Eligibility quiz
Do you have a blood relative in a direct line who currently has household registration in Taiwan?
Benefits
Benefits for youBenefits for you
Live in Taiwan
You can live in Taiwan for the period on your residence certificate, rather than just visit.
Some residence categories allow six-month extensions up to a total extension of one year; others allow one-year extensions up to a total of two years.
Return to Taiwan
You can use your residence certificate and the required passport or entry document to return to Taiwan.
Use public healthcare
With a valid residence certificate, you can join Taiwan’s National Health Insurance after six months’ residence.
That can be six continuous months, or six months with one trip abroad of no more than 30 days.
If you are employed, your employer may insure you earlier.
Joining is compulsory.
How to apply
From outside TaiwanFrom outside Taiwan
Find your consulate
Find the Taiwan overseas office that serves the place where you live.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Taiwan overseas office handles applications for residence for nationals without household registration in your city?”
Download the application form
Download the Taiwan Area Entry, Residence and Settlement Application.
Download the formGather your documents
Prepare the documents required for your residence application.
See required documentsFill in the form
Fill in and sign the application form and attach your photograph.
Get form helpSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I fill in the Taiwan Area Entry, Residence and Settlement Application for residence?”
Hand in your application
Submit your form and documents to your Taiwan overseas office and pay the NT$1,300 fee. Ask the office which payment methods it accepts.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I submit a Taiwan residence application for nationals without household registration at the Taiwan overseas office serving your city?”
Wait for the decision
The office sends your application to Taiwan’s immigration agency for a decision. Respond to any request for more documents within the time given.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I ask about a Taiwan residence application for nationals without household registration at the Taiwan overseas office serving your city?”
Receive your permits
If approved, receive your single-entry permit and the duplicate of your Taiwan residence permit from the overseas office.
Find permit detailsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I receive my Taiwan entry permit and residence permit duplicate after approval for residence for nationals without household registration?”
Enter Taiwan
Enter Taiwan before your residence permit duplicate expires. It is valid for six months from the day after it is issued.
Find entry guidanceSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I enter Taiwan with a residence permit duplicate for nationals without household registration?”
Once in TaiwanOnce in Taiwan
Exchange your permit
Within three months from the day after entry, exchange your duplicate for a Taiwan Area Resident Certificate at the immigration service station serving your Taiwan address. A minor’s legal representative does this for the child.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Taiwan immigration service station serves your city for exchanging a residence permit duplicate for a Taiwan Area Resident Certificate?”
Apply for settlement
You can apply for settlement when you meet the requirements for your residence route. If you are outside Taiwan when you apply, use the settlement channel for where you live.
Find settlement stepsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I apply for settlement in Taiwan after residence as a national without household registration?”
Documents needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Birth certificates
Get your birth certificate naming both parents, and provide the original and a copy. If you were born in Taiwan, get a Chinese or English birth certificate from the medical institution where you were born. If you were adopted, add the adoption decision; in special parentage cases, ask your filing office about proof of acknowledgment, a court judgment, or a genetic test and proof of your mother’s unmarried status during conception.
Parent’s residence record
Provide your Taiwanese parent’s household-registration record or national ID. It must show their household registration at the time relevant to your application: currently, or, for the overseas-born parent route, at your birth or at their death if you were born after they died.
Parents’ marriage record *
Provide your parents’ Taiwan household-registration record or national ID showing that their marriage was registered. If their marriage was not registered in Taiwan, provide the original and a copy of their marriage certificate.
* Only if your parents’ marriage is relevant to establishing your parentage.
May need translationMay need apostille/legalisationConsiderations
Things to think aboutThings to think about
Residence and work rules
To keep your residence, you must continue to qualify for it and apply for an extension before your certificate expires.
Your residence alone does not give you permission to work; working without the required permission can cost you your residence.
From age 14, you must carry a passport, entry permit, visit permit or other identification when entering or staying in Taiwan.
Military service for men
Taiwanese male citizens are liable for military service from 1 January of the year after they turn 18 through 31 December of the year they turn 36.
This can involve registration, a medical examination, a lottery, call-up and service or military training.
Medical classification and legal exemptions apply.
Another citizenship or overseas-Chinese status does not by itself remove the duty.
Residence can end
Your residence expires if it is not extended, and you must keep the qualification on which it was granted.
It can also be taken away for reasons including false application information, identity or document fraud, illegal entry, helping someone enter illegally or a sham marriage.
Other grounds include serious criminal or security concerns, threats to social stability, working or undertaking other activities without permission, and overstaying.
Failing required health checks, refusing an interview without justification or obstructing an investigation can also put your residence at risk.
If your residence is cancelled or ends, your family members’ dependent residence can end at the same time.
Discuss
Online communitiesOnline communities
r/TaiwaneseBornAbroad
English Reddit group for people living in Taiwan interested in Taiwanese visas
Join on RedditForeigners in Taipei&Taiwan/外國人在台北&台灣《生活Live&Life/資訊Information/工作Jobs》
Facebook group for people living in Taiwan interested in Taiwanese local life (English & Chinese)
Join on FacebookForeigners In Taiwan
Facebook group for people living in Taiwan interested in Taiwanese local life (English & Chinese)
Join on FacebookConsultation
Talk to a professionalTalk to a professional
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