APRC and the trailing spouse

[KTmonkey]

Is there any way that a trailing spouse - meaning one that moved here along with her foreign hubby and has not worked in Taiwan - can qualify for an APRC?

We have been here 4.5+ years and are starting to think about what our next step should be - especially since both of our kids should be in school within the next year. Hubby has been working for a tech company (and is paid in NTD) so we are fairly confident that he would qualify. However, he is not too interested in the open work permit for himself but it may be advantageous if I had one if I wanted to work a bit once the kids are in school. Or could I be granted open working rights based on his APRC?

Thanks for any insight you may be able to give. We will reach 5 years this December and have until November 2013 before hubby's current work permit (and our ARCs) need to renewed - so we do have some time to figure things out...

Cheers,
KT

[bigduke6]

I think you can. The best person to ask is Northcoast Surfer. He is the resident expert. PM him. He is extremely helpful.

[spaint]

I know someone who did this, BUT he needed to furnish tax documents for the previous year - during which time he'd been on a work permit. If his application had gone over into the new year I think he'd have been screwed because he had no income for the year in which he was applying.

Therefore, I believe the trailing spouse CAN apply for an APRC, but needs to have passed the income threshold - which means at some point in time the spouse wouldn't have been "trailing".

[scomargo]

If it's just a lack of income that's stopping you, then you may be able to qualify by showing a bank statement with 5,000,000 NT in it. If you're going to go this route, find out of if there's any minimum time duration for which the funds need to be present in the account. I've heard stories about the NIA staff members making up rules such as the funds need to be in the bank account for X number of months, where X equals something they pulled out of their ass.

Good luck. I've not gone for the APRC myself, but if I wasn't married to a Taiwan citizen or if I was going to be here for more than another 10 years, I would go for it. Of course, your circumstances are quite different than mine.

[spaint]

As of late last year, there was no official requirement for the money to have been in your bank account for any length of time. I know someone who borrowed the money for this - ah, and come to think of it he was a trailing spouse too, without a source of income. So there's your answer, OP.

[dahsiung]

The NIA allows you to use the combined income of you and your spouse to meet the financial requirement, so as long as your husband satisfies one of the tracks (total assets, yearly income, etc) it should qualify you as long as you personally meet all other requirements.