Yes, it is!! Most Taiwanese don’t live in the address registered in their Hukous…most common reason for this is due to work (most come from the Center & South to Taipei). Even on all application forms, you will see that there are two options for addresses, one is your permanent address (戶籍地址), the other is your mailing address (通訊地址)…as for the part about receiving benefits by changing one’s Hukou to a different city…well, the Govt. ain’t stupid, they know about this loophole, it is why there is a rule if you change your Hukou, then you must be registered at that address for at least 6 mths before you can apply for any benefits given by that city.
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Thanks @springonion for the info. My sister will be getting her hukou soon as we just applied for her 定居證 and should get it next week to bring to the HHR office. We will use my uncle’s place to register so she can get into the school district for her kids. But, her kids are still on ARCs, so if they change the address on their ARCs after my sister gets her Hukou, then they will be eligible for the school in their district right?
Since, I won’t be applying for my HHR/Hukou until later I need to move my TARC and my kid’s ARC’s addresses an address in our district, hope that will be enough for them to be eligible for school.
In other news:
- My feet aren’t flat enough. You can goto any Military hospital （三軍總醫院） and goto the 骨科 “Bone Doctor” to get your feet x-rayed. they then do some angle measurements to see if you qualify and if so they’ll issue you some type of report you can bring to the military office.
- Haven’t gone to the DMV yet.
- Documents required to get your 定居證: application form, health exam (takes about a week to get back), 1 photo, some amount of money I forget, TW passport, copies of your TW passport photo page, TW Passport 臨人字 visa page, TW Passport entry stamp page, and the original and copy of your parent’s TW National ID.
Thank you very much for sharing so much with us all here.
Yep, hope it helps someone!
Of course we hit another wrinkle in the land of TECO woes.
When you get your marriage certificate authenticated at your friendly and competent local TECO office that has jurisdiction over where your certificate was issued. Make sure that they stick, stamp, write, or whatever these Chinese words on it: “依行為地法” or “符合行為地法” which I believe just means something along the lines o: this marriage certificate has been executed according to the local laws.
if this hasn’t been done and you’re applying for your 定居證, you can sign some piece of paper saying that you agree that your spouse will not show up on your 定居證 and thus your TW National ID card. But I was told that this should not affect anything and that later on we should be able to add it back in once we get the marriage certificate with the required verbiage. As always, we will see how this does or doesn’t effect us going forward.
If I’m able to update my original post I will do so with this info. - doesn’t look like I can edit the post from so long ago. Hope a MOD can help me edit the parts to include the fact that TECO should be stamping or writing something along the lines of “依行為地法” or “符合行為地法” on your marriage certificate authentication!
sample of an authentication with the required verbiage boxed in red I found online:
July 7, 2020 Taipei Time Update regarding missing verbiage:
I emailed my the TECO office that did my marriage certificate authentication and asked them why the original authentication didn’t have the verbiage “符合行為地法” on it. They replied:
“When you applied the authentication, we don’t have to make any remark for foreigners ( at that time, you are foreigners).
Last year, BOCA ( or household registration office) already emailed to us and I made response that your marriage certificate 符合行為地法.
If they still have any questions, they can email to my office directly.”
And I do remember that when we initially used the marriage certificate to get my wife’s ARC, they did reach out to BOCA/TECO to confirm that the marriage certificate did qualify with local laws where it was issued. I may just get the marriage certificate re-authenticated when we have some time just in case we hit this snag in the future again…
-end of update.
Another update: July 13, 2020
Regarding Not having the correct verbiage on your authenticated marriage certificate of: “依行為地法” or “符合行為地法”. My sister went with her new 定居證 today to register her household registration and they didn’t even question NOT having the verbiage on the authenticated marriage certificate. So I guess it didn’t matter after all? Your mileage may vary based on who you get though.
Anyways, after getting your Household Registry Certificate (戶口民簿), National ID (you get it the same day, its just some laminated ID card), and whoever many Household Registry Transcripts (戶口謄本) you want (forgot the cost per copy) the Household Registration Office can also help you apply for an updated National Health Insurance Card (with your updated national ID number).
Then you also have to goto the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 外交部 to get an updated passport, also with your new National ID number on it. I think that’s it…not sure if this affects your driver license or not since we don’t have one yet.
