the policeman at the foreign services told me that the 7 years i have already lived here are erased and no longer count toward my applying for permanent residency. is this true? do i really have to start over from zero?
respectfully yours,
ran the man
why are they erased?
amos,
they said getting married erased them.
[quote=“rantheman”]amos,
they said getting married erased them.[/quote]
OMG! 
Taiwan… gotta love it! You should ask them,“So where was I for the last seven years?” 
You are the invisible man
I can believe that you were told this by the police. I don’t think it is true. In practice, the police and the Ministry of the Interior do not want to give out PARCs. They come up with all kinds of ridiculous interpretations of the residency requirement–this sounds like one of them.
You should very politely ask to see a copy of the regulation that says this. You will need to be very polite about it but make it clear that you are not going anywhere until you get your copy. The regulations they show you will be in Chinese, but don’t let that stop you from getting one. Ask them to circle the relevant article(s). Then show us the regulations.
If they won’t show you the regulations (a good possibility because they don’t exist), go ahead and submit an application. Insist on submitting it and get a written rejection of your application. You will need this to file your appeal.
If you can find a Taiwanese friend who is used to dealing with government agencies, it will probably help you a lot. Otherwise, you will need a great deal of patience because you will have to wait there politely and patiently until you get what you need. Make it their problem. Never raise your voice or get (visibly angry). Do be persistent and firm.
feiren, thank you. i agree. i think there’s no need for rudeness. just firm asking. the police either don’t know the law or are as you say amking a smoke screen to discourage us from moving forward on our rights. i will try.
[quote=“rantheman”]amos,
they said getting married erased them.[/quote]
They having you on. You have to have had a valid arc for seven years? I thought it was five but I’m not sure. So changing the status of your ARC doesnt change a thing. I was told I couldn’t become and ROC national 'cause I changed my marital status from married to divorced.
I still got my ROC Nationality based on 7 years of having an ARC. It’s got nothing to do with marital status.
These idiots tells all sorts of stories. Ask the guy to show you the relevant laws. Then submit your application.
The police and visa offices will tell you the first thing that comes into their heads on any given day. They will never be able to produce any documentation to back up their claims. As Feiren says, make a postal application and then appeal. They like to make things difficult - it’s just the way it is here. Good luck.
Rantheman, it sounds like you’re trying to apply for a PARC. Is that true? How far along are you in the process, etc???
If you were just “sway byen” asking a question, I believe that they might have said that. If you have gotten a list of required documents, then I’m surprised about this.