Deadline to relinquish ARC after getting a divorce

[Feiren]

There are standard divorce agreements that you can download. Just google for Lihun xieyi.

Taiwan is basically a comunity property regime. So everything that BOTH of you earned or acquired during marriage should be put in one pot and divided equally. That includes her earnings, your earnings, the house you bought, your scooter, any appreciation, stock etc. Anything you acquired before marriage is separate property. That's the basic idea anyway. You can agree to some other division though. This is where things get sticky.

[Mark Nagel]

I finally got my new ARC card today!

Here is the whole timeline
1. January 4th (Wednesday): I went to the Personnel Department at my school and told them that I want to apply for a new ARC card because I plan to get divorced soon. They told me that they need to apply for three work permits for me, but before they can do that, they need to have proof that I filed income taxes last May, so I have to go to the income tax office (國稅局) (guo2 shui4 ju2) and apply for proof that I filed income taxes (納稅證明) (na4 shui4 zheng4 ming2) in May 2011 for the 2010 tax year.

2. January 6th (Friday): I mailed my ARC card to my wife so that she could go to the income tax office to apply for proof that I filed income taxes last May. (My wife and I filed income taxes jointly, so that's why it was necessary to have both my wife's ID card and my ARC card to apply for the proof of filing taxes.)

3. January 10th (Tuesday): My wife got my ARC card in the mail.

4. January 13th (Friday): My wife went to the income tax office and got the proof that I filed income taxes in May 2011 for the 2010 tax year (納稅證明) (na4 shui4 zheng4 ming2).

5. January 20th (Friday): That was the next time that I saw my wife. We only saw each other for a few minutes, but she returned my ARC card and she also gave me the 納稅證明 (na4 shui4 zheng4 ming2).

6. January 20th (Friday) to January 30th (Monday): My school was closed for Chinese New Year. So that delayed everything for 11 days.

7. January 31st (Tuesday): I gave the 納稅證明 (na4 shui4 zheng4 ming2) to the Personnel Office of my school. They told me that they now have all of the documents that they need to apply for my three work permits, so they will apply for the work permits as soon as possible.

8. February 2nd (Thursday): I asked the Personnel Office of my school if they had my work permits yet. They said that they hadn't received the work permits yet, but they will call me right away when they get them.

9. February 5th (Sunday): My daughter had to go to the hospital because of a severe intestinal virus. So I packed my bags and temporarily moved to my wife's house so that I could be near the hospital where my daughter was staying. (My wife and I have been living apart for several years. I live in Miaoli County and my wife lives in Jiayi County.)

10. February 6th (Monday): My university was ready to issue my work permits to me that day. They called me more than 10 times from February 6th to 10th, but I wasn't at my house the whole week because I was staying at my wife's house then. (The school only called my landline phone number. They didn't call my cell phone. So I didn't know that they called me until I got back to my house more than a week later.)

11. February 11th (Saturday): My daughter came home from the hospital, but I stayed at my wife's house for a few more days because my wife and I planned to go to the Household Registration Office the next Monday (February 13th) to get divorced.

12. February 13th (Monday): My wife and I went to the Household Registration Office and we got divorced. I was shocked at how simple it was. I just showed them my ARC card and my wife showed them her Taiwan ID card (身份證) (shen1 fen4 zheng4), and then the clerk asked us to sign a few papers. Then the clerk entered the information from our ID cards into her computer. A few minutes later, the clerk handed each of us one copy of the official Divorce Certificate said "Okay, it's all done! You two are now divorced!" Then my wife and I told each other "Thank you for setting me free!". Then we got up from our chairs and hugged each other at the Household Registration Office because we were so happy that it was all over. Meanwhile, the clerk was smiling at us. (My wife and I both consented to the divorce. If one of us had not consented to the divorce, then it would dragged out for months in the courts! That would have been a nightmare!)

13. February 14th (Tuesday): I left my ex-wife's house in Jiayi County and drove back to my own house in Miaoli County.

14. February 20th (Monday): I went to my school and got the work permit papers from the Personnel Department. They told me to take the papers to the National Immigration Agency (入出國及移民署) (ru4 chu1 guo2 ji2 yi2 min2 shu3) as soon as possible.

