Hmm, ok i should call my local TECO office in the US then to apply for her passport.
Great will need to see if they can force me to register or something…
around 1,000 NT per document (2 notarized copies of each document were included in this charge)
Last I checked it was $750 for certification (認證) as opposed to notarization (公證) by a court notary, for birth/marriage/death certificates at least, and you could get I think 5 copies at a time, if you paid $2 for each extra page.
Picked up my TARC today and some notes about that:
- On the application I had the NIA text me when my TARC was ready. On the 8th day I just called them in the morning to check on the status of it and it was already done and ready. Later in the afternoon around 2:30pm was when I received the text. So maybe it would’ve been done earlier.
- You pick up your TARC downstairs (Taipei City NIA) at counter/window 35. No number necessary.
- When you goto the NIA to pickup your TARC, don’t forget to bring your TW Passport, you can register for e-gate right near the front entrance on the left for free and it takes 3 minutes (if there’s no line). e-gate allows you a quicker entry/exit at the airport.
- If and when your TARC expires, 30 days prior, you need to take your parents National IDs to the NIA and fill out some paperwork to renew your TARC.
Also, went to try to apply for the JFRV for my wife:
- Being that our registered residence is in 新北市 New Taipei City, we were unable to goto the NIA in Taipei, so we had to make a trek to Zhonghe. Will They estimated more than 14 days of processing time. I will call back in 7-10 days to see what the status is. You will need to provide some type of proof of address (rental contract or because they are JFRV based on me, my TARC worked as well).
- Initial JFRV is only good for 1 year.
Asked around some more and thanks to @tando and @manganate got some answers for my questions:
so as described, my kids can, like I did, get their Taiwan passport and their TARC through their grandparents (my parents). I did not know this prior, and TECO told me I need to get a visitor visa (停留簽證) for my kids in their US passports so that they can get their JFRV based on being my kids. So, I paid for the TW visitor visas for nothing (there goes $100+ USD). Now, I need coordinate sending documents back to TECO in the states to apply for a TW passport and a 入台證 entry visa in the TW passport for my kid. Then my wife will need to leave the country with our kid and come back with our kiddo using her TW passport so that she can then apply for her ARC. Great, more time and expenses 
Thanks for the link!
Yep, asked the officer today, its the day when your TARC was issued.
Yep, don’t ask and they won’t tell. Officer said ONCE you fulfill your residency requirements under the TARC, you have 2 years to go back to the NIA and get some type of certificate saying you’ve fulfilled your residency requirements which allows you to go register your household registration and thus get your National ID. So, I have 3 years (1 year to fulfill the residency requirement and 2 years to wait) which is plenty enough time for me to turn 37.
Now for my last round of questions and next steps:
*Will be giving birth to our 2nd child later this year in Taiwan:
- Will I still need to get our 2nd kid’s passport in the US first? or can we get it in Taiwan? How do we get the TARC for this child? or because she will be born here we just need to prove that her grandparents are both Taiwan nationals with HHR she will automatically get her national ID?
- What documents do I need to apply for her US passport and US social security card?
To edit my previous post:
Long story short after talking to NIA and TECO again and again, for my kid who was born in the US and is not of adult age yet (I think its 20, but don’t quote me on that) has 2 paths to becoming a Taiwanese National with Household Registration.
PATH 1:
Exact same thing like what I had to do before coming to Taiwan, apply for a Taiwanese passport and entry visa through my parents (my child’s grandparents). Then enter into Taiwan on that passport, apply for TARC, stay on TARC for 365 days in a row or 270 days per year for 2 years, or 183 days per year for 5 years (I think?). And then she can get her Household Registration and thus National ID card.
PATH 2:
Apply for a ARC based on my TARC and once I get my Household Registration and National ID card, she can pretty much instantly get her Household Registration and National ID card since she is a minor.
So since we’re already in Taiwan, and applying for a Taiwan Passport (could possibly do it in Hong Kong, but the NIA told me to call them to make sure) would be a pain and we’d have to leave the country and enter back in on it would cost more than the $100+ USD to get the ARC, we are just going to ARC route. Then when I get my Household Registration in 2022, she can get it.
Will make sure with the NIA again tomorrow that this is in fact true before plopping down more money.
