I’m going to be out of the country (with my passport) when my ARC through marriage evaporates. NIA has assured me there is nothing that can be done, and I will have to get a new visitor’s visa and convert it to an ARC – including the criminal record and physical – all over again if I ever want to move back to Taiwan long-term. I’m kind of surprised there’s no option to extend through the Taiwan’s faux-embassies abroad. Just curious about everyone’s thoughts on this as I’m of two minds on it. Do you think it’s fair for a long-term foreign resident to lose an ARC for not living in the country at the time it expires?
Are you going to be out of country as in on a trip, or do you mean you will no longer be living here? The “R” in ARC means resident. If you’re not living here, it stands to reason that resident privileges would have an expiry date. Even citizens have to re-establish resident status when they’ve lived abroad for extended periods. In answer to your question, I do think it’s fair that a non-citizen would eventually lose their resident visa if they are no longer living and/or working in Taiwan. With your Taiwanese spouse, you can always re-apply in case you should ever want to live here again-- some paperwork involved, but in reality not that much.
On the other hand, if your spouse will be maintaining her household reg, you might be able to have her renew your ARC when she makes trips over here.
I left Taiwan at the beginning of the year, for good unless something changes. Yeah, I get that it’s a residence card, but US green card holders get to keep their status when living abroad. I don’t think it’s unfair, but I’m still saddened that I won’t be able to hold on to that little card that makes me slightly Taiwanese. My wife and I will both be traveling when the time comes, so we can’t mail my passport and her ID card to the NIA as is required for a designated proxy to do it.
If you can produce an airline ticket receipt that shows you being out of the country during the month leading up to the expiration date, then the NIA can renew your ARC earlier than the usual one month before that date. Don’t you have to keep paying NHI premiums if you keep your ARC? Is that something you’re okay with?
They never mentioned premiums to me. I left TW in February, and came back this month. I assume since I was able to come and go without impediment that there is no obligation to contribute to NHI while I am not earning an income in TW.
They’re actually pretty good about renewing early. A couple of years ago when I moved, and renewed my passport at the same time, I went to the NIA to update the details, and even though there was still about 5 months left on my ARC, they let me renew it for another 3 years then, which actually meant that I ended up having a new ARC valid for 3 years and 5 months. And saved myself an extra trip out to the back blocks of Zhonghe.
Thought…
Fly back to Taiwan.
Renew your ARC.
Leave.
Rinse, repeat.
Option 2
Come back to Taiwan (if you do)
get a buxiban job that sponsors your arc
convert arc to marriage one (no need for background check then)
quit said buxiban job
If Taiwan had non-discriminatory citizenship laws, you could have gotten a second passport without renouncing your US citizenship and that would not be a problem.
Your wife will be eligible for a US passport after three or five years (don’t remember) of living in the US without having to renounce her Taiwanese passport.
So no it’s not fair. USA is much better in that regards.
Confuzius, both of those options assume I have lots of time and don’t need to regularly come to work here in California…
nonredneck, I agree massive improvement is needed, but it’s hard to hold a small, conservative country like Taiwan to the standards of the USA…
Actually one could say a small , more easily manageable country like Taiwan can make changes like a speedboat makes, rather than a lumbering supertanker of a country like the USA.
There is no doubt the TW govt lags far behind in many basic human rights. LIke why is someone like me, born in Taiwan to a Taiwanese mother and living there decades not considered a citizen?
Would a child born in the USA, to an American mother, having lived there most of his life NOT be an American citizen?
Except by choice.
Nope.
You only need a day actually, maybe 2-3. Like this…
- Fly to Taiwan.
- Go to NIA
- Apply
- While you are there, choose the option for them to mail it to you inlaws
- Next day fly back to California
That’s not a big time commitment, a couple days. This must be done at most once every 2 years. Your job does not keep you so busy as to make that impossible. Hope it doesn’t pay so little to make that impossible either.
The other option is a hypothetical, if you move back to Taiwan (thought that was obvious).
So option 1 is totally doable…But you shot it down for…well, no reason. 2 is a worst case.
You don’t wanna lose your arc, first option is the way to do it.