I didn’t know where else to post this at on the internet so I thought i’d just write about this here.
I’m an ABC in my 30’s who recently tried to obtain my Overseas ROC passport and establish my family heritage with Taiwan. My father is in his 80’s and suffering from Alzheimer’s and is going to be living in a retirement home for former military in Taipei. My mom recently had cancer which went into remission and has decided to retire to Taiwan in her remaining years. I wanted to get my ROC passport to help them settle in and hopefully spend some time with them with the eventual goal of becoming a full national if I had to stay longer.
I recently went to the Wilshire blvd TECO office in L.A. to get my overseas ROC passport done and it was probably the worst experience i’ve ever had with any sort of government consulate. I’ve lived overseas before and have even dealt with some rather tedious bureaucracies in Southeast Asia/Latin America but what I went through here was ridiculous.
I applied a month ago for a ROC passport and the clerk told us over the phone that I needed my birth certificate verified since I was born in the U.S. Since I was born in the south I was told to send a copy of my b.c. to Teco Atlanta office via certified mail for verification along with copies of my parent’s TW passports… Fine, no problem. They sent it back within a week with a validation stamp and sticker. I then went to the Teco Los Angeles office to fill out the application forms in Chinese for the passport with my mother in tow with all our family documents and this is where the real headaches began.
We brought along around 35+ years of documentation including my parent’s marriage certificates in both Taiwan in the U.S., multiple old passports from our entire family, U.S. citizenship papers, Taiwan Hukou, and the kitchen sink. The lady looked through everything and said that my middle initial was changed (it was not, CA DMV and social security admin used to allow abbreviated middle initials) and I had to go to the social security administration office and give them proof of my supposed “name change” and full middle name and then bring it back to them. This is after I showed them my SS card, driver’s license, and very recent U.S. passport. I ended up making the trip to the local SS office to get this done and driving all the way back to TECO the next week to submit everything again.
This time the teco office clerk checked over everything gave it the green light and told us the passport would be ready in 3 weeks. Flash forward just a few days ago when I went to pick up my passport and was told that my official U.S. birth certificate with a county government seal and Atlanta TECO office stamp was “invalid” because my mom’s maiden name was misspelled on my b.c. It was a one letter difference on a birth certificate that was already validated and notarized by the Atlanta TECO office. The clerk claims that a different woman with the same long name of my mom (except with a one letter difference) could have married my dad and had me. They had the entire passport already made and everything but decided not to give it to me over this.
So, they want me to call up the county public health office where I was born which is in a southern state and I live in California to get my official b.c. amended to change one letter of my mom’s maiden name on my b.c. to the one on her Taiwanese passport. I called the county office where I was born to ask them what I would have to do to get an amendment. Basically it would require a trip to court to get the error looked at by the local court, a document filed to show that my mom’s maiden name is indeed the same as the one on my birth certificate, and then submitting an application to the county health office to get one letter changed. Then TECO said that they also wanted me to re-validate my birth certificate again with Atlanta…then resubmit everything then they might hand over the passport if I can get it all done within the 3 month period before they shred it.
After about a month of getting the run around and over $100 in fees and wasted time off. I pretty much said forget it and walked out. I guess those old family ties to Taiwan die with my generation.
Ok read your thread. What a nightmare. Yes if you do not maintain your ties with Taiwan, they are not keen to get you back.
I was born and raised there but they sure as hell don’t want me back !
You shouldve gotten your TW passport ages ago. Now, they basically want you to go away.
edit: if you want that passport you will have to work for it. Try applying through the ATlanta office. EAch office has its own Gestapo . You might get a more sympathetic ear elsewhere. And Bob’s your Uncle.
[quote=“tommy525”]SOrry i kept reading Los Angeles Taco …
Ok read your thread. What a nightmare. Yes if you do not maintain your ties with Taiwan, they are not keen to get you back.
I was born and raised there but they sure as hell don’t want me back !
You shouldve gotten your TW passport ages ago. Now, they basically want you to go away.
edit: if you want that passport you will have to work for it. Try applying through the ATlanta office. EAch office has its own Gestapo . You might get a more sympathetic ear elsewhere. And Bob’s your Uncle.[/quote]
The funny thing is Taiwanese ride all over the Jeremy Lin Bandwagon and he’s as asian-american as can be. I guess it’s OK if you’re rich and famous. I hope their attitude isn’t as materialistic and petty as you make it out to be. This situation has certainly soured my experiences with TW people though.