To answer this, I found this link to the AIT now in Neihu: Birth of U.S. Citizens Abroad
So after yet another visit to the NIA (the one in Zhonghe for New Taipei City), one of the friendly volunteers there manning the number ticket system got the head of the office to talk to me about my situation and give us the final word on what to do for my daughter.
So as an EDIT to my previous post, there is ONLY ONE path for my daughter because she was born BEFORE I became a full Taiwanese national with household registration. And as an aside, even though my 2nd kid will be born later this year, I will still be on my TARC even my 2nd kid shouldn’t be able to directly get household registration since her father (me) will still be on his TARC.
Thus the hopefully final word from the horse’s mouth (or one of the horses) is that:
- I will have to get my Household Registration first
- THEN my kids who are under 20 who were born BEFORE I got my household registration will need to get their passports from a TECO office (not necessarily the one where I have nationality, for example even though my local TECO office in the US is Atlanta, I an still personally goto the office in Hong Kong)
- My kids will need to enter into Taiwan on their ROC Taiwan passports and get their TARC and stay the 365 days in a row/ >270 days a year in 2 years/over 183 days a year for 5 years to get their household registration and Taiwanese IDs.
Whew, a lot of back and forth. Hope a mod can help me delete or edit my previous posts (or cross out the erroneous “paths”).
Overall, it will take at least 2 full years for myself and my kids to get their Household Registrations / Taiwanese IDs. The issue for me is that I was planning on staying until end of 2021 or January 2022 so that I can skip out on conscription/military draft. But that will put my kids getting their Taiwanese IDs / Household Registration around early 2023. So I may just bite the bullet next year and get drafted hoping I can get into the 1-week training since I’ll have 2 kids under 3 years old so that my kids can get their status by 2021.
Hope this helps someone…
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Ok update again (Dec 22, 2019)
So we had our 2nd daughter and this is what happened in the meantime.
Having a kid in Taiwan while you are a National WITHOUT Household Registration:
- After your kid is born in Taiwan, you have 60 days to register him/her Household Registration (HHR) if you can get it or else you’ll be fined… The hospital will give you birth certificate copies (usually 3) and they can also issue you English Birth certificates as well.
- If you are a Taiwanese National WITHOUT HHR (like I am right now, since I have my Taiwanese passport but no National ID), and your kid was born while you had this in TAIWAN (I’m not sure if it matters if the kid was born in Taiwan or not) then your kid can get their HHR immediately. So we applied for her HHR under he grandmother (need to prove the lineage through my birth certificate, my parent’s Household Registration “transcript” 戶籍謄本, my marriage certificate, and my daughters birth certificate, as well as a bunch if IDs), then applied for her passport and her National Health Insurance. You can usually apply for National Health Insurance in the same place you applied for HHR, and they’ll mail you the card in about a week. Honestly, while it was a bit of running around, every department I went to was quick and smooth. obviously just make sure you have all your documents in order.
- Your kid cannot get his/her national ID until they are 14 years old.
Applying for US documentation:
This was fairly straight forward as well:
- You will need to take your English birth certificate from the taiwan hospital and apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) as well as your kid’s first US Passport at the same time all at AIT. You need to make an appointment beforehand and make SURE to have all your documentation in order when you go. I was surprised to see so many people going to AIT without all the documentation ready…
- You will need 2 (I think its 2) US-sized (2in x 2in) passport photos. Of course it will be HARD to get a good photo with a white background of your newborn with zero neck muscle. Just take a photo of his/her on a white bed sheet lying down. Take the digital image to a photo print shop and they can edit the image for you to suit your needs. (Damn printing photos is cheap compared to the US).
- Your CRBA acts as your birth certificate and another proof of US citizenship for US purposes. Keep it safe.
- Once you get your passport and CRBA in the mail (usually 2-3 weeks), you need to schedule another appointment with AIT to get a COPY of the passport and CRBA and one of the parent’s US passport’s notarized to send to Manila to get your kid’s social security card. You don’t want to send the original copies so thats why you need to get the copies of the documents notarized by AIT. This was free of charge (nice!).