As far as conscription and military draft goes for myself born in 1985: like I said before, if I wait until Jan 1, 2022 to apply for my Household Registration, then I will be exempt from serving (Jan 1 of the year you turn 37 for my birth year). But since I have two kids (one a TW citizen since she was born here, and the other not yet a TW citizen), I can do the following to serve a 12-day military service (note there may be other reasons where you can qualify for a short 12-day service):
- Obtain your Household Registration / National ID
- Report the Conscription Office 兵役課 (usually within the same building or 區公所). Here they will assign you a health exam date to see what you qualify for.
- Goto the Health Exam.
- Upon receiving a NORMAL verdict on your health exam (note it MUST be NORMAL for you to qualify for a 12-day short service), go back to the Conscription Office 兵役課 and provide the following documentation to apply for the short 12-day service: 1: College Diploma (needs to be authenticated if its outside of Taiwan, but she said it didn’t have to be translated…), 2: Birth Certificates of children and/or their 戶口名簿, 3: Marriage certificate (also needs to be authenticated if its outside of Taiwan, didn’t ask if this had to be translated but at this point yours should be translated already)
Preschool / Daycare Subsidy
Since my 2nd child was born in Taiwan and since I already had my TARC and was a 無戶籍國民at that point, my 2nd child could apply for her citizenship at birth. From what I was previously told, both a parent and the child needed full TW citizenship to qualify for any daycare subsidy. But after asking today they said only the child needs to be…to the tune of NT$2,500/month only if your child is attending a private daycare. After I get it done, I will report back.
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Just thought of another question: does anyone know if I apply for my 定居證, but don’t actually use it yet to apply for my household registration until later after I am exempt from the draft, is that a problem? Can I just enter and exit on my half useless taiwan passport?
You should apply for hukou within 30 days.
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Hello, I immigrated to the US in 1985 (age 12) currently 47 y/o if I return to Taiwan will I have to pay a fine for not serving in the military? I still have my old Taiwan passport it has the 9 digit number that starts with A. I was told this is my national ID# my question is can they find my old household registration information by crossing checking this number?
no. There is no restrictions you leave as a kid and stay abroad.
yes.
Preschool / Daycare Subsidy update July 17, 2020:
Went by a New Taipei City 區公所 “district office” I guess you’d call it, and this is what they told me I needed to apply for the subsidy (note that I am not a full citizen yet, but my 2nd child is and thus she qualifies for the subsidy which is also NT$2,500/month for New Taipei City):
- My ARC and copy of it
- Spouse’s ARC and copy of it
- My signature stamp
- Spouse’s signature stamp
- Household Registration Certificate (戶口民簿) of child applying for the subsidy and copy
- Application form
- TW Post Office Bank Account Booklet 存著 or 存簿 (note that she said it had to be a post office account booklet not another bank) if you want the subsidy directly deposited to your account.
I didn’t have all this since my ARC was being updated, but will go back when I get it all prepared.
I’m not sure if the conscription age changed, but on the official National Conscription Agency website says it’s ages 19-40 now (site updated October 2017).
https://www.nca.gov.tw/Enaspx/Faq_Detail.aspx?web=32&id=1
Is there another source that currently states it’s 19-36 (37 is clear)?
Wow, @scrubolio, your experience is highly relevant and I feel relieved to have seen your posts. Many thanks to @tando for pointing me to this thread!
I’ve been talking to TECO and getting some conflicting information, particularly with respect to the spouse side of things. I hope you don’t mind that I ask several clarification questions:
-
Spousal visitor’s visa - you mentioned NIA told you that a landing visa is not convertible into a spousal ARC and that your wife has to apply for a visitor’s visa 停留簽證 to enter Taiwan. Do you happen to know where that rule came from? If you have the link to the application form she used and if you can confirm the type of visa she was ultimately granted, that would be helpful, as I’m wondering if it’s just a plain visitor’s visa without any tie-in to your status. Or was it actually tied because you said otherwise she would’ve needed some sort of invitation letter? Also, in retrospect, when you went to apply for the JFRV for her the same day after getting your TARC, do you think that they would not have accepted her application if she didn’t have the visitor’s visa 停留簽證 in her passport? This requirement is sadly complicated by COVID restrictions in that I don’t think the spouse can now apply for any visa or allowed into Taiwan at all unless there’s an emergency/special situation. I also tried to ask my friendly TECO for what the rule is after the COVID restrictions are lifted, and they straight out said that the spouse of a TARC holder who hasn’t fulfilled yet the 1/2/5-year residency requirement just cannot get a ARC/JFRV (not sure what the difference is – which one did your wife get?) to stay in Taiwan. Basically, TECO’s position was that the wife will just have to visa run, by herself, every 90 days if she wanted to be with the husband in Taiwan while he’s fulfilling the residency requirement. She can only apply for a longer-term document to stay in Taiwan after the husband’s gotten his national ID. This just didn’t make sense to me and it certainly doesn’t seem to comport with your wife’s experience so I’m curious as to how her process played out!
