Moving to Taiwan with my 5 and 8 year old

[Charlie_Jack]

[quote=“ariel7120”]How likely is it that the landlord would put you on their Hukou? My uncle found a decent place in those neighborhoods and we are not sure if the landlord would register me on their hukou.

. . .

. . . I need a hukou near Xinsheng . . . because . . . my son will be starting kindergarten without the program [for foreign students].[/quote]

I’ve never had a hukou, so I don’t have any firsthand experience with this subject. I hope someone will come along and post additional information or advice.

Among the long-term residents who have posted here on the subject of changing a hukou for a rented place, there seems to be a difference of opinions about how easy or difficult the process is. Below, I’ll give you a few quotes and excerpts of quotes from long-term residents.

The excerpt immediately below and the full quote below it are from a 2012 thread:

@Taffy

Changing the hukou is easy if your landlord will allow it. Many won’t, because then they’ll have to pay tax on the rent they get from you (case in point: my wife and I are still registered with her family in Zhanghua for this reason).

Changing your household registration to a rented apartment

cfimages: Changing the hukou is easy if your landlord will allow it. Many won’t, because then they’ll have to pay tax on the rent they get from you (case in point: my wife and I are still registered with her family in Zhanghua for this reason). Students in digs also won’t be able to reassign their hukou to their student accommodation.

@headhonchoII

It’s quite difficult to change Hukou unless you are a property owner or have consent of the landlord you are renting from.

Changing your household registration to a rented apartment

[quote=“cfimages”][quote=“Cueball”] There’s some info I’m not sure on/forgotten so - i) How long does it take to change where one’s registered to vote? ii) Are there any restrictions on doing so? iii) When was the date announced. [/quote] i) Not sure exactly, but when my wife changed her registration from Taichung to Taipei county before we got married it didn’t take her much more than a few minutes (not including waiting in line time). ii)No idea but I can’t see why there would be. iii)If …

The quotes and excerpts of quotes immediately below are from a 2015 thread:

@Dog's_Breakfast

In Taiwan you can change your hukou location at the drop of a hat. I’ve done so numerous times - takes about 10 minutes.

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 6#p1674736

@headhonchoII

You can’t change the hukou at the drop of a hat, it’s a laborious and expensive process that often involves purchasing property or paying people or begging people to put individuals on different hukou.

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 9#p1674749

@Mr He

The hukou is not hard to change, just time consuming.

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 4#p1674804

@Mucha Man

It’s hard to change if you are renting. Most landlords don’t want you to register as they then have to declare your rent as income.

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 1#p1674811

@cfimages

Maybe we’ve just been lucky, but whenever I’ve been to change it with my wife (both as owners and as renters) - most recently a few weeks ago - it doesn’t take any more than about 10-15 minutes. Household Registration offices are open til 8pm, and we’ve never had to wait more than a couple of minutes in line. The longest part is printing / laminating the new ID card.

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 4#p1674814

@Icon

Maybe it is because it is easier as a separate hukou. But most hukos are done as a family unit.

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 5#p1674815

[quote=“cfimages”]Even taking herself off her family’s one and onto our own was a simple procedure.

I wonder how many just don’t bother trying because they think it’ll be too hard. When we asked landlords about it, there was never any hesitation giving the required documents. In the 6 or so years we’ve been married, the hukou has been changed 4-5 times. [/quote]
forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 6#p1674816

@headhonchoII

I have heard it is difficult to get landlords to agree placement of hukou in their properties…taxes I guess…

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 7#p1674817

[quote=“Dog’s_Breakfast”]We’ve changed our hukous a few times too. It’s always been dead easy. Waiting time at the household registration office: about 10 minutes. No cost other than getting a new photo for your ID card. And yes, husband and wife can register their hukous at different addresses.

Maybe the hukou system has a few flaws, but it’s no “bureaucratic nightmare.” . . . [/quote]
forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 9#p1674969

@cfimages

. . . the few times we’ve asked [i. e., asked the landlord for permission to register a rented place as a hukou–my note, cj] it’s never been a problem.

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 0#p1675010

[quote=“Mr He”]Our landlord declares his income on the one I am living in, we even had to go to the notary to get the rental agreement sorted.

He had no issue with or interest when it came to me telling the Immigration Bureau people that I moved in here, aftr all, everything is above the table.

I would think more expensive properties are like tht, who knows?[/quote]
forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 8#p1675048

I hope this helps, but again, I also hope that someone comes along and gives additional advice or information (but that is not meant to belittle in any way the dialogue between long-term residents that has taken place on this issue).