- Social Security card processing time per Manila embassy is something like 1 to 6 MONTHS…ya I know crazy, I submitted mine 1-2 weeks ago and will see how long it takes.
The ongoing Saga of my other kid (born in the US when I DID NOT have my TW passport yet):
We met a mom going through the same thing as us, and she said she hired a lawyer and took 5-6 roundtrips to Hong Kong to finally get her kid’s TW passports based on the kid’s grandparents so that they all could apply (by apply I really mean stay in taiwan for the necessary period of time to get Household Registration) at the same time without wasting another year of time like my other post said.
So I called my TECO office in the US and surprisingly THIS TIME (I asked them about this before) she said oh yes we can do that…So I gathered all of our documents and I just sent them over…SUPPOSEDLY, TECO US offices aren’t supposed to help me because I’m in Taiwan right now…but to hell with it, I’m sending it to them anyways it doesn’t make any sense to me. I can’t get my kid’s TW passport in Taiwan, and they are my local US representative office…so we will see how it goes.
After typing this, it got me thinking since my sister is in the same boat BUT she got her TW passport in the US way before she even had her first kid. Although, she never entered into Taiwan on it, and all of her kids were born in the US, I wonder if they can directly get their Taiwanese HHR…will go back to National Immigration Agency to find out…
After all is said and done, I might create another post or wiki about it. Have any questions? please respond to this post or message me.
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Wow, i thought it was a challenge to get a tarc for myself, but damn when you have your family coming with you, and a baby coming also, congratulations by the way.
I’m gonna be able to get my Taiwanese citizenship on december 31, anyone know if i could do the medical health exam before the 365 days or should i do it after, i might be able to vote if i can speed up that, i remember it took like 10-14 days to get the result or is it another kind of medical exam?
Yes, you can do your Health check before your 365 day “jail sentence” is up…It’s what I did too…I went to the hospital about 2 weeks before my 1-year was up and got my results back about 10 days later…just in time for me to walk into the HHR to get my ID. Health checks have a validity period of 3 mths anyway so you can go in and do it early.
Cheers and congratulations in advance on getting your TW citizenship finally!!! That 1 year seemed like 5 years to me 
Congratulations to @scrubolio too …wish you the best!
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Well thx for the answer @springonion, i just went to wanhua household office i asked about the medical exam they said they don’t need that for an id, i don’t know if they knew what i was talking about my tarc and not leaving Taiwan for a year, Can you tell me everything i need to bring for the id?
Edit : i just left the immigration office, funny thing is that you have to remember yourself the date of your last entry in Taiwan, they told me they need the medical exam and others stuff so they can give me that “jail free paper”.
I’m lost now, what should i give to who
The HHR is only responsible for issuing ID’s…they don’t inspect Health certificates, and yes, you’re right, they probably had no idea what you’re talking about (TARC, “Jail sentence” etc). To get the Taiwan ID after being on a TARC for a year (or 2 or 5 years), what the HHR needs is a document called the “定居證 (Certificate of continuous residence in the ROC or as you put it, “the jail free paper” 
)”. This 定居證 is only issued by the NIA and they will issue it to you after you spent a year on a TARC and with a Health Check. Didn’t the NIA give you a piece of paper (after you received the TARC) with detailed instructions on what to do and what documents to collect when you come back after a year?
I have wrote in detail on this forum on the exact steps I took from DAY 1 till I got my ID. Although it was almost 4 years ago and I went the Naturalization route (parents were not Taiwanese), some of the steps are still the same while some major changes also took place (i.e one doesn’t have to renounce their original citizenship BEFORE becoming a National)…you can read it here—> How to get Taiwan Citizenship - Primer, FAQ, and Resources … If you don’t wanna read all that, you can skip directly to post no: 1232 How to get Taiwan Citizenship - Primer, FAQ, and Resources which applies to your case.
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Hey thx, i guess it was my mistake i thought the medical check was for the HHR, and it doesn’t make any sense, yes the medical check is for the immigration, i will do my medical, don’t know if i will get my id before the election but at least i tried
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They have an hard to read instruction in English on their webpage.
https://www.immigration.gov.tw/5475/5478/141465/141808/141950/
0305 Notices for the Application of National without Registered Permanent Household in Taiwan Area for Residence after Continuous residence or residence for certain period of time
it is so hard to read, so I paste and reformat it here.
