How to get Taiwan Citizenship - Primer, FAQ, and Resources

[asian boy]

I'm now the proud owner of a Taiwanese ID Card.:

Great news. One less foreigner in Taiwan. Due to low birth rate need to build up some numbers.

[speed_maniac]

Congrats Bis!!! You are now a free man!!!

[A-ha]

I guess you should get the letter in this week.....

It came today at 11am by registered mail. Went to the post office to pick it up and then to my HHRO. Took about 30 minutes or so at the HHRO and I'm now the proud owner of a Taiwanese ID Card.

Now to go change all my stuff, like health card etc and get my passport!

At last!!! I am so chuffed for you Bismarck! Congratulations! Hopefully my ID will be in my hand in time for my birthday - fingers crossed.

[Northcoast Surfer]

My heartfelt congratulations! You made it! Whew!

[bismarck]

My heartfelt congratulations! You made it! Whew!

Yeah, now I just need to get legally divorced without looking dodgy!

Thanks guys!

[Icon]

Question for those of you with latest updates:

If I put in my paperwork in September, do you guys think I will be approved and able to have a form of Taiwanese ID, hopefully a passport, by February 2013? I currently hold APRC, if that helps.

Just discovered that due to certain circunstances, my passport cannot be extended but I require a brand new one -60 USD please!-, which entails going back to the ol' country...before February 2013. Will they be queasy about the expiration date for nationality paperwork here in Taiwan? Rats, I have a big trip planned for summer 2013...

[speed_maniac]

Icon if your paperwork is all in order, then in about 14 - 21 days you can get the letter / certificate saying that your application has been approved and you have 2 years in which to renounce your original citizenship and apply for the Taiwanese one.

Now the major hurdle will be this -- how long will it take for you to get the letter, from your ol' country, showing that your have renounced your original citizenship???

In my case it took me @ 14 days to get the first letter. I then went over to my country of origin's Trade office in Taipei. They took 3 months to give me the letter of renunciation. I got it translated, notarised and then submitted it to the HRO ( or was it at Guangzhou street...sorry I forgot ). In about 20 odd days I got the letter saying that I can pick up my TARC. After you get the TARC I think it will take about a week's time to get the passport.

Even if you do get the passport by Feb 2013, are you sure you can get a visa ( landing or otherwise ) to the place that you are visiting?? As you know, some countries will not accept a Taiwan passport that does not have the ID number on it.

[Icon]

Well, in my case, the paperwork that takes most time is the criminal record, especially because there are no representative offices in the ol' country and my Dad has to go anywhere nearby. Same here, no representation -my ol country is now quite hostile to Taiwan.

As to the letter, what I present is a letter of intent, like the Japanese: I can't renounce, I am not allowed to renounce. I am bound for life. My problem is that I will be jobless as soon as I present the paperwork, which used to be a hurdle, but now I am OK with it.

Yeah, the trip is going to be interesting, and will probably delay the TARC. I was really counting on that extension, but now I understand why even my relatives in the States say it is just too inconvenient not having the nationality of the place you live in. I am just too used to the swift Taiwan burocracy, with all its faults, its Flash compared to a paralytic turtle (the ol country).

[Winston Smith]

Just started the process yesterday at household registration and immigration offices. Married permanent resident and currently U.S. citizen. Following is flowchart as told to me by household registration official:

No criminal record, medical exam or income/assets report required as I'm a married permanent resident.

1) Obtain resident certificate (good for three months): applied for today and receiving on 04Sept

2) Document 72 hours of Mandarin language instruction at approved institution: done

3) Submit application to begin naturalization process plus following documents at household registration office:
a) current passport
b) chop
c) 2 ID photos
d) resident certificate
e) proof of completion of 72 hours Mandarin instruction
f) Post Office draft for NT200 payable to Control/Internal Yuan

4) Renounce citizenship at AIT:
a) obtain certificate of renunciation and have translated and notarized

5) Return to household registration and submit:
a) translated and notarized certificate of renunciation
b) PARC card
c) Chinese name and chop
d) 2 ID photos
e) Post Office draft for NT1,000 payable to Control/Internal Yuan

6) Wait estimated two/three months to get TARC. No foreign travel possible during this period.

7) When TARC received, go to Foreign Affairs Bureau and apply for Taiwan passport minus Taiwan ID number. Foreign travel possible but visa may be/likely required, depending on country.

8) Since I need to travel on business, I'll go the following route to receiving Taiwan ID number: be present in country minimum of 270 days per year for two years, at the end of which I'll receive Taiwan ID number/new passport with ID number.

[A-ha]

So the latest news on my situation is like this: My 365 days of jail time was over and done with on Wednesday past. Off I go to see the friendly folk at the Taoyuan NIA with all the documents I needed according to the list I was given by the HHRO, or so I thought.

First, they wanted to see my spouse's ID and details ( I am single. There is a huge BLANK on my TARC) and this was to set the tone for the rest of the festivities.

Next they had a look at the rental agreement for my flat and the copy that I provided.
Friendly NIA Official: "Uhmmm...we need a letter from your landlady to give permission that you may live there."
Me: "Yes, you have it right there. It is my rental agreement. If you check your records, you will see that I have lived at that address for the past 8 years."
Friendly NIA Official: "No, we need a letter with a stamp."
Me: "OK, so I can get this letter from ANYBODY to give me permission to register at their address?"
Friendly NIA Official: " Yes, anybody."

Off I go, across town, to my friend the doctor to ask him if he could provide me with said letter, as my landlady id son answering any of my calls (later found out she is abroad). Go back again, across town to the NIA office and present my "I give you permission to use my address" letter.

Friendly NIA Officer: "Uhmm...this address is not the same as the address on the contract."
Me: "No, my landlady is not in the country and you said that anyone could give me permission."
Friendly NIA Officer: "But the addresses are not the same. So now I also need a copy of this person's ID, their household registration, or their property tax records."
Me: *cursing her 80 generations worth of ancestors in my mind* "How about I go back to my friend the doctor and get him to sign a fake rental agreement with me? Would that solve the problem?"
Friendly NIA Official: "Sure, you can do that."

By this time the NIA offices were closing, my scooter had broken down next to the road and the Good Doctor was busy seeing patients. Long story short, I went back the next day with a NT$5 rental agreement from a stationery shop for a place I will never live in for a rental of NT$1000 that I will never pay...all fake, smoke and mirrors, but that's OK, it seems.

My final question to this person was, "So, what if this single "foreigner" (who hasn't been a foreigner for more than a year) can't get anyone to provide these things that you are asking for at this point of the game. All he has is his legal and valid rental agreement...what then?" She phoned "HQ" and posed this question. The answer? "You need a letter from your landlord in which they give you permission to use this address."

If they won't give it, I guess you should move around until you get it, go live under a bridge or just fake it, as I did.

Now it is the (hopefully) last bit of waiting 10 to 14 days she said, before I can go and do the ID part at the HHRO. I'm wondering what surprise document requirements awaits on that occasion. Family register of the landowner and his concubines? Voting records for the previous elections? The mind boggles.

I am "gatvol"!