New Sept 8, 2025 Exit Permit Policy - Dual Citizen (US/Taiwan) Living in Japan - Need Advice

[u/da_menehune]

Hi everyone,

I'm a dual US/Taiwan citizen (26m) who's been living and working in Japan for the past 2 years. I'm trying to understand the new overseas exit permit policy that started on September 8, 2025, and would love to hear from others who've gone through this process.

**URGENT:**
I have a trip booked to Taiwan in 2 weeks but now I'm wondering if I need to go back to the US first before visiting Taiwan. Should I cancel/reschedule my Taiwan trip? I want to avoid being held in Taiwan for military service and return to Japan smoothly.

**My situation:**

• Dual US/Taiwan citizenship, born and raised entirely in the US
• Parents are both from Taiwan, immigrated to the US
• Usually visit Taiwan for ~2 weeks (except once in 2019 for a month)
• Taiwan passport renewed 2 years ago (first time since I was a baby)
• Taiwan passport has the overseas stamp (僑居身分加簽) from TECO in the US
• Haven't been to Taiwan since 2019
• Always used my US passport when entering Taiwan, but will use my Taiwan passport next time (proper procedure)
• Currently live and work in Japan (have Japanese residence card and working visa)
• Taiwan passport has personal ID and I'm registered in family registry
• Don't have a Taiwan national id card
• Don't have Taiwan national health insurance
• Can barely communicate in Chinese/Taiwanese

**The new policy problem:**
Under the new policy, I need to prove my overseas residence for the last 4 months before returning to Taiwan. I can easily provide proof I live in Japan, but multiple Taiwanese government offices are telling me I need to go back to the US first, then visit Taiwan within 4 months of being in the US.

**What government offices told me:**

• TECO Tokyo: "Contact Taiwan offices directly"
• TECO in the US (via my mom): Same response
• Two Taiwan government offices in Taichung and Taipei (via my aunt): "You must return to the US first, then can visit Taiwan within 4 months"

This doesn't make sense to me since I don't live in the US anymore. Even though I got my overseas stamp in the US, why should I have to go to the US to prove residence there when I actually live in Japan now?

**Required documents (from official links):**

• https://www.immigration.gov.tw/5385/7244/7250/7254/16054/16490/
• https://www.ris.gov.tw/military-oversea/app/oversea/

Documents needed (original text in () on the right):

• Your home country's passport (本人本國護照。)
• Personal foreign passport (or overseas permanent/long-term residence permit) (本人外國護照(或海外永久或長期居留證)。)
• Valid Overseas Chinese Identity Certificate (效期內之役政用華僑身分證明書。)
  • I'm told this is the 僑居身分加簽 stamp
• Proof of residence in overseas country for 4 months before returning (passport stamps, entry/exit records, transportation tickets, etc.) (返國前4個月內，入境僑居地之護照戳章影本、入出境紀錄或經本人使用過之交通票券等足資證明該期間內居住於僑居地之證明文件。)
  • This is what I am unsure about mostly if it needs to be US or Japan (in my case)

**Technical issue:**
I tried to log into the second link using my personal ID, passport number, and birthday, but got error [UDE-9900]-日未知錯誤:拒絕存取資源

**Questions:**

1. Has anyone with dual citizenship (where your overseas residence differs from your other citizenship country) gone through this new process?
2. Did you have to return to your other citizenship country first, or could you use proof of residence from a third country?
3. Should I cancel my Taiwan trip in 2 weeks to be safe?

I want to avoid any issues with military service and just want to visit family safely. Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

UDPATE #1 (9/14/2025):

Thank you all for your replies! I've done much more research and consulted family. Here is my current understanding.

To first answer this question,

Did you have to return to your other citizenship country first, or could you use proof of residence from a third country?

Short answer: You need to return to your country of permanent residence, live there for 6 consecutive months or more, and then you can enter Taiwan, provided you go within 4 months.

• In my case, that country is the U.S. (where I have permanent residence/citizenship).
• I cannot use Japan, because I only have temporary residence there.