Governing laws:
Article 9 and 16 of Immigration Act (hereinafter the Immigration Act)。
Article 24 to 26 of Regulations Governing the application for residency in Taiwan Area of national without registered permanent residence in the Taiwan Area
Subjects:
Omitted by me
Required documents:
- Residence application, with one color photo without hat (the same specification of photo for ID card)
- Residence certificate of Taiwan Area
- Certificate of existence of original reason for residence, e.g.: original, copy of the household registry or ID card (the original will be returned after verification) of relative with registered permanent residence in the Taiwan Area for residence from dependent relative; the certificate of study for residence for the purpose of study; the working permit for residence for the purpose of work.
- The satisfactory health examination report within latest three months (the examination must be managed by public or private hospitals appointed by Ministry of Health and Welfare as well as satisfactory to the health examination checklist [table B]; children under the age of six may use vaccination certificate as alternative.
- Other related certificates: for example, enclose parenting blood relationship certificate and the certificate of no marriage during the conception period (the conception period shall be from the 181 day to 302 day calculated retroactively from the birthday of child) certified by Overseas Office, representative office and other institutions authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be enclosed if the applicant for the residence dependent to relative is pregnant before getting married and the mother is a national without registered permanent residence. However, it is exempted if preceding certificates have been enclosed as applying for residence.
- POA: the POA shall be enclosed for application managed by agent and the agent shall sign or affix seal on the signature/seal of agent in person.
- The self-addressed envelope with postage stamps for registered mail and the name, zip code and telephone of recipient
- The person who was born in China shall have certificates proving that he/she does not have no household registered in China or collect passport of China certified by Straits Exchange Foundation (hereinafter the SEF) enclosed otherwise.
- Certificate with correct registered household address: refer to household registry, ID card, house ownership certificate, latest house tax statement or original, copy of lease agreement (either one of five, the original will be returned upon verification). However, it is exempted if the registered household address is the same as the dependent relative with permanent residence in Taiwan Area and his/her ID card (or household registry).
- The application of those who acquire permission of residence as an overseas legislator, has special contributions to the country and the society, or is a senior professional personnel as needed in the Taiwan Area and his/her spouse (the marriage shall be survived over three years, except there is child born in the duration of marriage) and minor children for permanent residence in Taiwan Area shall be applied mutatis mutandis to regulations of required documents as set forth in preceding paragraph.
Place of application: service centers of the NIA in all municipal cities, counties (cities)
Certificate fee: NT$ 600
Time as required for the review: seven days (excluding the reception day, holidays, document supplementation and mailing period)
Notices:
- The application for permanent residence in Taiwan area shall be filed within two years after the applicant has continuously or resided or in the area for certain period of time. If the information regarding the application for residence in Taiwan Area is unsatisfactory or insufficient, it shall be corrected within fifteen days from the next day of receiving written notice of NIA (the correction period shall be three months if the application information shall be applied to foreign country or the application is managed abroad). For failure to make correction by deadline, the NIA will reject its application.
- If the applicant’s relative with registered permanent residence in the Taiwan Area is deceased, or has divorced from the relative with registered permanent residence in the Taiwan Area, has resided continuously or for a certain period of time in the area and shall execute the rights and obligations for bearing subsistence of his/her minor children with registered permanent residence in the Taiwan Area, he/she can still apply to National Immigration Agency for registration of permanent residence in the area a.
- If the documents required is in foreign language, they shall be certified by Overseas Office and have the transaction in Chinese certified by Overseas Office or domestic public notary enclosed. However, the documents prepared in Hong Kong, Macau or China shall be verified by the agencies established by the government in Hong Kong, Macau or SEF.
- The calculation of continuous residency or residence for certain period in Taiwan Area refers to one of following circumstances:
- The applicant is the subject as set forth in subparagraph 1 to 6 of paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 of item 2, who has continuously resided in the Taiwan Area for one year, or has resided in that Taiwan Area for two years during the residency in the Taiwan Area shall be over 270 days each year, or has resided I the Taiwan Area for five years during which the residence in that Taiwan Area shall exceed 183 days each year.
