ROC Citizenship & TARC Question

Hi guys,

I’m a 25 year old British citizen (Half Taiwanese) and I currently only hold a British passport. Since I’ve recently graduated from university, I’m not eligible to gain a work permit using my British passport as I haven’t got 2 years work experience (unless I teach English), so I’m currently working out whether or not I should apply for a ROC passport without applying for citizenship (ID). I have looked at previous posts and I understand that if I do this then I will only be able to stay in Taiwan for up to 183 days in a year, but I’ve also seen posts talking about applying for a “TARC”, which I understand allows people to work and live in Taiwan without obtaining citizenship. I was wondering if anyone can give me any information about what the requirements are for gaining a “TARC” and how easy it is to gain?

TARCs are issued to individuals (often overseas Taiwanese, spouses, and recently naturalized Taiwanese) who don’t have a household registration 户籍 and thus do not have a National ID number. For overseas Taiwanese, you need to obtain an overseas Taiwanese passport from the Taiwanese Economic/Culture Office (TECO) in the UK, enter Taiwan on that passport, and then apply for the TARC. You will need a bunch of documents for the TARC including your authenticated and translated birth certificate, background clearance (FBI check for the U.S., not sure what it is for the UK), parents’ marriage certificate, and parents’ household (户籍) registration. You will have to process all these first at the UK TECO consulate before coming to Taiwan. Also, you have to get a medical certificate (physical) in Taiwan.

I’m not sure if you can apply for the TARC if your name is on your parents’ household registration. The next step would be to contact the nearest TECO. Good luck.

Does holding a TARC allow you to work?

Yes, it does. You should reach out to the Ministry of Labor for specific regulations and requirements, however, as I don’t know much about working on a TARC.

The TARC doesn’t actually allow you to work, it allows you to reside for Taiwan (for up to three years). However, once you have the TARC you can apply for a work permit which allows you to take any kind of employment (meaning you won’t have to rely on a particular employer for your working papers). That’s pretty easy to get, once you have your TARC; you just have to apply for it with the Labor Department.

Got it. Thanks. It sounds quite similar to the situation for permanent residents. After you get your APRC, you need to go the Ministry of Labor and apply for a personal work permit. I believe that there is a bill before the Legislature that will eliminate this formality.

@dadapunk - good point: the TARC gets you in, but doesn’t allow you to work. Thanks for the correction and clarifying.

Ming

Thanks for all the help guys

tarc will give you a lot of benefits。it is same as a taiwanese but limited to few things.

Hello Taizu, I also want to apply for TARC. I recently prepared all these documents for getting my taiwanese passport and I still have them (from Dec 2016). Do I have to get them all again or can I use the old once? The TECO here doenst know that…

If I recall, the documents have to be issued within the past three or six
months, so you will likely have to get them all again. It’s a pain in the
butt, but it should be straightforward enough. Better to have all of the
requisite docs when you hit the ground in Taiwan than realizing you are
missing a form or a stamp and having to mail in requests and wait another
three months.

Good luck!