Usage of Expired Documentation

[Hartzell]

A number of years ago, I heard this interesting story from a US citizen holder of an APRC who has been living in Taiwan for many decades.

It occurs that in some of his dealings with Taiwanese officialdom he needs to prove his "state status," from the 50 states. In other words, he has to offer some sort of proof of what state he resides in, in the 50 states.

Obviously, this is a problem, since he doesn't reside in the USA, and maintains neither a physical residence nor a residency address in the 50 states. He has an APRC and resides in Taiwan, and has been doing so for decades.

Luckily, among the old paperwork in his house he did find an expired Massachusetts Drivers License. He took that to a local translation service, had it professionally translated, and had the translation service chop, stamp, and certify the translation. (It amounts to two pages, since the first page is the photocopy of the Drivers License, with some other notations by the translation service. The second page is the translation.)

He presented this to the Taiwanese officialdom involved, and everything worked out nicely.

Well, I ran into this fellow again a week or two ago, and he recounted that he had recently used this procedure again, to satisfy the officials in some Taiwanese government office. He remarked that his Drivers License has been expired over 15 years, but that didn't seem to matter. (He used the same "paperwork" that he had used previously. He just photocopied the originals.) He has a Chinese name that he uses, and a Chinese chop. Of course the officials involved wanted to chop all the relevant documents with his chop, but that was no problem.

Although he occasionally makes trips to the USA, however due to the fact that his parents have passed away, he has not been back to Massachusetts to renew his license. Renewal of the Drivers License by mail was not feasible after it had expired several years.

[finley]

I have the reverse situation. I was planning to apply for an APRC which requires me to get a police report from the UK. However, to submit the request, I must prove that I actually live in the UK, which involves producing a bill or somesuch that shows a UK address. Since I don't live in the UK (and there is even a box on the form that you can tick to indicate that the report is for visa purposes, ie., that you live abroad) that's impossible. Penpushers, eh, what do you do with 'em.

[*monkey*]

I have the reverse situation. I was planning to apply for an APRC which requires me to get a police report from the UK. However, to submit the request, I must prove that I actually live in the UK, which involves producing a bill or somesuch that shows a UK address. Since I don't live in the UK (and there is even a box on the form that you can tick to indicate that the report is for visa purposes, ie., that you live abroad) that's impossible. Penpushers, eh, what do you do with 'em.

I never had that problem. You do, I believe, have to submit the request for police data in person, but I don't recall any need to prove residence.

[finley]

You do, I believe, have to submit the request for police data in person

Ah, thanks ... presumably that's the workaround. The postal application requires proof of identity and residence.