- The applicant is the subject as set forth in subparagraph 7 to 8 of paragraph 1 and paragraph 3 to 6 of paragraph of item 2, who has continuously resided in the Taiwan Area for three year, or has resided in that Taiwan Area for five years during the residency in the Taiwan Area shall be over 270 days each year, or has resided I the Taiwan Area for seven years during which the residence in that Taiwan Area shall exceed 183 days each year.
- Those who have left the country during the residency specified in the preceding paragraph shall not be deemed to have interrupted their residency but the period of their absence from the Taiwan Area shall not be calculated as part of their residency in the Taiwan Area if their overseas trips have been assigned or approved by the government and such assignment or approval can be proved in writing.
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You are always helpfull @tando, i’m always confused about household stuff, number 3 and 9, “However, it is exempted if the registered household address is the same as the dependent relative with permanent residence in Taiwan Area and his/her ID card (or household registry).”
My mom hukou is on her sister house, i can get my mom hukou paper myself but do i need to get more stuff from her sister, do i have to bother her or i can just give my mom’s houkou with her id.
also i don’t want to ask my landlord to put me in his hukou since my contract will be over in few months.
in Chinese, it is 但設籍地址與依親對象相同且已檢附其國民身分證（或戶口名簿）者，免附.
i can just give my mom’s houkou with her id.
I think this is right.
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@scrubolio - I’m in a similar situation: I am US born with Taiwanese parents, married to an American with two children. I am trying to apply for Taiwan passports for myself and my two kids. If you can imagine how difficult TECO was to deal with last year, they’re completely non-responsive now as they are overwhelmed most likely with COVID related stuff. I’ve tried calling at least half dozen TECO offices - they either don’t respond, tell me to go away because I’m not in their jurisdiction, or give me conflicting or vague answers. My jursidiction (San Francisco) won’t pick up the phone or respond to the many emails I’ve sent. To add to complication, the four of us are already in Taiwan. We’re also in New Taipei (banqiao). I’ve lost lots of days and nights of sleep trying to figure out how to do this process. Would you be willing to chat and give some advice? Thanks for the consideration.
Check your private messages, glad to help!
TECO offices in the USA, in my experience, leave much to be desired. I’m sure its much worse now with COVID and such.
An update: June 3, 2020
After my last post, I was FINALLY ABLE to get my 1st daughter’s TW passport (who was born in the US) from my local TECO office in the USA. I just told them we were planning to go back during the 2019 christmas/New Years break and I sent the documents to my friend, who then included the required money order and forwarded it to TECO. Luckily it went smoothly, and they sent the docs back to my relative to was coming back to Taiwan :).
So while that base has been covered, now for the hard part (since COVID has taken over the world) is that my 1st daughter needs to LEAVE TW and re-enter taiwan on her TW passport…great, who wants to fly somewhere, be quarantined for 14 days, then come back to TW and be quarantined for ANOTHER 14 days? Well good thing is that my residency requirement of 365 days is about to expire at the end of this month so at least I’ll be free to travel internationally after that (even though we probably won’t). This past year in TW has been QUICK (probably because of staying busy with the kids. I see a lot of you guys see it has being in “jail” but man you can’t get this cheap great food in the USA…and Taipei is supremely kid friendly).
my other issues are:
- go see if my feet are flat enough to be exempt from conscription
- get my TW driver license based on my US driver license. (I already got my US driver licensed affidavit-ed and notarized at the US embassy, so I just need to get a health check, bring some photos to the DMV I think).
- figuring out how to get into the “school district” 學區 of choice without owning a house in the district…
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I don’t own a house either but I was able to get myself listed into my Landlord’s Houkou and hence was able to get my kids into a school in the district where I currently reside. Ask your Landlord you want to “入戶籍” and request that he/she provide you with the House Tax Receipt (房屋稅繳款單), with that, you can go to your local HHR and change your 戶籍.
If you want to get your kids into a school district other than where you currently reside, then you need to find a friend or relative who lives in that district & is willing to let you into their Household. Most of my colleagues do this…not only for getting into a school of their choice but to get greater benefits (e.g Taipei City has better benefits than New Taipei City)
And I assume all of that is . . . legal?