Jimi more hogwash from you. Who says you need to join the army in order to be able to vote in elections?
I undertand why the OP wants ROC Nationality even if you dont.
Woman and other men who are ROC nationals who do not serve in the military still get to vote Jimipresley…
[quote=“spaint”]You can’t leave the country in those 12 months if you want the process to be completed as quickly as possible, and you’re correct in that you can’t be drafted until you have your household registration.
From memory, the three ways of completing the residency requirement for household registration after getting your Taiwan Area Resident Card are as follows:
You can still get drafted until December 31st of the year in which you turn 36 (2012 for me).[/quote]
Even if you are still under 35 and have completed the one year you dont need to apply for the ID Card part until after yourr turn 35… Cooling Tower did this… he just made sure he passed his 35th birthday even thouygh he had the 12 months into get his ID card.
We have all the answers. 
Jimi more hogwash from you. Who says you need to join the army in order to be able to vote in elections?
I undertand why the OP wants ROC Nationality even if you dont.
Woman and other men who are ROC nationals who do not serve in the military still get to vote Jimipresley…[/quote]
Duh, Satellite. Why don’t you tell the uneducated amongst us exactly why the OP needs “ROC nationality” (there’s an oxmoron)?
He’s getting out of an unhappy marriage and will do quite adequately with an APRC. You suggest he throws away 18 months of his life “serving” in a token, ineffective “army” just so that he can vote?
If you had bothered reading the thread you will realize he will never have to serve. OPen your eyes laddie or take a comprehension lesson.
I feel there’s been some misunderstanding about my background and my options.
At the time of writing it was IMPOSSIBLE to apply for an APRC because I did not have my 納稅證明書 (Income Tax Statements) for the last two years and could not get them in a timely because my estranged wife would not sign a Power of Attorney for me to get them.
I had the income tax statement from three years ago because I was listed as the primary taxpayer. I also had documents showing lists of my personal tax burdens over the last three years, but those lists were insufficient because the APRC requirements expressly request BOTH tax lists AND tax statements.
Ironically, the requirements for naturalization are merely proof of income, and the checklist goes on to state that 扣繳憑單 (withholding statements) are adequate.
Thanks in no small part to the good members of this site, I am aware that there are many ways to avoid being drafted if I’m 35 when my household registration comes through. Nonetheless, I’m also able to accept the possibility that I might have to do service of some kind. To me today, these elements are not important. What I really want right now is a residency solution in the shortest time possible so that I can sign a divorce paper the next time my wife is marginally stable.
I started this thread primarily because my naturalization case might prove problematic. I am married, but I want to apply as an independent individual because the application process for a spouse involves an interview with the “happy” couple to ensure that people are not marrying for the sake of obtaining an ROC passport. The problem in my case is that the HR officers are unable to inform me in advance whether immigration will actually accept my application as an independent or go ahead and interview my wife regardless.
Needless to say, such an interview would be disastrous.
Now for today’s update to my situation.
I received a call yesterday from the wife telling me that she would give me the power of attorney document. I’ve had this call several times and it’s been a waste of time, but somehow this time it wasn’t. After an awfully long evening that I won’t go into I finally returned home with a signed and dated document to get my Income Tax Statements.
That threw my entire plan into disarray. I had been entirely prepared to try my luck at naturalization and instead I found that I would be able to apply for my APRC after all. I believe (but cannot prove) that my application for an APRC is more likely to be successful than naturalization. I also believe that it will be significantly quicker and so I went to get my income tax statements.
I assembled my documents and went to the NIA offices in Taipei. I had an awfully long wait because the officer who deals with APRC applications was absent, his backup was busy, and I understandably didn’t have an appointment.
Incredibly, and after all my stressing over the last few weeks, the lady at the counter told me that the requirements for Income Tax Statements had been scrapped LAST WEEK! She tried to be nice and told me that maybe part of the reason was because I’d made such a fuss over the issue two weeks ago. I felt so ill I nearly burst into tears. At least now any other unfortunates who made the mistake of allowing wifey to file taxes on their behalf will not be screwed over by their lack of understanding of the tax code.
I ended up submitting my documents today for my APRC. The most time-sensitive and difficult item to get is my UK police record check, which was issued on May 11. It’s validity will expire on August 10 for APRC purposes. The nice part is that should my application for my APRC be rejected on whatever spurious grounds are found, aside from making an appeal, I should still be able to attempt naturalization because (and correct me if I’m wrong here) the foreign criminal background check has a validity of SIX months when using it for naturalization.