-
It seems like you guys moved at about this time last year – so would it now be accurate to say that you completed the 365-consecutive day requirement without it being tied to the calendar year? In other words, it doesn’t have to be January 1-December 31 for the 1-year option, and you did June-June and it counted fine, right? And you can also confirm that the 365-day clock started counting the day your TARC was issued/picked up, the day you initially entered Taiwan, or was there a date on the TARC itself to go by? Any further clarifications on whether the 2+ year options are tied to the calendar year?
-
In various places you mentioned the application process required submitting your parents’ ACTUAL National IDs in addition to a copy of the IDs. I assume that meant their physical cards. Like for example when you initially applied for your TARC, and then when you think you’ll have to later renew your TARC. Do the parents not need their IDs for entering Taiwan on a whim if necessary since they can rely on their passports? I assume no logistical issues came up with you holding on to their IDs for a long period of time? In terms of thinking about what I should bring with us to Taiwan when we move, I’m wondering if the parents’ IDs are essential then.
One difference between our situations is that I’ve been looking into applying for the TARC in the US via TECO in advance before moving ourselves to Taiwan. It takes longer and costs more, and I get the pleasure of having more interactions with TECO, but knowing that the TARC is approved before going is reassuring, particularly in light of COVID and likely quarantining requirements after landing. The tricky part is the spouse side, and I’m hoping that by the time TECO approves the TARC that there might be more options for the spouse.
So assuming the husband’s TARC is approved outside of Taiwan (to be picked up at NIA after arrival), what are the documents that you think must be brought into Taiwan?
(a) FBI background check for spouse, which has been authenticated by DC TECRO, and then self-translated (does the translation need to be notarized at a bank?) and with the translation authenticated by TECO (did the spousal JVRF require this actually?)
(b) Marriage Certificate, authenticated by TECO governing the region where the certificate was issued, and then self-translated (notarized too?) and authenticated by TECO
© Husband’s original birth certificate, authenticated by TECO (is this necessary for the spousal JVRF or other purposes after getting the TARC? and if so, does it need to be translated, notarized, and authenticated by TECO?)
(d) Original copies of parents’ national IDs (necessary?)
(e) Health check completed abroad valid within 3 months OR the original measles vaccination certificate for spouse (I read somewhere that if you don’t have this that you have to pay more for the health exam and/or get a full round of booster shots, was that true for you? Does the spousal JFRV application even require this?)
Oh, what’s the deal with the US driver’s licenses needing affidavit-ized and notarized? If that could be more easily done in the US like simply drawing up an affidavit and getting it notarized at a bank then should we do that before we leave for Taiwan?
Super kudos to you, as I’m impressed by your family’s execution of all this especially when adding the conscription issues AND your children’s paperwork! Any pointers would be appreciated as this process is overwhelming. Thanks again for sharing your experience!
it changes based on your birth year. see Tando’s link
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DMV Update July 18, 2020:
couple of nuances (as always)
- With a TARC or with your TW National ID, I don’t think it matters which state in the US your license is issued by, they will automatically give you your TW license. If you’re on a TARC, its valid for 6 years, if on your TW National ID it’s valid until age 75. You will need 1" photos (there’s probably a photo booth on site), your health examinations already done (for a car and motorcycle license, you need 2 health exams but they can be done at the same time), your TARC or National ID, TW Passport if using your TARC, and your original US State issued license with a notarized affidavit of it. I was in and out in about 30-45 min. Amazing.
- If you have a JFRV (or some other ARC), Taiwan will only issue you a license based on the state of your license. For example, my brother in law has a North Carolina license which they would NOT recognize even with the affidavit, but they would recognize my NC license because I’m on a TARC. go figure.
- You need a motorcycle endorsement on your license to get a regular “heavy” scooter license aka “普通重機車駕照”. I think this is good for up to 250cc scooters. Without the endorsement you need to go through the entire exam process.
So, in Taipei City, if you or your spouse is on a regular ARC (not a TARC), here is what I was told you need to do in order to apply for a CAR license (sorry I didn’t ask about the scooter). Note, with an ARC, you will NOT be able to register online to sign up for the classes, tests.
- On Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday morning from 9:00-9:30am goto the Shilin DMV Office - tell them you’re on an ARC and want to sign up for the CAR test. if they have spots that day, they’ll put you in, if not they’ll schedule you later.