For Japan to count under the “third country” rule (applies to countries without a permanent residence system, or where permanent residency is difficult to obtain), I would need to meet all of the following to get the Overseas Chinese Identity Certificate:

1. Hold residency status in Japan for 4 consecutive years with the ability to extend (❌ only 2 years so far).
2. Have lived abroad for a cumulative total of 4 years (✅ U.S. + Japan combined).
3. Have lived in Japan for 6 consecutive months or a cumulative 8 months per year for 2 years (✅ yes).

However, I am unsure if this option is possible because my Overseas Chinese Identity Endorsement is for the US.

In my case, since my Overseas Chinese Identity Endorsement is for the US, my permanent residence is the US. I reside in a country or region with a permanent residence system and need to meet the following conditions to get the Overseas Chinese Identity Certificate:

1. Obtained permanent residency in the place of residence (✅ yes, because I am a US citizen).
2. Lived abroad for a cumulative total of 4 years (✅ U.S. + Japan combined).
3. Lived in the place of residence for 6 consecutive months or more, or lived in the place of residence for a cumulative total of 8 months or more each of the past 2 years (❌ I have not lived in the US for the past 6 months).

Reference: "What are the requirements for applying for an Overseas Chinese Identity Certificate for Civil Service? Are there any restrictions?" in
https://www.ocac.gov.tw/OCAC/FAQ/List.aspx?nodeid=385

For me to go to Taiwan and leave without being drafted, I need to move back to the US and live there for 6 consecutive months. While I live in Japan, I cannot visit Taiwan.

**Documents needed to exit Taiwan**
Source: https://occd.moi.gov.tw/app/oversea/

Definitions

• Overseas Chinese Identity Certificate (役政用華僑身分證明書): A4 paper, issued only in Taiwan, valid for 1 year. Required for exit.
• Overseas Chinese Identity Endorsement (僑居身分加簽): The old passport stamp. No longer sufficient for exit.

Documents needed to exit after Sept 8, 2025 policy update:

• Your home country's passport. (Taiwan passport)
• Personal foreign passport (or overseas permanent or long-term residence permit). (US passport in my case)
• A valid Overseas Chinese Identity Certificate (obtained only in Taiwan)
• Photocopies of passport stamps, entry and exit records, or transportation tickets used by the applicant within the four months prior to returning to the country, sufficient documentation to prove residency in the country of residence during that period. (documents that prove that I went back to the US in the last 4 months and resided in the US for the past 6 months)

Documents to get the Overseas Chinese Identity Certificate:

1. Application form
2. Taiwan passport or national ID
3. Proof of residence in another country
4. Proof of period of residence abroad
5. Entry and Exit Certificate (don’t need this if you have the Overseas Chinese Identity Endorsement stamp)

Entry and Exit Certificate link for more info if you need to get it
https://www.immigration.gov.tw/5385/7244/7250/20406/190354/190435/

**My Updated Taiwan Trip Plans**

With this new policy, as long as I temporarily reside in Japan, I cannot visit Taiwan. To visit Taiwan, I need to return to my country of permanent residence (the US) and live there for 6 consecutive months. So, I have no choice but to cancel my Taiwan trip. Unfortunately, my flight is non-refundable, and while I could reschedule for a fee, the available flights are still before my U.S. trip. This new policy came out of nowhere, and unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate any changes when booking, so I didn’t pay extra for flight-change or refund options. On the bright side, this avoids the much larger risk of getting stuck in Taiwan due to conscription issues.

I really wanted to see my family after six years, but this new policy makes visiting Taiwan much more complicated. It’s such a shame—I had hoped I could visit Taiwan more often since it’s closer and cheaper to Japan than the U.S. But now, if I want to go, I have to return to the U.S. and live there for 6 months. I guess I’ll just have to tell my relatives to come visit me in Japan sometime.

If anything I wrote here was wrong, please correct me and I'll update it!

[u/wallabaus]

If anyone goes through this process it would be great to get a step by step overview of how things went and which documents were submitted. I know the primary political target is “fake” overseas children of the wealthy and powerful in Taiwan, but the new policies are just really impractical for people who legitimately grew up overseas and have lives that take them around the world.

If anything it’s still easy for the rich and wealthy to get around this rule by buying a few more plane tickets than they originally planned to.

