Hi guys!! I’m an American born Taiwanese and in the midst of preparing documents to become a fully fledged Taiwanese citizen. I’m beyond excited, because this is something I’ve wanted for years! I’m not opting to do the 定居證副本/3-day exchange program and will probably take a month off later this year to get the health check and finish the process in Taiwan.
I’ve seen a bit of conflicting info online whether or not translations have been needed recently if applying for the TAPRC within Taiwan. Some say they were not needed. I’ve self-translated all my documents already (fbi background check, birth certificate, parents’ US marriage certificate) and would rather not spend extra money notarizing/authenticating if it’s not necessary, especially because this process is already quite expensive!
I anm curious if anyone has any recent experience with the process and if translations were even needed? I’m registering to a household in New Taipei City if that makes a difference. I know that each office seems to have its own rules and I’d call to confirm if I could.
If you’re not in a rush, you can always try without the notarized documents first (maybe just visit and ask while you’re waiting for your health check results?). If they request notarization, get it done and come back a couple of days later.
Notarization can also be done in Taiwan for self-translated documents - it should cost around NT$500 per document and takes around 2 days.
Just make sure the documents are already authenticated by TECO (if needed) - that’s something that’s not easily possible once you’re already in Taiwan.
If you get the translation notarized in Taiwan, you don’t need to authenticate the translation by TECO - only the original document!
Yeah I think that’s what I’ll do, thank you! I’m planning this trip with my dad so I could probably just have him call in and ask for me. (My Chinese speaking ability is uhhh very 爛 ）
Definitely not in a rush, and if there are any delays I could just plan to extend my trip, too.
The original birth certificate and parents’ marriage certificate are already authenticated and I’m waiting on TECRO to send me back my authenticated FBI background check at the moment!
In that case, best to let your father accompany you. And if you need notarized translations, maybe let him do it (i.e. let him translate the documents and then swore to the notary that the translation is accurate).
I could imagine the notary giving you trouble if you cannot speak Chinese well but want them to notarize translations you made.
It’s perfectly fine to have the translation done by a friend / relative. They just need to come to the notary in person for the notarization and bring their ID card / passport.
I was told by the HHR office to make sure that any translation translates literally everything: Your name must be translated into Chinese (English name can be in brackets behind, and some ID attached that shows the English and Chinese name) - but also any street address, place of birth etc. must be translated, too! Basically the translation shouldn’t contain any latin characters.
Not sure if that HHR office was particularly strict or if all agencies require this. But definitely something to look out for!
Oh random and probably silly question, do they generally ask for the English on the TECO authentication page to be translated as well?
I was pretty thorough with my translations I’d say, both sides of marriage certificate, and birth certificate (both pages because I had an amendment!) from top to bottom, including the seals
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