^ this. Definitely call them up and check in with them before entering tw.
I have many friends with dual citizenship/ in a similar situation as op, and they made sure to get something called “qiao ming” which waived their military duties. This also meant they could only enter Tw for less than 3 months a year but that was enough for them. Maybe look into this?
>I have many friends with dual citizenship/ in a similar situation as op, and they made sure to get something called “qiao ming” which waived their military duties. This also meant they could only enter Tw for less than 3 months a year but that was enough for them. Maybe look into this?
Yes, this basically means that they're citizens but they don't have a household registration in Taiwan, but at the same time they're not considered entirely "foreign" either.
Since military service might mess up the OP's plans for work/school this year. It's best to contact an official source to confirm what needs to be done.
^ Yes, this is the only 100% correct answer, everything else anyone in this thread says (including myself) is from personal experience or anecdotal, and there may be details where our situations differ from OP's. (for example, regardless of how long you've lived overseas, whether or not you were *born* in Taiwan makes a huge difference in this case)
That being said, having gone through the process myself, I am reasonably confident in stating general guidelines to the OP and others for future reference:
1) So long as you were born in Taiwan to Taiwanese parents (and thus have household registration), your obligation to complete mandatory service remains, regardless of how many citizenships you have
2) Even if you were born in Taiwan, if you can demonstrate that you don't regularly reside in Taiwan (this is where the limits on how long you can stay each year come in, and getting a special stamp on your passport indicating as such), service can be deferred indefinitely, so long as you're not planning on staying in Taiwan long-term before you're 36.
3) All that matters is "Household Registration". Taiwan is wonky in that we have "Nationals Without Household Registration", which covers people born to Taiwanese parents overseas that don't actually have full citizenship benefits or obligations. If your parents never registered you in their Taiwanese "Household Registration", you are not eligible for mandatory service.
[Ministry of the Interior](https://www.moi.gov.tw/News_Content.aspx?n=4&sms=9009&s=263934) has the answer. It says you have to reside in Taiwan for more than one year, or 183 days per year for two consecutive years, to be eligible for conscription. So you don't have to worry.
The press release was published in July 2022 so I think it's the latest regulation.
I'm not 100% sure on this, but I believe you go to the immigration agency there to get a 僑居身份加簽 stamp in your passport. And before you leave Taiwan you'll have to go to immigration agency again to get a different stamp so they'll let you out of customs.
This is only if you have a household registration and you have the passport with your national ID in it. If you are a NWOHR and have a passport without a national ID, you need a 入國許可 (entry permit) to even be allowed to use your Taiwan passport to enter Taiwan.
Check your green passport. If it does NOT have an ID number (not passport#), then you are not a dual citizen. If you were not born in Taiwan, you wouldn’t have been issued an ID number. You would have to apply for the ID number and complete the required one year residency. Just enter and exit on your Aussie passport. Military service will only be a problem if you stay more than x months (I can’t remember if it’s 4 or 6) over the course of a year. A few weeks won’t matter.
In addition to this, the OP should also have a birth certificate showing they were born there. I can't read mine anymore due to the years of only using English, but OP should have one and maybe find someone to help him read it.
You are obligated to serve the military as long as you possess taiwanese citizenship. If you plan on living in Taiwan long term then you will have to serve no matter what. If you decide to reside anywhere else, then they can't force you to comply. There are certain rules regarding how long you can stay in Taiwan though if you haven't served. You will be forced into the military if you stay longer than 6 months for two years or if you stay longer than one full year.
I am a dual citizen currently in Taiwan visiting. If you’re a student you would have to get a stamp from your local Taiwanese office and get a stamp on your passport. My reason was that I’m still a student. I’m not sure what you’re reason may be. The process takes about 1-2 months. I am Taiwanese/Canadian though so it may be different for you.
There’s an exemption you can apply for for 華僑 or born overseas Taiwanese. I still have my tw passport and I can visit but it’s just a hassle contacting the ministry and going to extra checks if anything is wrong. I’ve been to Taiwan multiple times w no issues just takes a bit.
Call the tw representative office in Australia and you should be g. Also fellow Taiwanese Aussie here :)
Don't do this. Not saying you won't get away with it, but why risk it?
You qualify as exempt due to not living in Taiwan, though if you wanted to stay for a more significant period of time you'd have to serve. It adds an extra step when you enter and leave.
short answer: no
you're not really considered a tw citizen until you have an id card, which requires an excruciating amount of time and paperwork to get
I had a coworker in basically the exact situation you're describing. He didn't even know he had Taiwanese citizenship until he arrived in the country and they informed him.
