I moved to Taiwan to teach English in 2002, suffered a stroke in 2014. Returned to Canada in 2018 but now I want to return to Taiwan. Unfortunately, I’ve lost my APRC card and cancelled my NHI before I left as I had no plans to return. How long and difficult will it be to get a new APRC card issued and requalify for NHI? TIA
Did you apply for an APRC leave extension before leaving Taiwan?
NHI can be resumed immediately, in fact you are required to go as soon as you return as an APRC holder to reinstate coverage. Employed or not, it must be reinstated immediately. (Source what nhi told me)
As owleyes alluded to you need to apply to keep the APRC when you leave unless it is by employment that you got it or else it can be cancelled.
How did you get your APRC? If you got it based on your employemployment, your APRC is still valid, so you can apply for reissueance at NIA.
If you got your APRC based on marriage, it may be already canceled, unless you applied for an APRC leave extension that @owleyes asked.
if you would return as an employee, you qualify from day 1 via the company. If not, you should wait for 6 months.
[Added: If you have an enrollment record within 2 years, you qualify from day 1.]
[Added 2: if what you did is a suspension, you qualify from day 1.]
You may get more reliable answer from TECO or NIA and NHI. you can ask them directly by phone or mail.
Relevant sources
validity of marriage based APRC
Immigration Act
Article 33
National Immigration Agency shall revoke or repeal a person’s permanent residence permit and cancel his/her Alien Permanent Resident Certificate if the person meets one of the following circumstances:
…
4. Has not resided for one hundred and eighty-three (183) days for each year during his/her permanent residence in the State. The person shall be exempted if he/she has the approval of National Immigration Agenc
…
validity of employment based APRC
Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals
Article 18
Where a foreign professional, after having obtained approval for permanent residence from the National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior, leaves the State for more than five years without re-entering, the National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior, may revoke said person’s permanent residence permit and cancel said person’s Alien Permanent Resident Certificate, and the provisions of Article 33 Paragraph 1 Subparagraph 4 of the Immigration Act do not apply.
NHI
https://www.nhi.gov.tw/english/Content_List.aspx?n=4393D5216F6416B4&topn=778856C209BCE527
Resuming Insurance after an Extended Stay Abroad
- Those who do not have a record of being insured under the NHI program in the two years prior to their return to Taiwan are entitled to get coverage under the NHI system six months after establishing their household registration.
- Those who were abroad for less than two years are qualified for the National Health Insurance as long as they still have their household registration and must enroll in the National Health Insurance program according to the regulations.
suspension of NHI
https://www.nhi.gov.tw/english/Content_List.aspx?n=1E7F01DB3BBD5079&topn=778856C209BCE527
What to Do If Going Abroad for More than Six Months
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I’m sorry to say in practice, you are not allowed to leave the country for more than I year on an APARC, perhaps less.
To keep your APARC active longer, you must apply for permission first.
Otherwise, your APARC is void and all clocks are restarted to zero.
Assuming you might be married, you could get your joining family ARC and have all the rights you did as an APARC holder.
Because you left Taiwan because of a medical condition that may have affected your judgement, perhaps there may be a way to appeal. There are some legal minded people.
here.
But, intent is the key thing. If you asked permission to extend your leave due to medical conditions, you probably could have just kept filing leave requests as long as you could prove a valid reason for not returning. Sadly as it used to say on the back of our APARC, the APARC is not permanent.
I hope you are feeling better and wish you luck in finding a way back.
Perhaps, if you can find a way to prove you were unable to request permission… No false hope, but rules are made by people. Take care…
2 Years.
Let’s leave the Asia-Pacific Research Center out of this.
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Guys in the name of mercy stop calling the JFRV a marriage based APRC. If you have APRC, the same rules apply no matter how you got it, that is the beauty of it. A JFRV may seem similar as it comes with open work rights and even easier to get, but it is not an APRC.
If you do not apply for leave, you may lose the APRC. He may have some leeway because it is barely a year and under special circumstances.
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Not all APRC are created equal 
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Are you confusing JFVR with APRC?
@Icon, @tando is right about the APRC, it makes a LOT of difference if you got the APRC by staying in taiwan being married after many years, or by work. Even though they both are eventually APRCs, the ones that got one after being married have much less flexibility for staying out of the country than the ones that got because of work. Thus the whole rage of unfairness in other threads.
P.s: I have also confirmed with the related authorities the prevalent mess still continues.
No, no confusion between JFVR and the marriage APRC.
No.
You will loose your APRC if you stay away from Taiwan for too long if you had marriage based ARC prior. It is not as ‘permanent’ as it sounds.
If you had work based ARC you can stay out of Taiwan for 5 years without questions.
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The differences are clearly written in articles of laws pasted in my previous post.
Off topic:
Another difference is open work permit. People who got APRC via marriage have work right, so don’t need open work permit.
It was not true. Anyone with APRC via any way and a taiwanese spouse has work right.
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It is just that I see a lot of times people referring to the JFRV as APRC, especially in Facebook groups. That is very dangerous as stated regarding to how long you can stay out.
I am also getting Fed up with these exceptions and fine print, especially regarding married folk.
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iiuc, those word are for something like US immigration laws.
WTF Taiwan’s residency and citizenship laws are such a bloody mess.
Who the hell would have thought to have two different rules for folks on APRC who left the country and want to return ?
WTF logic is that ?
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The Banana Republic . My friend had his APRC cancelled a couple of years back for staying out too long. His was based on marriage too.
They could be creating some pretty disenfranchised radical people. 
I’m pretty sure there are zero fucks given from the govt or most Taiwanese .
I was thinking of getting APRC as may leave the country soon (he never said that before lol) but now it looks like there’s no need.
As long as my laobao fund is still accessible with or without ARC… .
I’ve thought about that fund , is it inaccessible if we leave ?
Don’t leave before me friend,.
No surrender 
Just curious, did they cancel it in country first and when he returned he got a surprise at immigration that it was cancelled or was it like the USA version where it’s still in force but then you show up to immigration and they refuse you entry and make you cancel it then and there ?
He got refused at immigration in Taoyuen international airport. , he was allowed on the plane from the UK to Taiwan . He’s back now but it took a few months of emails , phone calls, and much pleading…I would have to ask him.exact specifics.
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