Naturalisation - Processing while overseas

Legal Visa & Residency
1

FYI - please no responses regarding renunciation. This is not what I’m asking.

I have a possible job offer overseas however it is becoming increasingly likely that they will give me a start that is a few weeks before I am able to submit my naturalisation application.

If I leave Taiwan before the eligibility date, is there a time limit for me to be able to apply after becoming eligible? My ARC will remain valid when I leave Taiwan.

The immigration act (Article 25)requires people to submit an application for permanent residency within 2 years of eligibility. Is there a similar requirement to submit a naturalisation application?

For example:

  1. I leave Taiwan on the 1st of April

  2. I become eligible to naturalise on the 18th of April.

  3. I return Taiwan on the 20th of June and apply for naturalisation.

  4. I leave Taiwan on the 23rd of June (before the application is approved.)

  5. Application is approved on the 1st of December

  6. I return on the 10th of December to collect my naturalisation certificate and TARC then return back overseas a few days later.

  7. I apply for my ROC passport at my local TECO office with my TARC and naturalisation certificate in hand.

  8. Renounce current citizenship and have the document verified, returning to Taiwan within a year to submit the document.

  9. Return to Taiwan once every 3 years to renew my TARC

  10. At some point in the future stay in Taiwan and apply for HHR

Is the above scenario possible?

I could not find anything on the HHR website or in the naturalisation act regarding timeframes for naturalisation after eligibility.

I will likely return to Taiwan at some point in the future and I assume my eligibility won’t last forever. I’d like to apply while I can, even if it’s a few flights.
My job offer is 100% remote BUT they require all their staff to be located in Australia as they have government contracts stipulating this.

2

In all seriousness, I think a lawyer can help you. Good luck.

3

I’ve paid for an immigration lawyer before (not in Taiwan). Throwing $10,000AUD (about $210,000NTD) off the top of Taipei 101 would have been an equally effective way to spend my money :sweat_smile: lesson learned.

Taiwan’s administrative procedures usually don’t require legal help as long as your requests fit inside the little box in their head/on the paper. No out of the box thinking. I’m not going to advertise to the HHO that I’m not living in TW anymore, just that I meet the residency requirements and that’s it.

I’m confident I’ll be able to submit the application then leave again. I’m worried about a few potential issues:

  1. Entering and leaving Taiwan on a foreign passport AFTER TARC has been issued and naturalisation approved.

  2. Receiving confirmation that my renunciation certificate has been accepted (or else I may become stateless without even knowing it)

  3. Applying for my first ROC passport at TECO rather than BOCA in TW (this would be a huge problem as it will be difficult, but not impossible, for me to renounce without another country’s passport)

3 Likes
4

fyi

自申請日起往前推算，須合法居留繼續 3年以上，且每年有 183日以上之居留事實

if your ARC is still valid when you apply, it will be ok.

don’t they say your first exit after naturalization should be on roc passport?

5

This is where I’m confused, I believe you are correct.
But I will be exiting before naturalisation is approved and approved while outside of Taiwan.

So assume I will enter Taiwan visa free on my Australian passport (as I will no longer have a valid ARC connected to that passport), collect my ARC and naturalisation cert, leave Taiwan on my Australian passport as that’s the passport I used to enter

Or would I present my ARC (that will have been cancelled due to it being replaced by a TARC) to the immigration officer who will allow me to enter as a Taiwanese national?

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6

could you make this part done by your agent, then apply for TARC at teco?

7

Actually it’s not needed, you can use a TARC to leave/enter Taiwan’s without a ROC passport😳 i guess it’s just required that you leave as a Taiwanese citizen

https://www.immigration.gov.tw/media/45286/immigration-reference-guide-for-civil-carriers.pdf

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8

Does TECO issue TARCs? I though only NIA in Taiwan could do that

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9

The same in the US. You can leave US after passing citizenship test, but once you take the oath, you may only leave on US passport.

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10

Maybe I’ll enter on my aussie passport and when I leave just hand the immigration office my TARC and aussie passport and let them work it out :sweat_smile:

11

you can apply from teco and get a copy of tarc.

but for all of your questions, you could ask to relevant government offices for certain answers and directions.

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12

Oh, I didn’t know that! That solves that problem.
So I would just show TECO my Australian passport and now defunct ARC (or TARC number if known) and they can look me up and print a copy/extract of my TARC, then I use that to enter.

That’s brilliant!

13

maybe you apply for roc passport at the same time.

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14

I’ve never been provided a factually correct answer by them about anything. It’s maddening.

And when I must talk them I like to have the background info first so I can gauge whether they’re an idiot who won’t admit it or they actually know what they’re doing

I prefer the online information on government websites, people’s personal experiences and this forum and I just mentally filter out the rubbish on forums :joy:

15

Thanks to Tando’s comments the process seems to much simpler than I thought and less flying around may be needed

I wonder if this will help others. Surely there are others delaying one plan or another due to immigration time frames.

  1. I leave Taiwan on the 1st of April

  2. I become eligible to naturalise on the 18th of April.

  3. I return Taiwan on the 20th of June and apply for naturalisation.

  4. I leave Taiwan on the 23rd of June (before the application is approved.)

  5. Application is approved on the 1st of December

6. I go to my local TECO and attempt to apply for my ROC passport and TARC extract - potential issues as my naturalisation certificate will still be at the HHO.

7. Renounce Australian citizenship and have my Australian visa issued using my ROC passport. Have my renunciation certificate verified.

  1. Fly to Taiwan to submit my renunciation docs. Add HHO lady on Line so she can let me know when the acceptance letter has arrived.

  2. Return to Taiwan once every 3 years to renew my TARC

  3. At some point in the future stay in Taiwan and apply for HHR

If my probable future employer will give me a May start date then I can skip steps 1-4 and the only time I will need to physically fly to Taiwan is to submit the renunciation certificates (and have them verified at MOFA in Taiwan). :slight_smile:

16

You need the original naturalization certificate to apply for your roc passport ant tarc at teco, so you should arrange someone to receive it for you and send it to your place, iiuc. and I’m not sure if it is possible. you could ask at hhr office.

2 Likes
17

Yeah I think you will definitely need to present your naturalization certificate, no getting around it. Would be very glad to be proven wrong.
You’re also going to get your Australian citizenship back after submitting your renunciation document, right?

18

Yeah, I will eventually but when you renounce Australian citizenship you just get downgraded to permanent resident which has much of the same rights as a citizen excluding voting and holding an Aussie passport.

Private businesses treat permanent residents the same as citizens too, unlike Taiwan. My brother in law has lived in Australia for 22 years as a permanent resident, he just never got around to applying for citizenship :joy:

I thought so but no harm in trying :slight_smile: if I can’t then I’ll try and find someone to collect the documents for me and send them to me

I need to have proof of citizenship elsewhere to be able to renounce my Australian citizenship, so I need either the naturalisation certificate or ROC passport in hand before renouncing. Australia will not allow anyone to become stateless by renunciation

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19

You can also end up getting your visa canceled and deported with an unfortunate set of circumstances.

20

I’m not a criminal :sweat_smile:

Also dual citizens can be deported from Australia if they commit certain crimes. They will be stripped of their Australian citizenship and deported as an unlawful non-citizen. No different to permanent residents.

But this isn’t a concern for me