Thank you @tando for reminding me of that law/article.
I called 4 places tonight: TECO Atlanta, 僑委會 Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC), Dept. of Household Registration 內政部-戶政司, and National Immigration Agency (NIA) 內政部-移民署…long night
Overall Steps:
Apply for a TW passport at your local TECO office and get a visa in your newly minted TW passport so that you can enter into TW on it.
Upon arrival, immediately apply for 戶籍 Household Registration and your TARC/ARC 居留證.
Hopefully you can get that back within 15 days, so that you can apply for your family members and hopefully they will be able to change their visa into a JFRC (which is essentially a family based ARC)
You will need to apply for HHR/TARC:
Parent’s TW Passport copies
Parent’s Marriage needs to be registered in TW and get a copy of the “certificate” 謄本 from TW
Your Birth Certificate authenticated at TECO (then officially translated in TW)
FBI Report authenticated by TECO DC (only TECO DC can do background checks, and then officially translated in TW?)
2 photos
Health Exam done in TW
$1000 NT
Your foreign spouse will need for JFRC/ARC:
FBI background check authenticated at TECO DC (only TECO DC can do background checks, and then officially translated in TW?)
Medical exam in TW
Marriage certificate authenticated at TECO (then officially translated in TW)
Your TARC
1000 NT dollars
Photos (I think 2)
Official Visa from TECO (停留簽證, I think). because you can’t change from a landing visa to a ARC per NIA
Your children will need for JFRC/ARC
Vaccine/Immunization record authenticated at TECO (I believe)
Birth certificate authenticated at TECO (then officially translated in TW)
No Marriage Certificate
No FBI Background check necessary
1000 NT dollars?
Photos (I think 2)
Medical Exam (I think)
Official Visa from TECO (停留簽證, I think). because you can’t change from a landing visa to a ARC according to NIA
Conscription via Overseas Community Affairs Council:
There is NO conscription enlistment until you have established 戶籍 Household Registration HHR.
Thus, after I get HHR, which will most likely be in 2 years by staying over 270 days for 2 years my days will start counting for the draft as tando kindly quoted again above: since I am born after 1984, If I stay in TW longer than 183 days per calendar year for two years, I will be subject to the draft AFTER I obtain HHR.
Since I will be 37 by the time 2 years + 183 days rolls around, I should be good. Now where do I go when I turn 37 to make sure I’m off the conscription list? My local HHR office?
It’s late and I wanted to write this up before I forget. Will edit/update later.
Another thing, do you already have an ID number in your passport?
If you have that, you only need your TW passport to enter Taiwan, nothing else.
ROC passport without ID number isn’t even worth the paper it’s printed on, you couldn’t even travel visa free to most countries if it doesn’t have one…
Beacause foreign nationals are not tied to a local household registration, they therefor dont have one. One such arena i ran into was i could be part of the farmers coops and have farmers health insurance. When i got my aprc i lost it all. I went all over trying to get it back to which they just say impossible…and we are all on good terms.
Im not sure but this makes me wonder if it also affects the restricted fields for foreigners to open a business. Because im in forestry, agriculture and breeding, my wife opened a new company for convenience.
I don’t even have my passport yet, will be applying in the next couple of days. So initially I won’t have an ID number in my passport until I meet the 365 days straight in TW, 270 days per year for 2 years, or 183 days per year in 3 years requirement. Only then can I apply for HHR and then my National ID card.
Makes sense that its worth pretty much nothing, since I even have to get a 入台證 visa to even enter Taiwan on it…hahaha
Its a long story, short answer: no. Long answer: maybe i need to ask again in my new situation. But previously its was a flat no.
This isnt legal advice, but very real life experience advice. Though most of the protected job types not many foreigners will be doing, so my thoughts on this might not be super relavent to most. But very problematic if its your life or planning to do this. Having a local you trust gets you out of trouble sometimes but its insanely difficult and risky if a person doesnt have that person!! I know cause ive lost all once already, and it really really sucks. So play the game wisely.
Just be smart and think with your big head. Even if totally setup long term, dont let hormones rule the day. Lots of opportunity here with amazing people, but be diligent and thorough in your thinking.
Here is a wrap up of what I’ve found up so far. I am still gathering documents and haven’t sent it all the TECO but I feel fairly confident that I got all my questions answered to this point. We will see how smoothly it goes once I send everything to TECO and then goto Taiwan.
I hope this helps other people in the future. So I’ll start this “guide” over from scratch.