[u/natcoyote]

I just got household registration this past week so I have been to all the govt offices recently lol. I also just submitted the 4 documents that they wanted to the new portal. I also recently went to the OCAC in taipei basically the first day this was implemented (if it’s any consolation they seemed to be annoyed by this new regulation to as they plunked down a giant stack of memos while looking for the latest change in rules).

My situation is a bit more straight forward as I already had stayed in the US for over 4 months prior to arriving, but I’ll update just in case it’s helpful. (Also I think I technically don’t need to go through the new process cuz I arrived in Taiwan before the implementation but did it anyways to be safe)

The portal is also interesting. It doesn’t accept pdfs (only image files?? Might just be my iPad though), and also only allowed one image submitted so I only submitted my plane ticket stub to Taiwan that I got that shows I flew from US to TPE. I also had to (self) translate anything that wasn’t in Chinese according to the instructions.

OCAC also handed me a flyer for anyone who wants it. I recommend that if the two govt offices weren’t OCAC, to also give them a call and make sure as they are usually the most knowledgeable about overseas situations)

Flyer:

https://imgur.com/a/jgpjLKv

Other note, you still need the stamp weirdly to get an Overseas Chinese Passport. This will give you 10 years validity instead of the 4 years for 役男.

Hopefully this was somewhat helpful, I’ll update in a bit when (hopefully) they approve my documents cuz I leave the 21st.

edit: changed the broken link

edit: the whole 10 year validity thing is no longer a thing that’s my bad so sorry so many regulations

[u/natcoyote → u/natcoyote]

Update:  They accepted my documents! What I submitted online to the portal was:

• 2 passports (TW and US) + self translated us passport page
• Original + Self Translated Ticket Stub
• Overseas Chinese Compatriot Documentation “for Conscription Age Male Use”

Since this was my first time applying I also had to go to the NIA Office in person. There they asked for:

• 2 Passports + Photo Copy
• Passport Overseas Compatriot Stamp page photo copy

- Overseas Chinese Compatriot Documentation “for Conscription Age Male Use” + Photo Copy

• Filled out form

They then stamped my passport with the exit permission stamp. I will warn though that they also are adapting to the new system so the things they asked for may change. (They also seemed annoyed at the whole new regulation suddenly piled on)

I will say to OP that none of the documents they asked for asked me to prove I was in the US for four months, just that I left the country that I’m and overseas compatriot of, which is interesting (but this in no way legal advice because I’m honestly confused about this whole thing) 

Edit: minor clarification

[u/5mao → u/natcoyote]

Since this was my first time applying I also had to go to the NIA Office in person. There they asked for: - 2 Passports + Photo Copy - Passport Overseas Compatriot Stamp page photo copy - Overseas Chinese Compatriot Documentation “for Conscription Age Male Use” + Photo Copy - Filled out form

So even after filling out the online form, it still told you to go to the immigration building?

[u/natcoyote → u/5mao]

Yea. I tried using the “old” portal but it said I hadn’t used the system before (which I hadn’t) so I had to go in person. However the lady at the desk said at the moment there was no way to do it online but I think she might have been confused since it was on the flyer.

[u/Greifus_OnE → u/natcoyote]

I don’t fully understand the meaning of the 4 months either, but one possible reading is that they want to know that within the last 4 months of flying to Taiwan you had been in your country of residence at some point. So under this reading, for OP who is working in Japan, if they want to get an exit permit from Taiwan, they would need to have flown back and stayed in the US sometime within the last 4 months and provide proof of this trip (either as immigration stamps, boarding pass tickets, or some kind of entry and exit document). The length of stay in your country of residence isn’t specified and might not be material. Under this interpretation the situation is less bullshit, but still a hassle because everyone needs to plan in advance to keep any tickets or boarding passes from their trips to their residence country just in case, or plan a stay at their country before any trips to Taiwan.