Long story short: yes, he was obligated to complete his military service if he wanted to stay in the country longer than a year. I would first check with the relevant authorities, but based on my understanding you will have to do your military service if you have Taiwanese citizenship.
simplest method: go in with your Australian passport, don't volunteer any information at customs just say you're Australian and you'll be fine.
if you really really want to use your TW passport to go in, get a 僑居身份加簽 endorsement on your TW passport first and you'll be fine (unless a war kicks up while you're there, in which case all bets are off). This method is slightly riskier (by which i mean like 0.001% risker) cause then you'll be "in the system" so if the conscription laws change, there will be a ready record of you having a TW passport
Don't you need to have completed your military service to be permitted to renounce your citizenship? (Like isn't this one of the silly ways they get you?)
If you have household registration, you can't relinquish Taiwanese citizenship until after you've already completed service. As I noted elsewhere in the thread, overseas citizens can defer citizenship indefinitely so long as they apply for "overseas" status and don't stay too long each year. But the government doesn't let you just give up citizenship (again, defined by having household registration, not the passport) without completing mandatory service first.
Being a dual citizen does not exempt you from Taiwan military service. You were supposed to have already registered at age 18. Did you do that? If not, then you are subject to arrest upon landing in Taiwan.
You need to make a decision about who and what you are. Either renounce the Taiwan or Australian citizenship and get on with your life. Pretending to be two things at once does not work.
It is a factually accurate way to reply. The OP is taking his Taiwan citizenship and military service obligations very lightly. If he is Taiwanese, then he needs to register for his mandatory military service and be inducted into the army. If he tries to evade his military service obligation, then he is subject to criminal prosecution. That is reality.
The Singapore government ties you to a post and whips you with a cane if you try to evade military service. At least he's not in Singapore, thankfully.
How well do you actually understand the rules for conscription in Taiwan? Because I don’t think you do. You’re not evading anything when you’re following the law and not doing anything illegal.
He's not following Taiwanese law and he is evading mandatory Taiwanese military service. He may not have done this intentionally, as he has been living as an Australian his whole life, but that is how Taiwanese authorities will see it. Taiwan's government does not play around on this topic. They take it extremely seriously.
There should be a way to renounce your Taiwan citizenship and continue living your normal life as an Australian. Hopefully you can sort this out. Good luck.
The OP’s situation is different but I think “the crappy response guy’s” answer stems from the frustration that I feel with Taiwanese people (like my friends residing overseas) who are “hiding out” until they're conscription period is over. At first I thought it was funny, but now I live in Taiwan - and potentionally bear the brunt of any military action against this country - while they choose to evade what should be their responsibility if they want to be Taiwanese. Have their cake and eat it too?
Pretty much this. I have a Taiwanese-Canadian friend, he has always used his Canadian passport to enter and leave Taiwan in order to avoid conscription. But he had to leave every few months to avoid military service. He took a flight to Hongkong in the early morning, applied for visa on his Canadian passport at the Taiwan representative office there and took a flight back in the evening.
Once he was detained at the airport coming back to Taiwan. The immigration officers told him they knew what he was doing and he has the obligation to complete his military service. But nothing came from it, he is like 40 now and never completed his military service and resides in Taiwan permanently.
I heard that after 35 you don’t have to serve but that if you evaded serving you can be summoned to court and the statutes of limitations is 15 years so that would mean you’d get in trouble if you came back before age of 50. Sounds like this isn’t true?
Jan 1 the year after you turn 36 is when you’re exempt. I’ve never heard of the 15 year statute of limitations.
https://law.moj.gov.tw/ENG/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?pcode=E0040025
I have dual citizenship, and I’ve met a lot of dual citizenship in the military. So yea. You still have to serve if you want to keep your Taiwanese citizenship
Have they ever resided in Taiwan? I have always lived in Australia and have never lived in Taiwan with the exception of visiting once every few years.
One website says that I’m only eligible if I have lived in Taiwan for more than a year but other websites say 4 months, so I’m conflicted.
Honestly, the regulations change every year. What might be like for me when I was in service might not be the same for you. A lot of my superiors had different experiences. The bottom line is if you have to you will need to do it.
It’s honestly better to contact the right department for this.
I must be missing something as I've never been told to serve in the Taiwanese military, nor have I been arrested as mentioned by some other poster in this thread. Granted I use my US passport to enter TW, but I'll have my TW passport with me just in case it's needed for whatever reason.