- You’ll need to take 3 tests: 1 written, 1 track, 1 road.
- Here are the prep materials. note that if you neglect some items on the track and/or road parts of the test its an automatic fail.
- Not sure what other documents you will need besides your ARC, license, & physical exam.
Sample Written Test
Multiple Choice Questions English Rulebook
True False Questions English Rulebook
Scoring Guide
Question Types
Road Test Video 1
Road Test Video 2
I don’t know where that rule came from, I think TECO told me that or the NIA when I called before we moved to TW. But it is true I can assure you that. UNLESS you do some entrepreneurial visa, in which you may be able to skirt some of the laws. someone I talked to here in TW was able to change her landing visa into an entrepreneurial visa somehow and get ARCs for her dependents. Although, I’m not familiar with that process.
I do not think they would have accepted my spouse’s and child’s application without a visitor visa. They do ask you to make a copy of the visa page if I recall correctly as part of their documentation. My spouse just got a dependent ARC (there are many codes/categories for ARCs, and I assume JFRV is one of those codes, but other than that I’m not really sure where the term JFRV comes from to be honest). Things may have changed with COVID, but I needed my TARC before my dependents could apply for their ARC, as my TARC was part of their application. I didn’t need my national ID before my dependents were able to get their ARCs. But like you probably know, I don’t think any non-ARC, non-citizen can enter into taiwan right now (ie: any visitors). So that may be a doozy…
The 365 consecutive days is literally a day count, not a calendar year count. I believe it starts on the date it was issued (the issue date is on your TARC). Let’s say if you stay 30 days on your TARC leave, come back 15 days later and then stay a consecutive 365 days, you will still have fulfilled your residency requirement (I ask that too). Its based on the number of days you stayed per year, where each year based on your TARC’s issue date I believe.
Ya, they want to see your parent’s physical National ID, and then they also want a copy of it (front and back). Your parents don’t need their national ID’s to enter into TW, just their TW passport. We didn’t encounter any issues with my parents not having their IDs. I mean they won’t need it if they’re outside TW anyways. I’d argue that your National Health Insurance card is used more than the national ID (and it looks more legit), but I could be wrong.
I didn’t know you could apply for a TARC from TECO. I thought you had to enter into TW on your TW passport to apply for a TARC. Interesting. With COVID, I’m not sure how your spouse will be able to enter into TW without an ARC.
(a) Translation needs to be notarized. I think just an affidavit stating that its a true copy or something. I had it done in TW. Translation does NOT need to be authenticated, only the original FBI background check document by TECRO DC.
(b) Yep, same as above: Translation needs to be notarized. I think just an affidavit stating that its a true copy or something. I had it done in TW. Translation does NOT need to be authenticated. Some TECOs will translate it for you, for a fee. Note not all TECOs will do this and it may slow down your processing time.
(c) Actually, your spouse’s BC isn’t necessary to be honest. I don’t recall having to use it yet. Just your marriage certificate. We had it done just to be on the safe side.
(d) yes, very necessary. you will also need a recent 30-90 days? copy of their Household Registration Transcript or whatever 戶籍謄本
(e) Health check is required, I think they just draw blood and test to see if you have the antibodies for measles. Anyways, we didn’t get any shots. I brought my immunization record that was authenticated and it saved me from having to give another vial of blood (you still need to give some for testing) so it wasn’t a big deal. Every ARC applicant (except I heard people on the entrepreneurial ARC) will need the physical exam. It differs by the country you’re coming from. Its relatively straight forward if from the US - they look at you, they take some blood samples, they x-ray your chest.
YES, get your DLs affidavit-ed in the US before coming. Save your money and time by having to get to AIT here in Taiwan and spending $50 USD on a notary seal…
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TARC can be applied from overseas, and you will get a carbon copy of your TARC valid for 6 months.
Taiwan loosened its entry restriction recently, and now foreigners can visit to see family in Taiwan, with a negative COVID test certificate taken within 3 business days before your flight. Your spouse might be able to get a visitor visa or/and special visa based on the carbon copy of your TARC, while she cannot get a resident visa as a spouse of a TARC holder in the US due to covid. If she can get the visa, then, she should be able to convert it to resident visa.
I’d ask to headquarter of BOCA in Taiwan by email, and show their reply to TECO, if needed.
I have a question about the flat-footed issue. Were you able to do this before you registered with the conscription office? That is, if you found that you were NOT flat-footed, you’d have time to back out of the citizenship process?