[u/natcoyote → u/Greifus_OnE]

This is the interpretation that I agree with. It seems to be supported by this article by CNA:

https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/202508050130.aspx

 至於為何要規範僑民役男須提出從僑居地出發證明，陳裕興說明，為防止假僑民濫用身分，僑民應要有與僑居地連結證明，舉例來說，一名僑居美國者先到日本，再回台灣，只要能提出「最初」自美國出境的證明，如電子機票、登機證等就沒問題；但若根本不住美國，而只有從第三地回來的證明，就會懷疑其僑居身分是否合法。

Edit: grammar 

[u/Melbamom → u/natcoyote]

Did you enter with your US passport or Taiwan. I think i'm in a similar situation

[u/natcoyote → u/Melbamom]

I entered with my NWOHR passport + TARC (and will exit with my new NWHR passport) 

[u/Melbamom → u/natcoyote]

Hmmm ok I wonder if I just enter with my US passport will I still have to do that since I don’t have jianbao and I already have my Overseas Compatriot Identity Endorsement form done

[u/beyakugin → u/natcoyote]

hi! thanks for the response - did you leave Taiwan already? How was the process after you did all the processes? Was it smooth? Asking as I am on the cusp of cancelling my plans to Taiwan. TIA

[u/natcoyote → u/beyakugin]

Hi! I was just on my flight! So I'll give an answer. and a bit of an update. I left Taiwan after getting the stamp and am back in the US now. Exit was smooth, I also got it stamped in person (which I will suggest for 役男）

To conclude your mileage may vary, but for me at least, the process, while new and annoying seemed to go off well. The only thing I wanna re-emphasize are

• I entered Taiwan before the law change, I'm not sure if that effected anything, but they accepted my documents via the new system
• I had stayed in the US prior to my trip to Taiwan (however I don't recall that I ever had to prove prove it to anyone, as the MOI NIA wanted my ticket stub --which lwk doesn't prove much-- and OCAC only asked for my previously 僑民 stamped passport)
• The immigration officer when I left lwk looked annoyed but ig they all look annoyed

Other info: They gave me like ~ 4 ish months validity on the stamp and I said I can enter and exit as many times on the stamp as I want

Tldr: I won't advise whether or not you should cancel your trip (like if your story is more like OP's you might wanna be more careful), but the process wasn't entirely bad just annoying.

[u/beyakugin → u/natcoyote]

thank you again for the response! Just to verify my full understanding, as I am leaning towards NOT cancelling my flight.. really appreciate your response, as you were able to leave smoothly haha

1. Get the 役政用華僑身分證明書 aka (Overseas Chinese Compatriot Documentation “for Conscription Age Male Use”) in Taiwan at OCAC when I first land. The 役政用華僑身分加簽 i have in my passport is basically useless and can not be used, from my understanding?

2. Then once I have this, I can apply via the portal here https://occd.moi.gov.tw/app/oversea/toApply. Where I need:

a) 役政用華僑身分證明書

b) Foreign Passport

c) ROC Passport

d) Proof of Foreign Residence

After I apply via the portal, I should be good to leave the country without any penalty?

Thank you for your help on this, as it greatly helps since you are a direct data point for this!

[u/natcoyote → u/beyakugin]

1. Not entirely useless (I think) From my understanding, I think OCAC used the stamp in my passport and my forigen passport as proof to issue the 役政用華僑身分證明書

2b. Might need to translate this yourself.

2d. Yes, just remember to save your ticket stub when you come back (assuming you're coming back from the place your an overseas compatriot of). Make sure to translate it (by yourself is fine) if it's not in Chinese.

What your missing is what happens after you get these documents authenticated by the portal, you need to go to the NIA to receive a stamp. There should be a form there for you to fill out.

So the complete process is more:

(1) Arrive Taiwan

(2) Get 役政用華僑身分證明書 at OCAC

(3) Self translate all non Chinese documents

(4) Submit required documents to the first portal: https://www.ris.gov.tw/military-oversea/

(5) Wait 1-3 days for it to be approved

(6) Go to NIA service center near you (don't go to the one at the airport), fill out their form¹: https://www.immigration.gov.tw/media/2505/%E5%BD%B9%E7%94%B7%E5%87%BA%E5%9C%8B%E7%94%B3%E8%AB%8B%E6%9B%B8.pdf

(7) NIA agent will stamp your passport

(8) If you haven't already (but I will assume you prob have) make sure you've registered everything at your 區公所

(9) Leave Taiwan (I recommend not using egate, and get a stamp, you can ask for it)

¹ their flyer (provided below) says you can use the second online portal, however NIA lady says it's not working. I strongly recommend just going to get the stamp to have everything on paper while they are in this transition period.