Sorry for the long-winded and rambling post. It’s been a crazy month and I can only hope that the end is in sight.
I don’t really care that much about voting, but I would like to be able to live independently here instead of effectively being a chattel of my wife. 20 months of military service will be nothing compared to the last eight years.[/quote]
Hey, mate. I feel your pain. That’s got to be an awful situation. So you’ll be happy to know it’s more like 9 months now (or 10 or 11…). :discodance:
加油!I’m also on the point of applying. My only frustration at the moment is that it’ll take the SA gvt around four months to process my renunciation…
[quote=“spaint”]I feel there’s been some misunderstanding about my background and my options.
At the time of writing it was IMPOSSIBLE to apply for an APRC because I did not have my 納稅證明書 (Income Tax Statements) for the last two years and could not get them in a timely because my estranged wife would not sign a Power of Attorney for me to get them.
I had the income tax statement from three years ago because I was listed as the primary taxpayer. I also had documents showing lists of my personal tax burdens over the last three years, but those lists were insufficient because the APRC requirements expressly request BOTH tax lists AND tax statements.
Ironically, the requirements for naturalization are merely proof of income, and the checklist goes on to state that 扣繳憑單 (withholding statements) are adequate.
Thanks in no small part to the good members of this site, I am aware that there are many ways to avoid being drafted if I’m 35 when my household registration comes through. Nonetheless, I’m also able to accept the possibility that I might have to do service of some kind. To me today, these elements are not important. What I really want right now is a residency solution in the shortest time possible so that I can sign a divorce paper the next time my wife is marginally stable.
I started this thread primarily because my naturalization case might prove problematic. I am married, but I want to apply as an independent individual because the application process for a spouse involves an interview with the “happy” couple to ensure that people are not marrying for the sake of obtaining an ROC passport. The problem in my case is that the HR officers are unable to inform me in advance whether immigration will actually accept my application as an independent or go ahead and interview my wife regardless.
Needless to say, such an interview would be disastrous.
Now for today’s update to my situation.
I received a call yesterday from the wife telling me that she would give me the power of attorney document. I’ve had this call several times and it’s been a waste of time, but somehow this time it wasn’t. After an awfully long evening that I won’t go into I finally returned home with a signed and dated document to get my Income Tax Statements.
That threw my entire plan into disarray. I had been entirely prepared to try my luck at naturalization and instead I found that I would be able to apply for my APRC after all. I believe (but cannot prove) that my application for an APRC is more likely to be successful than naturalization. I also believe that it will be significantly quicker and so I went to get my income tax statements.
I assembled my documents and went to the NIA offices in Taipei. I had an awfully long wait because the officer who deals with APRC applications was absent, his backup was busy, and I understandably didn’t have an appointment.
Incredibly, and after all my stressing over the last few weeks, the lady at the counter told me that the requirements for Income Tax Statements had been scrapped LAST WEEK! She tried to be nice and told me that maybe part of the reason was because I’d made such a fuss over the issue two weeks ago. I felt so ill I nearly burst into tears. At least now any other unfortunates who made the mistake of allowing wifey to file taxes on their behalf will not be screwed over by their lack of understanding of the tax code.
I ended up submitting my documents today for my APRC. The most time-sensitive and difficult item to get is my UK police record check, which was issued on May 11. It’s validity will expire on August 10 for APRC purposes. The nice part is that should my application for my APRC be rejected on whatever spurious grounds are found, aside from making an appeal, I should still be able to attempt naturalization because (and correct me if I’m wrong here) the foreign criminal background check has a validity of SIX months when using it for naturalization.
Sorry for the long-winded and rambling post. It’s been a crazy month and I can only hope that the end is in sight.[/quote]
If they took the APRC application, then you are if not 100% sure, then fairly sure that they will give you the APRC. Good luck with it.
And - honestly, the problems you have are only starting, getting the divorce will be the hard part.
[quote=“spaint”]It’s been a crazy month and I can only hope that the end is in sight.[/quote]I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for you and hoping to congratulate you on obtaining the APRC in a few weeks. 
[quote=“spaint”]I started this thread primarily because my naturalization case might prove problematic. I am married, but I want to apply as an independent individual because the application process for a spouse involves an interview with the “happy” couple to ensure that people are not marrying for the sake of obtaining an ROC passport. The problem in my case is that the HR officers are unable to inform me in advance whether immigration will actually accept my application as an independent or go ahead and interview my wife regardless.
