I am a foreign citizen (female) who has been staying here for more than 4 years. I have a valid ARC due to my work.
My child is now 2 years old. Her father is Taiwanese.
I searched in the BOCA website and found under FAQ portion:
" Q: May my children apply for ROC passports if I am a ROC citizen but I am not married? A: If you are a male citizen and the natural mother of your children is an alien, they are eligible for ROC passports after being legally acknowledged by you. "
When I called BOCA to ask what steps are needed to legally acknowledge children born out of wedlock, they said “a marriage certificate.”
I am now confused.
Does anyone know how a male citizen can legally acknowledge his children? What steps are involved?
Your child’s Taiwanese parent can easily apply for an ROC passport for the child using a birth certificate or proof of guardianship and household registration. If the child’s foreign parent applies, it will be much more difficult. The child requires proof of legal ties to Taiwan. A marriage certificate would prove that one of the parents is Taiwanese; it will be a big problem without one.
I know it will be very difficult but it is possible, right?
Does anyone have a similar experience or know someone with such a problem?
A birth certificate could make matters simple but in the Philippines, a child born out of wedlock can’t include the father’s name in said certificate. Thus, my child’s birth certificate does not show her relationship to her Taiwanese father.
There must be another way to prove legal acknowledgement aside from the birth certificate.
In Chinese this problem is commonly referred to as the problem of making up the ticket.
In other words, on some long distance bus routes, you get on the bus first, and then you “make up the ticket.”
It is clear that in the situation in this thread, there were two people involved. Apparently the man climbed on the woman for the ride, and of course he did all sorts of interesting things like poking something inside her, etc. Now they have a baby. Hence, it is his responsibility to “make up the ticket,” which in this case means getting married.
What is the problem? If you don’t want to get married, then don’t have kids. If you want to have kids, get married. I believe that the traditional Taiwanese mindset is exactly this way, and it seems quite reasonable to me.
You have not offered any convincing rationale why this MAXIM should not apply in your case.
The criminal elements have another way of putting it, to wit: “If you are not willing to do the TIME, then don’t do the CRIME.” Same logic, different circumstances.
[quote=“Ayah72”]There must be another way to prove legal acknowledgement aside from the birth certificate.
Any helpful answers?[/quote]
Taiwan’s Civil Code Book IV Family Article 1067 stipulates the following:
A child born out of wedlock, or the mother, or other statutory agent may file a claim for acknowledgment from the child’s natural father in any of the following circumstances:
1. Where there is the fact that the natural father and mother cohabitated during the period when the child was conceived;
2. Where paternity can be proved from documents by the natural father;
3. Where the mother became pregnant through rape or seduction by the natural father; and or
4. Where the mother had sexual intercourse with the natural father due to his abuse of power.
The right to claim provided in the preceding paragraph is extinguished for (1) the child if not exercised within two years of his/her attaining majority age and (2) for the mother or other statutory agent if not exercised within seven years after the child’s birth.
Article 1068 The provisions of the preceding Article shall not apply where within the period of conception of the child the mother had sexual intercourse with a third person or was leading a licentious life.
If you can prove any of the 4 above-identified circumstances and Article 1068 does not apply to you, and the statute of limitations on this claim has not run out, then you can sue the natural father to force him to acknowledge paternity of your child.
Thank you, Tigerman. Your advice was very helpful although I am not sure I would like to sue the father of my child since we are still together. We do hope to marry in the future.
Duncan, I agree with you that having a baby is one’s responsibility but I also think that getting pregnant should not be the reason for marriage. I would have been making mistake after mistake.
A lot of marriages occur because a kid is coming. A lot of divorces also occur because of this. By then, the children are the ones to suffer.
I still believe that my decision to wait before getting married is the right one. After all, marriage is a very big risk. I wouldn’t want to be tied to the wrong man for the rest of my life. For your information, divorce is not allowed in the Philippines.
From reading your post I assume that you are a Fil-Chi right? I am glad to have read your post. Actually we have the same problem. But mine is quite different bec. I am holding both ROC Passport and ID and my live in partner is a “Amrikanong Hilaw”. I’ve also asked a lot of people regarding the same matter bec. hindi kami kasal ng partner ko. Why? Dahil maraming katarantaduhang dahilan. Nagsawa na nga ako ng kakahintay. I am not sure what’s going to happen next but all I care is my child’s future.
By the way, from what I was told a Chinese passport holder can apply for her kid’s ROC citizenship bec. the kid was born here kind of similar to the US law. Actually, it is better na hindi kayo kasal bec. Taiwan gives more right to the Legal Father to take the children if both parents will get divorced. Suggest ko lang sa’yo na wag kang magpakasal dito. If you decide to get married sa Pinas na lang but do not have it registered here bec. that is the same thing as getting married here.
Assuming the child was born here, then i imagine the fathers name will be shown on the birth certificate, if so, then this is all that is needed to go and register the child against he fathers household registration. Note though that the birth should have been registered within 30 days and so a fine will be payable for late filing, should not be much though.
If the fathers name is not on the birth certificate, then proof of fatherhood is simple to get, have a DNA test done at one of the local hospitals. This is normally accepted here, and certainly is accepted by the courts. Friends of ours have had to do this recently, albeit for different reasons, the cost i believe was about 15K for the DNA test.