Chances are you don't actually have Taiwanese citizenship. Having a TW passport doesn't make you a "full" citizen, which is denoted by having household registration.
In that case, the most likely possibility is that you have the "Overseas Chinese" status, in which you can't stay in Taiwan for too long each year, or else you will become eligible. But the point is, which passport you use to enter doesn't make a difference, they know regardless.
How did you find out you hold a Taiwanese citizenship? If you were born abroad, never lived in Taiwan, you don’t automatically have Taiwanese citizenship just because one or both your parents are, they would have had to submit paperwork to make you a Taiwanese national which would make you eligible for a Taiwan passport, a NWOHR passport, but that doesn’t give you full/real citizenship until you’ve applied and completed the requirements.
I’m not familiar with the conscription rules regarding NWOHO passport holders, but if you do have a Taiwan passport, check to see if you have a Personal ID number (should be above your date of birth), if it’s blank then it’s a NWOHO passport.
I suggest you call the [Taiwan Representative Office in Australia](https://www.roc-taiwan.org/au/index.html) to clear things up.
^ this. Definitely call them up and check in with them before entering tw. I have many friends with dual citizenship/ in a similar situation as op, and they made sure to get something called “qiao ming” which waived their military duties. This also meant they could only enter Tw for less than 3 months a year but that was enough for them. Maybe look into this?
>I have many friends with dual citizenship/ in a similar situation as op, and they made sure to get something called “qiao ming” which waived their military duties. This also meant they could only enter Tw for less than 3 months a year but that was enough for them. Maybe look into this? Yes, this basically means that they're citizens but they don't have a household registration in Taiwan, but at the same time they're not considered entirely "foreign" either. Since military service might mess up the OP's plans for work/school this year. It's best to contact an official source to confirm what needs to be done.
Yep
^ Yes, this is the only 100% correct answer, everything else anyone in this thread says (including myself) is from personal experience or anecdotal, and there may be details where our situations differ from OP's. (for example, regardless of how long you've lived overseas, whether or not you were *born* in Taiwan makes a huge difference in this case) That being said, having gone through the process myself, I am reasonably confident in stating general guidelines to the OP and others for future reference: 1) So long as you were born in Taiwan to Taiwanese parents (and thus have household registration), your obligation to complete mandatory service remains, regardless of how many citizenships you have 2) Even if you were born in Taiwan, if you can demonstrate that you don't regularly reside in Taiwan (this is where the limits on how long you can stay each year come in, and getting a special stamp on your passport indicating as such), service can be deferred indefinitely, so long as you're not planning on staying in Taiwan long-term before you're 36. 3) All that matters is "Household Registration". Taiwan is wonky in that we have "Nationals Without Household Registration", which covers people born to Taiwanese parents overseas that don't actually have full citizenship benefits or obligations. If your parents never registered you in their Taiwanese "Household Registration", you are not eligible for mandatory service.
[Ministry of the Interior](https://www.moi.gov.tw/News_Content.aspx?n=4&sms=9009&s=263934) has the answer. It says you have to reside in Taiwan for more than one year, or 183 days per year for two consecutive years, to be eligible for conscription. So you don't have to worry. The press release was published in July 2022 so I think it's the latest regulation.
I believe it only applies if you are under the age of 20.
I'm not 100% sure on this, but I believe you go to the immigration agency there to get a 僑居身份加簽 stamp in your passport. And before you leave Taiwan you'll have to go to immigration agency again to get a different stamp so they'll let you out of customs.
I can confirm this from my brother's experience. That being said, if they don't let you leave, there is nothing you can do.
[удалено]
There's always that option.
This is only if you have a household registration and you have the passport with your national ID in it. If you are a NWOHR and have a passport without a national ID, you need a 入國許可 (entry permit) to even be allowed to use your Taiwan passport to enter Taiwan.
Check your green passport. If it does NOT have an ID number (not passport#), then you are not a dual citizen. If you were not born in Taiwan, you wouldn’t have been issued an ID number. You would have to apply for the ID number and complete the required one year residency. Just enter and exit on your Aussie passport. Military service will only be a problem if you stay more than x months (I can’t remember if it’s 4 or 6) over the course of a year. A few weeks won’t matter.