Yes they want the rich and famous and want to claim them, but they obviously see little value in an American born and raised in America who possibly wants to “collect” a Taiwan passport by claiming an
“ancient” birthright.
At least thats how someone at the LA office sees you. Someone who has the power to deny your application.
Try the ATlanta office. They were fast in helping you out, they may make it all work maybe?
Or just forget it. What real ties to Taiwan do you have? You can always visit your parents in Taiwan with the 90 day visa free.
And if you are not married, once you spend enough time in Taiwan, chances are good you will find yourself a nice Taiwan meimei to marry. And there you are, you have residency.
And you can work on the passport thing from the inside.
I was looking for the R.O.C. passport for purely practical purposes since my parents are going to be there for the foreseeable future but I guess it doesn’t matter much if I avoid staying long term. I just hope their health holds up. I already have a sweet long term g/f so the wife angle isn’t going to happen either.
The whole experience was completely disappointing though. I don’t think any other AA’s with dual nationalities i’ve talked to have received this much grief…this includes various AA’s of Korean, Thais, and Filipinos who all easily became dual nationals.
What a messed up story! sorry to hear about your problems…
But I must say it sounds like the heart of it is a nameless Taiwanese bureaucrat actually doing their job in the LA TECO office.
They are given rules that they must follow, like any govt agency, and even if common sense and logic show that the offending rule does not make sense, they still must follow the rules… yeah gov’t!
Also, this is an error made by a different gov’t agency/nation… so the case officer dealing with your application may have no other choice than to rule the way they did… or risk losing their job.
If you still want the passport, you are going to have to comply with their demands. In the long run it may be worth it for ease of transfer/inheritance of any assets your parents may want to give you. (If you think the passport application was a pain, more awaits you in Taiwan!!!)
As Tommy525 suggests, try a different TECO office, or apply when you get to Taiwan… maybe the office here will not notice!
I wouldn’t give up, and I wouldn’t take this experience as representative of Taiwanese people in general.
In Taiwan itself, government services are generally much, much better than anything I’ve ever experienced in the USA.
Give it another try. With Taiwanese bureaucrats, it’s always wise to show respect for their adherence to the rules. They are supposed to follow them. But at the same time, being polite and human can really go a long way. You may even get a chance to explain your filial motives, which is generally quite touching to a Taiwanese person. If you’re already biased, they’ll feel it and give you a hard time.
Good luck. I hope you make it to the lovely island with your new passport soon.
Well said, Tomas!
ABC123… while you are at it with all of your documents, you probably want to get your FBI background thingy certified by the TECO as well.
Its valid for 6 months, and you will need it shortly after you get your passport…
[quote=“joeyliao”]
As Tommy525 suggests, try a different TECO office, or apply when you get to Taiwan… maybe the office here will not notice![/quote]
I think the rules are you have to get the overseas ROC passport overseas and not in Taiwan.
That said I do think some individual bureaucrats don’t like specific people for some reason due to their own political views. I’ve run in to the same thing trying to get TW citizenship for my son (he was born in China). What I did was just switch counters. It’s like calling a call center, not getting an answer you like, and hanging up.
I would try the Atlanta TECO – I’ve dealt with them before and they have more southern hospitality.
Please let us know how it goes – spending time with your parents is important, and once you’re in Taiwan more regularly you’ll see that the people are very nice (especially if you’ve lived in China like I have).
It has been a couple of months. I wonder if you have made any progress. Don’t give up on this. The benefit for you to be able to support your aging parents in Taiwan is priceless. I assume your mom is in LA and on medicare or medical. It would be much better for her and cheaper for the care in Taiwan than in US.
I’ve been there bud. Don’t give up. They made me jump through rings of fire to get my ID. Here’s a tip. Once you find a nice clerk, always go back to the same person because they all seem to have a different playbook. Play up the 孝順 xiao4 shun4 aspect of your request. I know they let shit slide but you either gotta be someone or know someone. If you aren’t or don’t, then you have to lay on the charm. Flies and honey and all. Don’t go in there with the uppity ABC I’m a rockstar attitude.
I’m sorry to hear of your bad experience with TECO in LA. Unless your parents had helped you to gain ROC (Taiwanese) citizenship when you were little (before your 20th birthday), otherwise the ROC government is going to treat you as if you were a foreigner. I would contact the OCAC Cultural Center in LA, who oversees oversea Chinese, to let them know your encounter with TECO in LA.
I will also bring your story/experience to the attention of TECO in NY.
They had the entire passport already made and everything but decided not to give it to me over this.