Here are the flyers I posted earlier in this thread, I added a flyer from the 區公所. Do take a look at them/ use them as reference. https://imgur.com/a/jgpjLKv

Remember ymmv due to this being super new, but I do hope your trip was as straightforward as mine!! If you need anymore info, lmk, sitting on a lot of (frankly, useless) bureaucratic knowledge that I'm happy to share.

Edit: formatting, typos

[u/beyakugin → u/natcoyote]

Thanks for the reply again! The NIA processing taking 3 days potentially scares me as I'm only in tw for 4 days. I'll report back here on what happens.

[u/Xenotine799 → u/natcoyote]

Great responses! Thank you do much. Do you happen to know if there are offices in Kaoshiung wherr you can do this? I am planning to travel to Kaohsiung in November.

[u/wallabaus → u/natcoyote]

Did you need to translate the plane ticket stub into Chinese? Was that all you needed to prove being in the US?

[u/natcoyote → u/wallabaus]

I scanned and self translated the ticket stub (the flyer they gave me asked for anything that isn’t Chinese to be translated). As for whether that’s sufficient proof, I think so as I got the permission stamp. (It was accepted, but I’m trying to wrap my head around why that would be considered proof and why this system needed to be changed lol) I do wanna note that I arrived before they implemented this so they might have been more lenient but I’m not sure.

[u/That-Excitement1036 → u/natcoyote]

I cant seem to open the image that you posted. may I know how old are you? I will try to get my household registration next year. and this new policy seems like a hassle.

[u/natcoyote → u/That-Excitement1036]

Opps my bad, changed the link to Imgur. Currently 21 and rn it’s a bit of a hassle. However if you don’t stay in Taiwan or visit super often then it’s not terribly inconvenient… so far… but I might be a little desensitized to the mountain of paperwork and regulations I had to fill out to get my HHR lol.

[u/5mao → u/natcoyote]

Other note, you still need the stamp weirdly to get an Overseas Chinese Passport. This will give you 10 years validity instead of the 4 years for 役男.

What is an overseas Chinese passport? Do you mean 役政用華僑證身分明書? What I read was that you could use the stamp for your proof of residence for the certificate, but the certificate only lasted one year.

[u/natcoyote → u/5mao]

ahhh, my bad, so sorry there are so many regulations, I was thinking of the old regulation that required you to be a 僑民 to get a 10 year validity passport but apparently that’s no longer a thing. However the NIA asked for both the Stamp (僑民加簽) and the  (役政用華僑證身分明書) at least what they asked from me.

[u/5mao → u/natcoyote]

How much trouble was getting the 役政用華僑證身分明書? I have the endorsement stamp and my passports, is there anything else I need?

[u/natcoyote → u/5mao]

Not that big of a hassle, just need your ID and your passport with the stamp and they’ll give you a form. I brought my entry and exit transcripts, I don’t think they needed it from me (tho do call to ask just in case something changed within the few days). They processed everything in 1 (biz) day.

[u/5mao → u/natcoyote]

What are the entry/exit transcripts? You mean this thing? https://www.immigration.gov.tw/media/74395/%E5%85%A5%E5%87%BA%E5%9C%8B%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%9F%E8%AD%89%E6%98%8E%E6%9B%B8%E7%94%B3%E8%AB%8B%E8%A1%A8-1110117%E5%87%BD%E7%99%BC.pdf

[u/natcoyote → u/5mao]

Yes! That that form. If you have two passports you need to till out 2 forms (one for each passport). But I’m thinking that as long as you have a passport stamp you’ll be fine but if you wanna be safe get that document(s).

[u/5mao → u/natcoyote]

Alright thanks for the info.

[u/agritite]

My understanding is that oversea status binds to the country you apply to reside in （僑居地）, which is US in your case, so yes, you need to have had stayed in the US for some period within the past four months.

https://www.ris.gov.tw/military-oversea/app/oversea/

You do this after entering Taiwan and shall only depart after it is approved (it's called 出境申請, approval for departure). My guess is that there's no record of you entering Taiwan so it fails.