Needless to say, such an interview would be disastrous.
Now for today’s update to my situation.
I received a call yesterday from the wife telling me that she would give me the power of attorney document. I’ve had this call several times and it’s been a waste of time, but somehow this time it wasn’t. After an awfully long evening that I won’t go into I finally returned home with a signed and dated document to get my Income Tax Statements.
That threw my entire plan into disarray. I had been entirely prepared to try my luck at naturalization and instead I found that I would be able to apply for my APRC after all. I believe (but cannot prove) that my application for an APRC is more likely to be successful than naturalization. I also believe that it will be significantly quicker and so I went to get my income tax statements…[/quote]
Nope actually marriage is not part of the requirement I got divorced during my citizenship processing. Getting ROC Nationality card has nothing todo with an ongoing or marriage in distress or even a divorce during the procedure.
Let alone you dont need to be married to apply for ROC nationality anyways. Gov Attache was divorced and got his and Cooling Tower and others were never married in the first place.
Yes, indeed![/quote]
Then he can look forward to having to apply for visas for pretty much anywhere he plans to travel…
[quote=“Satellite TV”]Nope actually marriage is not part of the requirement I got divorced during my citizenship processing. Getting ROC Nationality card has nothing todo with an ongoing or marriage in distress or even a divorce during the procedure.
Let alone you dont need to be married to apply for ROC nationality anyways. Gov Attache was divorced and got his and Cooling Tower and others were never married in the first place.[/quote]
I read a posting from you somewhere on here about getting divorced during the processing and actually, it was your case that prompted me to consider nationality. If you don’t mind me asking, at what point during the process did you get divorced and what kind of ARC did you have at the time?
Do you have any idea what kind of visa Govt-attache was on when he applied? I have the feeling that he had a working ARC whereas mine is a JFRV. That’s why I’m concerned (as are the Household Registration people) that my case would be treated as a spouse rather than independent.
In fact, it’s possible that the APRC people will want to interview my wife. I’ll know more next week. I could very well be getting right back on the citizenship wagon before too long.
Yes, indeed![/quote]
Then he can look forward to having to apply for visas for pretty much anywhere he plans to travel…[/quote]
Aside from the fact that the UK allows its ex-nationals to regain citizenship in several different ways, this really isn’t an issue for me. Even if I couldn’t get my citizenship back I’d still be considering it because I live here. I haven’t lived in the UK since I was 16.
That’s what citizenship’s about, right? It’s a commitment to a place. If the price of committing to Taiwan is being drafted or having trouble getting visas to other countries then so be it. If those “other countries” were so great I’d be living there, wouldn’t I? 
[quote=“spaint”]I read a posting from you somewhere on here about getting divorced during the processing and actually, it was your case that prompted me to consider nationality. If you don’t mind me asking, at what point during the process did you get divorced and what kind of ARC did you have at the time?
Do you have any idea what kind of visa Govt-attache was on when he applied? I have the feeling that he had a working ARC whereas mine is a JFRV. That’s why I’m concerned (as are the Household Registration people) that my case would be treated as a spouse rather than independent.
[color=#0000FF]That’s what citizenship’s about, right? It’s a commitment to a place. If the price of committing to Taiwan is being drafted or having trouble getting visas to other countries then so be it. If those “other countries” were so great I’d be living there, wouldn’t I? [/color]:)[/quote]
[color=#0000FF]EXACTLY[/color]
I had an ARC based on Marriage… but it was pre 2000 and we divorced after I had received permission to renounce my Australian Nationality. As I said it is not up to the household registry peple to determine your status. Being a spouse is irrelevent you only need to meet the residential requirement period. There is nothing on the application form that lists your marital status as determining your application.
Gov Attache had the APRC but needed citizenship. As a foreigner with an APRC their are still some things you can’t do that you can do as a citizen. Yes he renounced his British Nationality and resumed it later on too.
Not so for many countries visas are not required. Also the UK and Ireland have announced visa fee entry and European Union is going to announce visa free entry for ROC NAtionals next year. The US is also considering doing the same next year as Taiwanese are not overstayers.
Not that getting a visa is a problem. If your only reason for not wanting ROC Nationality is that you might require to apply for a visa to travel to anotehr country then that is a sad reflection on you.
I travel to China frequently and can stay for the legnth of my visa and work there. I have friends resident in Taiwan who bitch about getting a double entry visa that costs them a few hundred US$.