Abbreviations:
TW = Taiwan
戶籍 = Huji
My circumstances:
Parents are both born in TW and both hold TW Passports.
Parents initially got married in the US, but then registered the marriage at their local 戶籍 office in TW.
I was born in 1985 (民國74), so at the time of this article in 2019, I will be turning 34 in 2019.
I married an immigrant in the US, who is now a US citizen and holds a US passport.
I have a baby with a US passport.
I have not gotten a TW passport yet ever.
My Steps:
Apply for a TW passport, you will need:
-US Passport
-Copy of your Driver License
-Letter stating that your parents agree that you will use your fathers/mothers Chinese last name as your last name (TECO has a template you can use)
-TW Passport Application Form
-入台證 Application Form. Essentially a VISA that goes in your new TW passport that ALLOWS you to enter into TW on it.
-Marriage certificate from your parent’s 戶籍 office in TW stating that they are in fact married.
-4 passport sized photos (see TECO specs on this, they are super specific)
-$45 USD
Apply for Visitor Visas for my spouse and child
-If you arrive on a landing visa, TECO states that you cannot change from a landing visa to any other type of visa. So in order for my spouse and child to get an ARC (JFRC) they need to get a visitor visa so that they can then apply and get an ARC without leaving and coming back in.
-The lady at TECO ATL said that because I was applying for my TW passport that I didn’t need to provide an invitation letter or an airline itinerary to apply for the visitor visas for my family.
-$160 USD
Get documents from respective authorities in the US and have all of them authenticated by your local TECO office.
-FBI Background Check (for me and my spouse, this can ONLY be authenticated by TECO DC. This is needed to get your ARC in TW)
-My Marriage certificate (needed to get your child’s ARC/JFRV in TW)
-My child’s birth certificate (needed to get your child’s ARC/JFRV in TW)
-My child’s immunization record (this is probably needed to get my child’s ARC/JFRV)
-$15 USD per document
Goto TW and Bring to TW:
-FBI Background Check (authenticated by TECO DC)
-Birth Certificate (authenticated by TECO)
-Parents Marriage 戶籍謄本 (that you submitted to TECO)
Upon Arrival in TW:
4. Get this done
-Health Exam at a designated hospital
-2 passport photos per person
-1,000 NT
-Register at your local 戶籍 offic?
-Go get your Resident Certificate (forgot where, I think it was 內政部 戶政司or移民署？）
-After I get my Resident Certificate, I can then apply for my family’s Resident Certificate’s (ARC/JFRV)
Particulars:
-I need to stay in TW for 365 days in a row, at least 270 days per year for 2 years, or at least 183 days for 3 years in order to get Household Registration and then my 身份證 ID card. Day one of this count starts on the first day you get your resident ARC card.
-Per Overseas Affairs Commission (僑委會), I can’t be drafted without Household Registration.
-Once I achieve Household Registration, I need to have stayed in TW for over 183 days in a row to be drafted. If I plan to leave before 183 days I won’t be allowed unless I get some approval from my local Huji 戶籍 Office and possibly something else.
-On the year you turn 37, according to my birth year of 1985, I will no longer be subject to the draft.
-I’m not that worried about the draft because I am currently 34, and it will take me at least 2 years (2 years of staying at least 270 days in TW) in order for me to get my household registration. Once I get it, I need to wait 183 days before I can get drafted. By that time I’ll already be 37.
Things I need to figure out:
-Do I need to file something with somewhere when I turn 37 so I won’t be auto drafted into the military?
-Where is what department and where do I go first once I arrive in TW?
I will do my best to update this as I get going in the process. I still have another 2-3 months before I arrive.
Does anyone know if I can get birth certificates, marriage certificates, and other documents translated and notarized in Taiwan? TECO is saying that I can do it in Taiwan (probably so they don’t have to deal with it).
I would recommend doing that. They might refuse to do some documents or say you need a different version (e.g. long form birth/death certificate vs. short form). Check their website for the details.
I’m currently trying to do the same/similar thing and am still figuring out the process.
If you already plan to pass your documents through TECO, couldn’t you include the translations and save the additional step in TW? That’s how I did it. (my parents did the translating) You end up with both versions together under a stamped cover letter. Maybe each TECO is different - we were in the zone covered by DC.
So far I haven’t run into any problems but I haven’t applied for the TARC yet.
Well, of all the TECO offices I’ve dealt with so far (Houston, Atlanta, and DC) the ones who are supposed to authenticate my translations (Houston and Atlanta) are forever trying to push that responsibility to someone else. I’m tired of arguing with someone about what they should/are supposed to do as a service (and getting paid). Only the DC office was the nicest and most professional I’ve dealt with so far. Wish I were under their jurisdiction.
