My friend is Chinese (Singaporean), living in Taiwan.
She needs to sign a deed in front of a notary (here in Taiwan) transferring title to certain real property that she owns in another country out of her name, into the purchaser’s name.
She holds title to the property in her English name, but her passport uses her Chinese name.
How can she get a notary in Taiwan to notarize the document for her? The notary will ask for ID, as they’re supposed to do, and will almost certainly insist on the passport as such ID, but the passport bears a name that is completely different from the name she needs to sign.
Can one fill out a form and sign it in front of hte notary at the same time, swearing that one is also known as _______?
Has anyone been through this with their Taiwanese other?
Taiwanese passports can have an ‘also known as’ line which is usually used for an English name. My daughter has her English name on that line. In addition after we got married my wife went and got a stamp placed in hers certifying that she is now also known as Mrs. jlick. It wasn’t at all difficult for her to get that added.
However, your friend holds either a China or Singapore passport (not sure which from your post) so she would need to inquire if such an entry can be made into her passport by those issuing authorities.
Notaries here will also accept ARCs as acceptable identification. It’s possible that they would allow another form of ID, or possibly a third ID in conjunction with the passport to show that she is know by more than one name.
You really should be asking the notary what would be acceptable in this case.
I think that for the purposes of this thread we would be most interested in what type of passport your friend is carrying, not his/her ethnic background.
According to what you have posted here, I am unable to ascertain if your friend might be (1) an overseas Chinese originally from Singapore now living in Taiwan (temporarily) with an ROC “overseas passport,” (2) a full-fledged PRC citizen living in Taiwan (temporarily) with a PRC passport, (3) an overseas Chinese living in Taiwan (temporarily) with an PRC “overseas passport,” (4) a Singaporean citizen living in Taiwan (temporarily) with an Singapore passport, (5) an ROC citizen who has immigrated to Singapore and has regained ROC nationality and an ROC passport, but who however has entered Taiwan on a Singapore passport, or (6) something else.
But … in regard to your original question, if I may hazard a guess at the answer –
If your friend indeed has a Singapore passport, shouldn’t he/she be taking these matters up with the Singapore Representative Office in Taipei??
I think that for the purposes of this thread we would be most interested in what type of passport your friend is carrying, not his/her ethnic background.[/quote]
I only stated that to indicate that she’s got a Chinese name and an English name. To be honest, I don’t know what country passport it is, but I assume it’s a Singapore passport, as she’s a Singapore citizen living in Taiwan with her American husband.
[quote]But … in regard to your original question, if I may hazard a guess at the answer –
If your friend indeed has a Singapore passport, shouldn’t he/she be taking these matters up with the Singapore Representative Office in Taipei??[/quote]
Or the AIT, or the notary, any of them will do. It’s not an official governmental matter. She just needs a notary to sign, stating that she signed the real property transfer deed. As you know, notaries are very scarce in Taiwan, unlike the US, and it therefore seems more likely they would treat the matter with the highest degree of bureaucratic, administrative, mindless nonsense, and would insist on a passport, although in the US any credible ID should suffice.
I believe she already checked with one notary in Taichung, where she lives, and was told a passport is required. So I think she just wanted to call and see if I had an answer before she traipsed all over town to government offices and notaries.
I do not have a clear answer but a couple of possible suggestions:
Draft the deed so that the English name is used and then followed by (aka. INSERT CHINESE NAME) then have her sign the deed with her English name and with her chop. The notary would then attest to the Chinese name/signature only.
Have her sign the deed with her English name and with her chop. The notary should only concern themselves with the Chinese name on the chop. Then have her sign an affidavit attesting to the use of both names. Again the notary should only concern themselves with the Chinese name being signed on the affidavit.
Your friend could check with the lawyer in Singapore handling the property transaction to confirm if either would work to ensure title is transfered.