Due to popular demand I am asking this question: for those of you who got ROC citizenship - was it worth it?
I am genuinely curious…I would personally apply for it if I could get to keep my other citizenship otherwise I’d pass on it.
Then again I might be missing something or I’m being too harsh in my evaluation.
what about you?
Yep, I have the option to live in Taiwan in the future if I choose. I currently have the right to work in 3 countries which will increase to 4 when I establish household registration.
I have access to pretty decent public health systems in 2 countries.
I like having options for my future self.
Also, as petty as it is, it’s nice to have a retort for the 外國人沒辦法 BS everywhere
Plus citizenship is permanent. It can’t be taken from me. (Excluding the breaking of some serious laws but I’m referring to the average person not criminals)
I don’t know what future me will want but options are good to have
Thanks for sharing.
I do have a question: are any of those benefits things one can get from just having an APRC?
The differences between APRC and NWOHR are
NWOHR has no requirement to be in Taiwan X amount of time to keep the residency.
Right to hold a Taiwanese passport.
Nationality can be passed to children, APRC cannot
Right to own property (no reciprocity to worry about)
When you establish household registration you also get:
The right to vote
The right to apply for a taibaozheng to live in China
Less daily life hassles
Can pay into the pension thing for unemployed people. I forget what it’s called
There are probably more but that’s from the top of my head
Fair enough. It does sound like a good deal if one plans on spending the rest of his or her life here.
Did you have to give up your former nationality for it?
For about 3 weeks
When you renounce Australian citizenship, it is just a downgrade to Australian permanent residency.
And ex-Australians can apply to resume citizenship immediately which is what I did. So I was a PR of Australia instead of citizen for about 3 weeks
Australian PR is very similar to Taiwan NWOHR status. Only AU PR cannot hold an Australian passport
If only for this alone, it’s worth it (if you have a path to apply). Not having to deal with the ID number BS makes life much less stressful.
Well done
Here’s a stickier question- if the CCP were to invade, would you be called to fight?
No, because I don’t have household registration. NWOHR are ineligible to serve in the ROC armed forces and cannot be conscripted.
Household registration is optional and is not technically part of the naturalisation process.
If I did have household registration, I don’t really know what the rules are around conscription for those living overseas
I’m creeping towards 36 though
Gotcha - well played Sir, well played.
There are still limitations from what I’m finding for those with your status- probably not one that matter or affect you.
Yeah…I might have an argument to qualify for acquiring citizenship without giving my American one up….but waiting a bit longer until the ROC relaxes those rules just to be safe - no rush
They’re going to have to given their population decline I reckon.
Used the system to my advantage. I didn’t make the rules 
Oh for sure. But I can live in Taiwan forever whenever I want and that was my main goal.
Also fairness as my partner got his Australian PR through our relationship which is permanent even if we split (and I paid for it) so I wanted to have the same benefits in Taiwan.
Here’s hoping
I know someone who got her aprc cancelled by the NIA
It would be harder to cancel a citizenship
Seems a good one to have if one can maintain their original. I would be more curious the answer from those that had to renounce and cannot regain their original citizenship and are solely Taiwanese. There numerous people wjth such. Also which country they renounced from. That would put more skin in the game. I bet it’s worth it for nearly all of us if we can find a work around to maintain another citizenship.
What’s the downside of having more rights and freedoms? Having to properly renounce ones birth country, or passport holding country (loads of people born in Taiwan that couldn’t become Taiwanese in the past due to being unable to renounce their citizenship) is a deal breaker for many. This is thankfully starting to change due to very respectable efforts by others to turn around Taiwan laws for foreigners. But for those that don’t need to, or can regain it, is see no downside in becoming a citizen of the country one lives in and makes a home.
Or, expiring.
This isn’t true. If you are unable to renounce your original citizenship then you are exempt from the renunciation requirement.
Unless you mean unwilling?
You could always acquire a throwaway citizenship to renounce…
Doesn’t work anymore.
Got me because they saw I entered with my US passport a long time ago. Now they want proof you renounce (or can’t renounce) all your nationalities.
Both HHRO and NIA now ask about your multiple nationalities, from blue collar ARC all the way to plum blossom APRC. If you lie, and they find out after your naturalize, they can revoke your Taiwanese nationality (within 5 years).
However, I think if you declared and renounced 1 of your multiple nationalities before 2022(?) or so, you are probably fine(?). It seems enforcement was not strict at the time. Damn, I missed it by a couple years.
For me I don’t think it was worth it. Glad I got it but looking back on it not worth the hassle an APRC is fine these days.
Irrelevant for plum blossom cards as they are exempted as senior foreign professionals
Absolutely relevant.
MOI can legally revoke your Taiwanese nationality if you naturalized under the senior foreign professional path and if you (significantly) lied in your application.
Thankfully, even if it’s a white lie, most senior high-level professionals are “good” people, and their multiple nationalities (even if not declared) are from nice™ countries.
I never said plum blossom card holders need to renounce. I said: When applying for plum blossom card, they ask about your multiple nationalities.
But this is off topic and really doesn’t matter for most people.