My brother is likely flat-footed but hasn’t gotten an official doctor’s notice. He’s nearing 20 so we’d like to find out before he goes ahead with the process. If he can get an exemption, he’ll do it - if not he might not. Would he be able to get some official notice to find out? How long would the doctor’s certificate be valid for, if he did qualify?
Thanks for all the clarifications.
By notarized, do you mean a separately-drafted affidavit that you (or your translator) signs in front of a notary, and the notary puts his/her notary stamp on it? Or does the notary stamp have to be on the bottom of the translation itself? Also, does the “true copy” affidavit language itself have to be in both Chinese and English? Sorry for the ticky-tacky questions, I just want to minimize the chance that the notarized documents get rejected, given that like you said, the notary fees in countries outside of the US are way higher. If you’re willing to share the exact “true copy” language that your TW notary used, and especially if they wrote it out both in Chinese and English, then all the better as that could hopefully serve as a template here for anyone else who’s going through this.
By the way, the Vancouver TECO posted several translation templates that I’ve found helpful, for example:
Marriage Certificate
Even though some of the translated text in these templates are Canada-specific, it can be tailored with just a bit of Chinese language ability and I hope that seeing the format can help those of us who want to save on translation costs.
With access to US banks with affordable notaries, it seems like there’s no real downsides to just self-translating, affidavit-izing, and notarizing all the documents up the wazoo, right…
you will also need a recent 30-90 days? copy of their Household Registration Transcript or whatever 戶籍謄本
How do you get this if your parents aren’t in Taiwan with you, is there an online request for them to be able to do it in the US and you either receive a soft copy that you can print out or receive it in an address in Taiwan? Or did you have them execute a Power of Attorney?
When I asked my TECO whether they require the 30-90 day戶籍謄本 if I already have a copy (not the original) of the the parents’ 戶口名簿, they surprisingly said submitting just the copy of the 戶口名簿 suffices for the TARC application. I’ll see if it actually plays out that way 
, but given their response, I was thinking about holding off on trying to get the 30-90 day戶籍謄本 but if there’s an relatively easy way to do it online from the US, I might give that a try.
I’d argue that your National Health Insurance card is used more than the national ID
My understanding is that you (as the TARC holder) is eligible to apply for NHI at the 6-month residency mark. What about your wife and first child – when they held the JFRV for the first 365-days you lived there, were they eligible for NHI? And if not, was your wife eligible the first day she received her dependent ARC then, or does she still have to wait 6 more months in order to get it? As an aside, I heard there’s a monthly fee to participate – how much is that, and does anyone know if the fee can be paused if you were to leave Taiwan?
I brought my immunization record that was authenticated
That’s amazing foresight on your part! Was it authenticated in a US TECO? I hadn’t even considered doing that because immunization shots are usually administered in various hospitals/clinics across different states if one’s moved around (my case) so I wouldn’t have thought a TECO could/would authenticate something like that. But good to know! FYI that the process for submitting the TARC application in a US TECO requires a US medical facility to fill out that same exact form that the Taiwan hospitals would fill out, and then have it sealed as part of the TARC application, before it goes to TECO. So I had been thinking that the immunization record itself would be examined only by the medical facility, and not TECO, but hmm… I’ll report back if this part of the process turns out to be different than I thought.
On your driver’s license update:
you need 2 health exams but they can be done at the same time), your TARC or National ID, TW Passport if using your TARC, and your original US State issued license with a notarized affidavit of it. I was in and out in about 30-45 min. Amazing.
Can the health exams be the same one that you had to do in order to get your National ID, or are these substantially different? Generally how much do these exams cost, by the way?
If you have a JFRV (or some other ARC), Taiwan will only issue you a license based on the state of your license.
Wait, so what does this mean – did they issue your brother in law any driving license at all? Or does it mean they refused because he has a ARC not a TARC and he has to take the car test in order to get any driving license (car/scooter).
For a JFRV/ARC/Visitor Visa holder from the US then, I wonder if it makes more sense to get an international driver’s license from the US at AAA for US$20 that lasts for 1 year? I believe the application can be submitted from outside the US as well. Taiwan is listed as honoring that so maybe that’s a reasonable way to be able to drive. Unless there are reasons for getting the driver’s license other than just needing to drive occasionally?
By the way, what’s the process for a ARC holder like your wife to eventually get her own National ID card and how many years does she need to live in Taiwan with you in order to apply? On a US passport, she’d have to renounce her US citizenship first, right?
This is a great idea.