Here are the three documents that my school gave me:

1) Work Permit #1 (工作許可函) (gong1 zuo4 xu3 ke3 han2) ("Work Permit")
2) Work Permit #2 (在職政名) (zai4 zhi2 zheng4 ming2) ("Proof of Occupation")
3) Work Permit #3 (勞工委員會函) (lao2 gong1 wei3 yuan2 hui4 han2) ("Labor Committee Document")

15. March 13th (Tuesday): I went to the National Immigration Agency (入出國及移民署) (ru4 chu1 guo2 ji2 yi2 min2 shu3) to get my ARC card changed. (The deadline to get my ARC changed was 30 days from the date of divorce. I got divorced on February 13th, so 30 days later was March 14th. I could have gone to the National Immigration Agency as early as February 20th (when I got my work permit papers), but I procrastinated until almost the last day.)

I told the clerk that I need to get my ARC changed because I got divorced during the last 30 days.

These are the documents that I needed to apply for the new ARC card:

1) Work Permit #1 (工作許可函) (gong1 zuo4 xu3 ke3 han2) ("Work Permit")
2) Work Permit #2 (在職政名) (zai4 zhi2 zheng4 ming2) ("Proof of Occupation")
3) Work Permit #3 (勞工委員會函) (lao2 gong1 wei3 yuan2 hui4 han2) ("Labor Committee Document")
4) Application form (外國人居留案件申請表) (wai4 guo2 ren2 ju1 liu2 an4 jian4 shen1 qing3 biao3)
5) Old ARC card (both original and a photocopy)
6) Passport (both original and a photocopy)
7) One Passport Photograph (2 inches high, 1½ inches wide, with a white background)
8) Rental Contract (to prove my address)

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my rental contract, so I couldn't prove my address. But fortunately, I was still able to apply for an ARC card using my school's address. (The National Immigration Agency is half an hour from where I live, so I didn't want to waste one hour to go back home just to get my rental contract.)

Then the clerk told me to come back two weeks later to pick up my new ARC card.

16. March 27th (Tuesday): I went back to the National Immigration Agency to pick up my new ARC card because it has now been exactly two weeks since I applied for it.

I'm so happy to finally get my new ARC card!

By the way, the expiration date of my new ARC card is the date when my school contract will expire, which is July 31st this year. So during the last 30 days before my ARC card expires (i.e., July 1st to July 31st), I have to get a new contract from my school and then use the new contract to apply for a new Work Permit #1, Work Permit #2, and Work Permit #3. Then I have to go back to the National Immigration Agency and show them the new work permits in order to apply for a new ARC card which will expire when my new school contract expires.

[Northcoast Surfer]

I finally got my new ARC card today!

Here is the whole timeline

Mark,

Congratulations on a successful mission! However, a bigger and more appreciative thanks for sharing your experience in such clear detail! Definiteley vital and necessary information for the forums. Way to pay it forward bro!

I expect that you'll be receiving tons of PMs from individuals seeking out the straight scoop from a duty expert like yourself!

[TheGingerMan]

Congrats on the good news!
And hats off for sharing the whole process. An outstanding service for the whole community.

[jdsmith]

Congrats on the good news!
And hats off for sharing the whole process. An outstanding service for the whole community.

Well, some of the community. Not all of it.

[Rockefeller]

I finally got my new ARC card today!

Here is the whole timeline

Mark,

Congratulations on a successful mission! However, a bigger and more appreciative thanks for sharing your experience in such clear detail! Definiteley vital and necessary information for the forums. Way to pay it forward bro!

I expect that you'll be receiving tons of PMs from individuals seeking out the straight scoop from a duty expert like yourself!

I second Northcoast Surfer's sentiments.

You are a kind soul Mark. It takes a lot to be able to share all this personal experience in public. Not that I'll ever personally need the info, but I'm sure your posts have and will benefit many in the community.

Kudos brother.