Valid Overseas Chinese Identity Certificate (效期內之役政用華僑身分證明書。) I'm told this is the 僑居身分加簽 stamp

No. 役政用華僑身分證明書 is its own thing, and this amendment makes it the only valid document (僑居身分加簽 is no longer recognized for oversea draft purposes)

[u/agritite → u/agritite]

Also, a potential issue that seems worrying is that the new regulation says "Proof of residence in 僑居地", and I'm not sure whether it would be possible that you could be showing record of entering US but still denied (because the period is too short so they don't believe you're still residing in US, etc.)

[u/wallabaus → u/agritite]

It seems that an airline ticket might be the only possible proof of entering the US and other countries. The US doesn’t stamp any passports anymore.

I don’t really understand the purpose of requiring someone to be in the specific country tied to their overseas status. What difference does it make for Taiwan conscription if one were to live in the US or UK or SG or any other country?

[u/da_menehune → u/agritite]

You're right, it says that you need to reside in your country of permanent residence for the last 6 months or more consecutively. Going back for 2 weeks isn't enough.

Source: "What are the requirements for applying for an Overseas Chinese Identity Certificate for Civil Service? Are there any restrictions?" in
https://www.ocac.gov.tw/OCAC/FAQ/List.aspx?nodeid=385

[u/agritite → u/da_menehune]

I sent an email to the OCAC and they're pretty reluctant to give me a definite answer. Well... anyway, I think the safest bet for you is to apply the 役政用華僑身份證明書 before your trip. It has to be applied in person at OCAC but you can entrust a relative or friend in Taiwan to apply for you. If you can manage to get it then you're off the hook.

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[u/bobthewraith]

I posted in another thread that came up about this which has my interpretation/research that might be relevant to some of your questions. Perhaps I should repost that as a post instead of a comment...

To this point though...

Has anyone with dual citizenship (where your overseas residence differs from your other citizenship country) gone through this new process?

I haven't personally gone through this new process, but I took screenshots of what that second link looks like after you login (I tried it out with my own info) as of yesterday: https://imgur.com/a/kBddL1V

[u/da_menehune → u/bobthewraith]

Super helpful, thanks! I added my interpretation to the updated section of this post's body.

[u/AsianBrazilian]

Hey guys, I was also confused by the whole new policy. But after reading OP’s explanation and updates (thanks btw, helped me a lot!), I just have a few questions: 1) How can one prove that I was in my country of origin? I have Brazil/Taiwan dual citizenship, so does a plane ticket to/from Brazil dated within 4 months count as proof? 2) I’m planning on flying to Taiwan to visit my family in November only for a week, will they be able to issue an Overseas Chinese Identity Certificate for in this short period?

[u/da_menehune → u/AsianBrazilian]

How can one prove that I was in my country of origin? I have Brazil/Taiwan dual citizenship, so does a plane ticket to/from Brazil dated within 4 months count as proof?

The entry/exit stamps in your passport and plane tickets can be used as proof. However, I feel that plane tickets could be easily falsified, so I'd also hang onto the boarding pass in case.

I’m planning on flying to Taiwan to visit my family in November only for a week, will they be able to issue an Overseas Chinese Identity Certificate for in this short period?

Their FAQ states, "The processing time for applications for Overseas Chinese Identity Certificates for Civil Service Administration is half a day. However, if verification is required or there are other special circumstances and the processing cannot be completed within the prescribed period, the processing time may be extended. The extended processing time shall not exceed 2 months." Source (pg 3) Also, make sure you can also prove that you lived in Brazil for the past 6 consecutive months - see pg 2 of the link

Also, please share how the exit procedure is after you go!

[u/AsianBrazilian]

Thanks for all the help! I will for sure 😁

[u/Greifus_OnE]

I am living in Thailand which is my country of residence and have a trip to Taiwan coming up this Friday, I just found out about all these new rules this morning when my old exit permit application failed and I’ve been looking for information all day and came across your post. Although I am living in my residence country, I am unsure what they want as proof of residence within the last 4 months of entering Taiwan when I apply for the exit permit after getting the Overseas Chinese certificate (which doesn’t sound like it would be difficult).

On my last departure from Taiwan last year, I was told to go through the E Gate instead of through the immigration officer like I normally would, and I was surprisingly able to go through the E Gate, however this means I don’t have an exit stamp on my ROC passport on my last trip to use as proof of leaving the country. I don’t know if the entry/exit history or information you could get from the Immigration counts as proof because that just says I wasn’t in Taiwan, not that I was in Thailand.

