APRC to nationality

[Pioneer Kuro]

Ok, I was on leave today , so I decided to find a clear answer to the question raised by myself, and here is what I got.
My wife called HHR , MOI and NIA today and asked "What if someone failed the final health check?" guess what? NO ONE KNOWS. LOL!

Here are some plain stupid parts of this naturalization process
1. Renunciation of original nationality
2. Final health check
3. Asking you to wait for a year to get the real ID
4. Reset the clock if you leave Taiwan within that year

I have no idea why they are doing these?

[Fortigurn]

OK, here's the deal. If you have APRC, then in order to get nationality you must:

1. wait two years since you got your APRC

Was it decided whether or not this actually applies? Do you have to wait any length of time before applying for citizenship?

[Northcoast Surfer]

OK, here's the deal. If you have APRC, then in order to get nationality you must:

1. wait two years since you got your APRC

Was it decided whether or not this actually applies? Do you have to wait any length of time before applying for citizenship?

Not relevant to my situation, so I don't know. However, give NIA a call and ask them, or better yet....go to your local Household Registration office and see what they have to say. After all, the HHR Office are the ones who will process your application for naturalization.

[Fortigurn]

Thanks, I'll do that.

[speed_maniac]

better go to the NIA because sometimes the staff at the HHR may or may not have the answers and they too will check with the NIA.

if you are eligble for citizenship then directly apply for the same...but do take into account your age at the time of getting the id card...if you will just be around 35 - 36 then there maybe a chance that you will get drafted...

i personally went the APRC way mainly because back in 2005 I did not know that I was eligible for citizenship but in a way it was a mixed blessing beause when I get my id card later on in this month I will already be in the " safe zone "...I am already 40 so no chance of me getting drafted ( at least I guess so.... )

i feel if you have made up your mind to apply for citizenship then might as well do it directly and no need to go the APRC route...if you are still young then hang on to the ARC and apply say when you are around 37 - 38.

Of course if it is going to be like another 4 - 5 years before you can apply for citizenship then getting the APRC will make you more free..also as I found out in my case ( APRC to citizenship ) the paperwork was much less when applying for citizenship

best of luck!!!

[Fortigurn]

better go to the NIA because sometimes the staff at the HHR may or may not have the answers and they too will check with the NIA.

Thanks.

if you are eligble for citizenship then directly apply for the same...but do take into account your age at the time of getting the id card...if you will just be around 35 - 36 then there maybe a chance that you will get drafted...

Already have that covered (37 years old right now).

i feel if you have made up your mind to apply for citizenship then might as well do it directly and no need to go the APRC route...if you are still young then hang on to the ARC and apply say when you are around 37 - 38.

My primary motivation for holding off on citizenship right now (which is something I would otherwise jump at, and was planning to apply for in June), is that while I'm a foreigner I have the opportunity to apply for scholarships or even waived tuition when undertaking a PhD program, which is something I want to do.

[speed_maniac]

well then i guess you get your APRC first and then citizenship after you get your PhD..

[A-ha]

OK, here's the deal. If you have APRC, then in order to get nationality you must:

1. wait two years since you got your APRC

Was it decided whether or not this actually applies? Do you have to wait any length of time before applying for citizenship?

Did anyone ever ask the HHR if this was the case? If not, I guess I can ask them when I go there on Wednesday.

[A-ha]

Ok, so I went to the HHR office in Taoyuan City on Wednesday with my APRC and Taiwanese friend in tow, just to make sure I didn't misunderstand anything. We were helped my a Miss Tsai, who was friendly and helpful. She gave me a list of 9 items that would be needed by a person with a garden variety ARC, but she highlighted the items I needed, being on an APRC.

1. A "Wai Guo Ren Jiu Liuo Zhen Ming Shu" from the NIA.
2. A criminal record check from my country of cititzenship, certified, translated, etc, etc.
3. Naturalization test results/Certificates of language studies
4. 2 ID sized photos
5. NTD 200

I suppose they'll also want to see your APRC and passport, but that's it. Being a South African, I'll have a waiting period of about 3 to 4 months (if I'm lucky), so I'll apply for the Certificate of Candidature at the end of the year or the beginning of 2011, at the earliest. I'll keep you posted.

[A-ha]

I went to our local (Taoyuan) HHR office this morning with all the documents I mentioned before, waited about 20 minutes while the ever-friendly Miss Tsai checked through everything. Two things that I forgot to mention are (1) Your police clearance from your home country also needs to go to MOFA in Taipei to certify that the TECO signature is real. (2) Your NT$200 fee needs to be in the form of a postal order, made out to the Ministry of the Interior.

Any way, a form was typed out in triplicate and I had to sign my Chinese name for the very 1st time on an official government document! And that was it. No mention of having to wait another 2 years after acquiring an APRC, so this doesn't seem to be correct information.

Now all I need to do is wait 40 days for the answer...and then I am done with step ONE on the list.