I soon go to Korea and Japan and do not require visas to travel there either.
Even you Chris still need a visa for some countries, such as Australia for instance. A visa itself does not guarantee you will be admitted to any country in anycase. You can still be denied entry at an immigration port.
Was that permission from the Australian government to renounce, or permission from Taiwan to go ahead and renounce?
It’s not the household registry people who determine status. They have to forward cases up the chain to immigration officers. However, the rules for naturalization of spouses and naturalization of other legal residents are different; spouses need only wait three years (instead of five) before applying, the language and financial requirements are relaxed, and most unfortunately for people like me, there is a requirement to interview husband and wife. I guess that wasn’t necessary when you applied.
The guy who does APRC interviews at the NIA is still off work. I still have to wait to learn when I can go for my interview. The suspense is killing me. I keep thinking I should have just made the naturalization application.
[quote=“spaint”][quote=“Satellite TV”]
I had an ARC based on Marriage… but it was pre 2000 and we divorced after I had received permission to renounce my Australian Nationality. As I said it is not up to the household registry peple to determine your status. Being a spouse is irrelevent you only need to meet the residential requirement period. There is nothing on the application form that lists your marital status as determining your application.
[/quote]
Was that permission from the Australian government to renounce, or permission from Taiwan to go ahead and renounce?
It’s not the household registry people who determine status. They have to forward cases up the chain to immigration officers. However, the rules for naturalization of spouses and naturalization of other legal residents are different; spouses need only wait three years (instead of five) before applying, the language and financial requirements are relaxed, and most unfortunately for people like me, there is a requirement to interview husband and wife. I guess that wasn’t necessary when you applied.
The guy who does APRC interviews at the NIA is still off work. I still have to wait to learn when I can go for my interview. The suspense is killing me. I keep thinking I should have just made the naturalization application.[/quote]
From Taiwan… Once you have that the immigration officers cant stop your processing especially if you have also renounced your own nationality.
An update.
I went back to the UK for a couple of weeks to relax away from the realities of immigration and divorce. While I was away my office got a call saying that my APRC had been approved. After I returned, I went in and paid the money and I’ll pick it up in a couple of weeks.
So that’s that. Once I’d gotten past the tax issue, actually obtaining my APRC was not quite as difficult as the people at the NIA had led me to believe. I think that in hindsight, this has been the best thing for me to do in my current situation, leading (as I previously said) to the fastest residency solution possible.
I’d like to thank everyone on this board who posted their comments of support and advice, and I hope that those of you involved in your own immigration issues (especially Bismarck) are able to complete their applications satisfactorily and with a minimum of hassle.
Now, as Mr. He said, I believe I’ll find the hard part will be actually getting my ex-wife to sign divorce papers. Perhaps I’ll do it via the UK courts.
Way to go! Congratulations.
It can be very difficult to get a foreign divorce decree enforced in Taiwan for reasons that are too complicated to explain. You will need to find a Taiwanese lawyer who realy understands the business of enforcing foreign judgments in Taiwan and work with them and your UK lawyer. This will be very expensive unfortunately.
Don’t start proceedings in the UK until you have done the spadework in Taiwan to get the UK judgment enforced here. In particular, it is very unlikely that a Taiwan court will enforce a divorce decree from a UK where your wife never appeared in the UK court (even if she refuses to go there).
Congratulations on the APRC. Good luck with the divorce.
[quote=“Feiren”]
It can be very difficult to get a foreign divorce decree enforced in Taiwan for reasons that are too complicated to explain. [/quote]
Feiren, thanks for this information. It’s been invaluable for me and compelled me to get off my own ass and seek legal advice.
Unfortunately, it seems that the Taiwanese court would essentially reevaluate the divorce issued by the UK court in such a way as I might as well seek a divorce in a Taiwanese court in the first place. I guess I’ll have to try an alternative strategy.
Feiren, thanks for this information. It’s been invaluable for me and compelled me to get off my own ass and seek legal advice.
Unfortunately, it seems that the Taiwanese court would essentially reevaluate the divorce issued by the UK court in such a way as I might as well seek a divorce in a Taiwanese court in the first place. I guess I’ll have to try an alternative strategy.[/quote]
Well just settle in with your APRC… now you can breath easy. I hope you told you wife you have that now. She might now realize the futility of trying to scare you now she doesnt have that hold on your residency status. It might even calm her down a bit… or not as the case maybe.
congrats on the APRC. 