[quote=“citizen k”][quote=“cfimages”]Death of a spouse is not grounds for loss of JFRV. It sounded a bit strange my wife looked it up and sure enough, it’s in the most recent revised law. It didn’t say though whether you’d keep a JFRV for life or would have to change to APRC.[/quote]It’s been in practice for much longer than that.
For the OP, I wonder if the simple fact of holding a JFRV for more than the required period (is it still 5yrs?) is enough to make him eligeable for an APRC. A JFRV does not require you to be in the country for the 183 days per year that other residence visas do…Unless of course there is an added stipulation in the requirements. I can’t remember. Where’s North Coast Surfer when you need him, lol?!?[/quote]Let’s see…
Here’s what I know and what I don’t know.
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JFRV - There is no requirement to stay in Taiwan 183 days per year to maintain this status. You can come and go as you please. However, you must renew it before it expires. Depending on how long you decide, you can get 1 year, 2 years, up to a maximum of 3 years at a time. Most people I know opt for 3 years for $3,000 NTD until they get close to their 5 year mark and are going to apply for the APRC. No matter how long you hold the JFRV, it never, ever, becomes automatic permanent residency or citizenship in any way shape or form. To obtain permanent residency or citizenship, you must apply for it.
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APRC - To apply for permanent residency, you need to reside in Taiwan for 5 years, and for at least 183 days per year for each of those 5 years. You can reach this goal by maintaining a JFRV ARC or an employment based ARC during the required time. Read this thread for more specific information and details. APRC Application Procedures (Official Checklist)
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Naturalization - To apply for citizenship you need to reside in Taiwan for 3 years on a JFRV, and for at least 183 days per year for each of those 3 years. Individuals with an employment based ARC or an APRC and not married to a Taiwan national must reside in Taiwan for 5 years, and for at least 183 days per year for each of those 5 years. Read this thread for more specific information and details. How to get Taiwan citizenship–primer, FAQ and resources
That was the easy stuff. Now the hard stuff.
What happens to you and your JFRV status in the event of divorce or death of your Taiwanese spouse?
DIVORCE
When you get divorced from your Taiwanese spouse, you are no longer entitled to the JFRV. Why? Because the whole reason for being granted this visa status is “Joining family” which would be your spouse. When you get divorced you no longer have a reason for joining family as your ex-spouse is no longer your family member and can’t sponsor you for a JFRV.
Exception 1: In the event of having children with your Taiwanese ex-spouse you MAY be granted special approval to maintain your JFRV status until your child(ren) reach the age of 20. This is not guaranteed and you must apply for this status and receive a special allowance for it. It also depends on whether or not you’ve been awarded full custody, joint custody, or simple visitation. However, when your child(ren) reach adulthood, age 20 in Taiwan, you will no longer be able to qualify for a JFRV because your child(ren) will have reached adulthood and adult children can’t sponsor their parent for a JFRV, at this time.
Exception 2: Sometimes the NIA will allow you to keep your JFRV until the expiry date even after you have gotten divorced from your Taiwanese spouse, but don’t have any children. However, this is not automatically granted and you must make a request for special circumstances for this to be granted. If you are allowed to keep your JFRV until the expiry date, you will not be able to renew it again and it will be necessary for you to opt for a different visa status in order to stay in Taiwan when you reach the expiry date.
DEATH
Things may have changed by now or not. I do not know. Therefore, I will have to defer to cfimages’ experience of recently having his wife look up the relevant law regarding JFRV with regards to the death of the sponsoring Taiwanese spouse.
The only case I have been involved in where this issue has come up was back in early 2002. This was before the birth of the NIA and the Foreign Affairs Police of the National Police Administration were in control of all things “foreigner”. Anyway, there was a South African man who came to Taiwan in 1997 and he got an employment based ARC and worked as an English teacher from 1997~1999. He then married his Taiwanese girlfriend and changed to a JFRV marriage based ARC. Shortly thereafter, his wife was diagnosed with uterine cancer and after a very short battle died in late 2001. The APRC status was brand new in 2000 and the requirements for getting it were more difficult. Employment based ARC holders had to live and work in Taiwan for 7 years and JFRV ARC holders had to be married and live in Taiwan for 5 years. He had had an employment based ARC for only three years of the required seven and a JFRV marriage based ARC for only two years of the required five. No problem, right? Just add the two together and you have a total of five years living in Taiwan and married to a Taiwanese. Wrong. They wouldn’t allow him to add the 3 years employment plus two years of marriage in order to apply for the APRC. It was considered “cheating” the system. They let his JFRV have an additional one month validity past his wife’s death in order to get his personal affairs in order and leave Taiwan and come back and get an employment based ARC if he so desired. If that wasn’t enough of a slap in the face, there was also the distribution of his wife’s assets upon her death. As her husband, he should have 100% rights to her assets, right? According to him, NOT. Upon the death of his wife, her family had a legal right to 50% of his deceased wife’s assets and they were the type of people who insisted on collecting. Why didn’t he have 100% rights to his wife’s assets upon her death? Because he’s a foreigner. According to him, if he had been a Taiwanese citizen then he would have inherited all of his wife’s assets and his wife’s family would have had no claim to any of it. He thought about trying to fight it out in court, however, he got disillusioned with the whole episode, especially after losing his wife, that he apparently left Taiwan and went back to South Africa. I haven’t heard from him since.
NOTE: I have NOT independently researched and verified that a foreigner is only entitled to 50% of his Taiwanese spouse’s assets upon death and the spouse’s next of kin are entitled to the other 50%. Has anyone else dealt with this?