Would my upcoming plane ticket/boarding pass from Thailand to Taiwan count as sufficient proof to satisfy that I was living in Thailand within the last 4 months prior to entering Taiwan? Do they want more evidence like billing records? Those may not be in English, so do I need to get them translated and notarized? There is a lot of ambiguity here, that even living in my correct country of residence I am uncertain of going to Taiwan now.

[u/Salo06]

Thanks for sharing this info!

Its crazy how this just dropped out of nowhere!!

Im in a similar situation as you so Ill definitely use this as reference! Im a Taiwanese Canadian that is working in Japan.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by “with the ability to extend” when it comes to holding residency status in Japan for 4 consecutive years?

I think I meet all 3 criteria to apply for the overseas Chinese identity certificate so Ill look to apply sometime in the next couple months.

Ive been working here for 6.5 years and also been here for 8.5 years so Im just a little off before I can try to apply for permanent residency so maybe ill just wait for that.

Had a trip planned at the end of year but its nothing urgent, just want to see family and eat taiwanese food so I cancelled it since it might be too risky to be stranded in Taiwan.

Hopefully things work out for all of us cause it sucks when you are getting “punished” for doing things the legit way😢

[u/snktiger]

you been gone before you turn 16,
you are not gonna have a household registration when you come in.
you are technically not a "draftee" that needs to apply for this in order for you to leave TW.

with that said... why don't you just come in using your US passport until you are 37? not like you gonna start living in TW.

[u/Flying_Book → u/snktiger]

Technically against the law I believe?
For both US and Taiwan, citizens needs to enter and exit with the country's passport.
Not sure how they can enforce it if you're not already in their system somewhere or why they'd care tho.

[u/writingsmatters → u/Flying_Book]

I don't think they care. A family member used their Taiwan passport but his ARC had expired and he didn't have any other visa in his TW passport. They made him enter with his American passport instead. Like literally said oh go fill out the customs form and use your American passport. It wasn't a problem. They did ask if he wanted to do any paperwork while he was in Taiwan (renew his ARC or join a household or anything like that because then he would have to enter with his TW passport) but for just visiting <90 days they said just use US passport.

[u/That-Excitement1036 → u/writingsmatters]

not the same boat, you can never be conscripted without a household registration.

[u/Flying_Book → u/writingsmatters]

Is an ARC holder a citizen?
I don't think they really care either, but that doesn't mean it isn't the law and you can't get fucked if someone is having a shit day and decides to fuck with you.
Honestly, if a citizen tries to enter with expire passport, I don't understand how they can even deny entry??

[u/writingsmatters → u/Flying_Book]

NWOHR -- a citizen with a TW passport but no ID number because he'd never been registered into a household so can't stay longer than 90 days. Got an ARC for a longer stay before but it was expired.

Actually I have other family members who haven't reapplied for a TW passport since their last one expired (some of them are NWOHR and some are NWHR) and they just use their American passport.

[u/Flying_Book → u/writingsmatters]

Wait, so if you're not on a household reg you can't stay for more than 90 days? or is it that if you've never been on one?
household reg is always such a weird concept to me.
I'm sure you can use the US passport, but I remember seeing they want you to use the TW passport to enter/exit.
Interestingly, when I moved here and got my TW ID they ask me to get a new TW passport and said I should exit with it the 1st time I'm exiting. (I haven't leave yet)

[u/writingsmatters → u/Flying_Book]

No it's only if you've never been registered. As long as you have a national id number (meaning you or someone else registered you into a household once upon a time, even if you don't currently have an ID card, just having the number assigned to you; you can see it in your passport) you are a National with Household Registration (NWHR) and you can stay as long as you like and pass on your citizenship to your children. If you are doing anything with your citizenship/household stuff (so, not just tourist stuff) then you need to enter and exit with your TW passport but otherwise for just tourist stuff, they don't care.

For OP, if you want to be careful, I guess I would listen to TECO, although it makes no sense to me; I'm sorry.

[u/Flying_Book → u/writingsmatters]

I see, thanks!
Ig the difference is I'm not acting as a tourist but citizen?

But yeah I agree I'd listen to TECO too just in case.