in Washington DC can authenticate the background check. For the authentication process, please remember you need to fill out an application form.

[color=#4000FF]I was told neither documents had to be notarized, though they do have to be translated… by anyone who is capable.[/color] :ponder:
[color=#FF0000]This may vary by the TECO offices though it seems and who you ask though.[/color] :loco:
[strike][color=#0000FF]My brother told me that the AIT can provide background checks, but I’ll check this out tomorrow to verify.[/color][/strike] :ohreally:

This is a work in progress, please post corrections and comments :lick:

2

I just did my JFRV. You don’t need to do this with the FBI. And you can’t do it with the AIT. You can get it from your state government. Being based in Taiwan, it took me literally six months to get it done (but about three of those months were because my mom never got around to mailing stuff). For my MA state criminal record check, I had to:

1.) Download request form from state gov’t website.
2.) Find notary public in Taipei to witness me signing request form.
3.) Mail to MA Dept of Justice. Have them mail criminal record check to my mom in MA.
4.) Have my mom scan and send me a copy of the criminal record check. Translate it into Chinese.
5.) Mail translation and request form for document notarization to my mom, who then included the original criminal record check and mailed that all to the Boston TECRO.
6.) Have TECRO mail all this back to me.

As I said, I started in early January and didn’t get the official TECRO notarized check until early July. Even if you had someone a bit quicker on the uptake in the States, doing this from here takes at least a couple of months. On the other hand, if you were back in the States, you could probably do all of this (go to local police station, get record check, quickly translate it, drop by TECRO, get it notarized) in literally an afternoon.

Everything has different period of validity. The criminal record check is good for six months, the health check is good for three months, etc. Wait until you have the notarized criminal record check in hand before you start doing anything else.

3

Thanks for the info Alidarbac.

I would go through the State of California Department of Justice for my wife to get her fingerprinted, but there are a couple of problems for us with that.

  1. The State of California requires everyone requesting a background check to submit to a fingerprinting utilizing something called “Live Scan”.
  2. The fingerprinting must be done by a private vendors / law enforcement officials who utilize Live Scan in California.

However, I’ll stay up tonight anyway and give them a call to see if there’s anyway I can request this from Taiwan. Let you guys know more soon, but this might be one of those things that vary from state to state. :bluemad:

*Edit 1: Derp, just found out a way to submit request from out of state… will call anyway to verify. Cheers

4

Sorry about reviving dead post since a lot of curve balls got thrown my way. but here is ultimately what paperwork the immigration agency wanted to process a JFRV for my wife:

1x Health Check (got this at Far Eastern Hospital). Took 8 days to get results back.
1x Photo ID
1x Original Marriage Certificate - Authenticated by overseas TECO.
1x Translation of Marriage Certificate - Notarized / Authenticated locally in Taiwan.
1x Background Check / Certificate of Good Conduct - Got this from Department of Justice California, but since there was no seal, they used the envelop they mailed it in for verification - Also Authenticated by overseas TECO.
1x Translation of Background Check / Certificate of Good Conduct - Notarized / Authenticated locally in Taiwan.
1x Household Registration Proof.
1x Taiwan Background Check (got this at Banqiao Police Station). Took about 3~4 days.

Hope this helps!

5

Hi, just thought I’d update this thread and post latest info. I recently applied for my JFRV, and my experience was slightly different. I already have an ARC through work, so I just had to go straight to my nearest NIA service centre.

I had to go there with the following:

1x Health Check Type B (the Type B check is required for JFRV; must be from one of the approved hospitals in this list)
1x Photo (4.5cm x 3.5cm - standard passport photo will do).
1x Background Check (Authenticated by overseas TECO).
1x Notarized Translation of Background Check (my wife did the translation, then just got it notarized at local court).
1x Household Registration Proof (called a 戶籍謄本 in Chinese; printout of my wife’s family registration showing my Chinese name and details on the form)
1x Proof of current address (as I wanted to change the residence address on my new ARC - I used a recent bank statement)
1x $1025NT ($1000NT = cost of 1 year ARC, $25 = price of a self addressed envelope, so they can send me my ARC when it’s done.)
1x current passport (It needs to have 6 months validity before it expires - v important!)
1x current ARC (must have at least 1 month left before it expires)
1x Chinese speaker (my wife - they said I couldn’t go and apply by myself!)

Once there I had to fill in an application form; you can download it here and do it in advance to save time. Do not put a check the top part (“check what you want to apply” 1-12), the immigration officer will do it (JFRV = a few of those boxes)

Note:

  • I did NOT need my marriage certificate. The TECO stamped original was taken away and kept by the Government Registration Office, when we went to register the marriage and get the household registration document. I made them give me a photocopy with a stamp proving it was TECO-authorised, but I’m pretty sure the NIA officer didn’t take a copy.
  • I did not need a Taiwan Background Check. From other threads, it’s apparent NIA officers are free to add their own extra unofficial requirements to your application; this sounds like one of them. Other ones they could add is an interview, or a home visit (unlikely but possible).
  • The took away my current work ARC. Apparently it’s still valid - i got a receipt from them to prove my new application is pending.
  • I wanted to change the address on my new ARC, so I took along a bank statement from the past 2 weeks. They didn’t ask when I’d moved there.
  • The whole thing (including filling out the application form) took about 15 minutes; very quick and easy as long as you have the right documents. I went dressed smartly, as if going to a job interview; apparently it can help!

You can get more info on what documents you need, where to go and the exact procedure in English using the 24hr Information for Foreigners helpline (0800-024-111). They are VERY friendly and helpful!