So I got to Taiwan and just submitted my paperwork to get my TARC to the NIA last week. Hope to get it sometime later this week.
Just to wrap up what I had to do to get it:
Medical Health Exam - I went to Renai Hospital as they accept walk-ins and the people there were super helpful. When you walk into the main entrance, its the 2 door on the left side (1st set of doors is a single door, 2nd set is a set of double doors). Pull out your passport and start filling out the form. You will be running around back and forth to a lot of counters and even to the 2nd floor to have your blood drawn and x-ray taken depending on which country you’re a resident of. You will also need 2 passport photos of yourself (tip: there is a super handy photo booth right in the main lobby of Renai Hospital as well as SEVERAL other locations search for " 誠和 證件快照機" on google maps).
*Both of your parents’ ACTUAL National ID cards and Taiwan Passports (photo copy the national ID cards front and back, passports main page w/ their photo)
*Both of your parents’ Household Registrations (戶籍謄本) from within the last 3 months (I think)
FBI background check (authenticated by in my case TECRO DC and translated). The NIA will take the ORIGINAL copy of this…
$1,000 NT
*Your Taiwanese Passport (make sure its signed, make a copy of the main page with your photo, and of the Visa you got to enter into Taiwan, and of your Entry stamp when you got into Taiwan)
*Your US Passport (make sure its SIGNED)
Application Form
*Your Birth Certificate (authenticated by TECO and translated) (PRO TIP: its WISE to ensure that when you get ANY document translated into Chinese to have EVERYWHERE it has your English name (maiden or married name) and parents names also have their respective Chinese name right next to it. Makes life easier)
1 passport photo (see photo booth option above in the medical health exam bullet)
*means you need to make a copy of this (tip: making copies at the NIA office is only 2 NT, while at 7-11 its 3 NT).
Translation tip: I was done dealing with the TECO offices in the US so I opted to just have my documents authenticated by them and not have them authenticate the translation or do the translation (I hear that the Toronto office will offer to translate it for you for a fee of course…how nice). So when I arrived to Taiwan I paid someone out the nose for translations and notarizations. Have your parents or someone do a rough translation in the US or even pay some online company to do it for you and then get it notarized by your local bank who usually does this for free if you’re a client. When you get it notarized, make sure they say that the translation is a “true copy” of the original document. Then TECO will need to authenticate the translation as well. Or you can opt to have them authenticated together. Notary fees in Taiwan are pretty expensive, or maybe I got ripped.
As for kids finding a daycare/preschool/summer camp in Taiwan:
Probably best to call ahead before you goto Taiwan at least a couple months (earlier the better) in advance because the good places get booked up FAST and you will be on the waiting list for awhile. Some require that you tour the place but hopefully you can get around it or have your relative in Taiwan tour (usually not the case for summer camp) it for you so that you can be put down on the list.
Once your kiddo gets into a school the school they will want to see a 寶寶手冊 (I don’t think summer camps care to see this), which is a small booklet that you can get free by bringing your kiddo’s passport and immunization record to your local district’s health office (for example I went to Daan District’s Health Office 大安區健康服務中心) and they will prepare one for you FREE of charge. As of now I didn’t need to have my kid’s immunization record authenticated, but we will see when I apply for a JFRV/ARC for them.
Will update when:
After I go through the JFR/ARC process for my family members
What happens after I fulfill my staying requirements to get Household Registration and thus my National ID.
Conscription situation
Questions I still have:
My kiddo can’t apply for a TARC based on my lineage alone right? (My wife is not of Taiwanese descent) And if my kid was able to apply based on my lineage alone, she would have to wait until I got my National ID/HHR to even start applying for her Taiwan Passport right?
When and how do we get National Health Insurance?
When do the days start counting once I receive my TARC? from when I first entered Taiwan or when I was issued my TARC? I think its when I first entered Taiwan.
Once I fulfill my residency requirements under my TARC to apply for the National ID and HHR, if I don’t apply for my National ID and HHR, can I still be drafted? I’m hoping I can drag it out on my TARC until the year I turn 37 and then get it.
When your wife joins you on a JFRV she has to wait 6 months to get the National Health Insurance.
Look into this about the upcoming birth of your child. This might increase the cost for you if she has to give birth without insurance. The birth is still way cheaper out of pocket here than in the US, but it might cost 2k-3k USD depending on the type of birth (natural, C-section).