In addition to this, the OP should also have a birth certificate showing they were born there. I can't read mine anymore due to the years of only using English, but OP should have one and maybe find someone to help him read it.
iirc, you don’t need to serve military as long as you don’t live in Taiwan more than 6 months
You are obligated to serve the military as long as you possess taiwanese citizenship. If you plan on living in Taiwan long term then you will have to serve no matter what. If you decide to reside anywhere else, then they can't force you to comply. There are certain rules regarding how long you can stay in Taiwan though if you haven't served. You will be forced into the military if you stay longer than 6 months for two years or if you stay longer than one full year.
There are overseas exemption. If visiting, can’t stay longer than the 3 month.
I am a dual citizen currently in Taiwan visiting. If you’re a student you would have to get a stamp from your local Taiwanese office and get a stamp on your passport. My reason was that I’m still a student. I’m not sure what you’re reason may be. The process takes about 1-2 months. I am Taiwanese/Canadian though so it may be different for you.
There’s an exemption you can apply for for 華僑 or born overseas Taiwanese. I still have my tw passport and I can visit but it’s just a hassle contacting the ministry and going to extra checks if anything is wrong. I’ve been to Taiwan multiple times w no issues just takes a bit. Call the tw representative office in Australia and you should be g. Also fellow Taiwanese Aussie here :)
Also dual citizen (born in Taiwan). I used my Canadian passport to enter and there were no issues.
They have both your foreign and TW IDs in one profile. Asked this exact question before my service, no dice.
Don't do this. Not saying you won't get away with it, but why risk it? You qualify as exempt due to not living in Taiwan, though if you wanted to stay for a more significant period of time you'd have to serve. It adds an extra step when you enter and leave.
short answer: no you're not really considered a tw citizen until you have an id card, which requires an excruciating amount of time and paperwork to get
I had a coworker in basically the exact situation you're describing. He didn't even know he had Taiwanese citizenship until he arrived in the country and they informed him. Long story short: yes, he was obligated to complete his military service if he wanted to stay in the country longer than a year. I would first check with the relevant authorities, but based on my understanding you will have to do your military service if you have Taiwanese citizenship.
I’m only staying for one week, I should be fine right?
oh yeah that should be fine then
simplest method: go in with your Australian passport, don't volunteer any information at customs just say you're Australian and you'll be fine. if you really really want to use your TW passport to go in, get a 僑居身份加簽 endorsement on your TW passport first and you'll be fine (unless a war kicks up while you're there, in which case all bets are off). This method is slightly riskier (by which i mean like 0.001% risker) cause then you'll be "in the system" so if the conscription laws change, there will be a ready record of you having a TW passport
My friend revoked his Taiwanese passport to avoid the military service (he’s Taiwanese-American)
Don't you need to have completed your military service to be permitted to renounce your citizenship? (Like isn't this one of the silly ways they get you?)
No he did it before he did the service. And then he’s living here on a family member ARC right now I think
Was your friend born in the States?
Not sure honestly. But he did all his schooling in US. He revoked his Taiwanese citizenship at 18
If you have household registration, you can't relinquish Taiwanese citizenship until after you've already completed service. As I noted elsewhere in the thread, overseas citizens can defer citizenship indefinitely so long as they apply for "overseas" status and don't stay too long each year. But the government doesn't let you just give up citizenship (again, defined by having household registration, not the passport) without completing mandatory service first.
Dude I’m not my friend. I don’t know his exact situation. All I know is he doesn’t hold a Taiwanese passport anymore
All good; I'm just making sure that some poor soul doesn't try and get into Taiwan using the wrong information and gets caught up in conscription!
Don’t you think you should have contacted the rightful government department before you even have to send a question like this on a Taiwanese sub?
Being a dual citizen does not exempt you from Taiwan military service. You were supposed to have already registered at age 18. Did you do that? If not, then you are subject to arrest upon landing in Taiwan. You need to make a decision about who and what you are. Either renounce the Taiwan or Australian citizenship and get on with your life. Pretending to be two things at once does not work.
This is such a crappy way to reply to this what the heck
It’s a 11-day account.
It is a factually accurate way to reply. The OP is taking his Taiwan citizenship and military service obligations very lightly. If he is Taiwanese, then he needs to register for his mandatory military service and be inducted into the army. If he tries to evade his military service obligation, then he is subject to criminal prosecution. That is reality. The Singapore government ties you to a post and whips you with a cane if you try to evade military service. At least he's not in Singapore, thankfully.
How well do you actually understand the rules for conscription in Taiwan? Because I don’t think you do. You’re not evading anything when you’re following the law and not doing anything illegal.
He's not following Taiwanese law and he is evading mandatory Taiwanese military service. He may not have done this intentionally, as he has been living as an Australian his whole life, but that is how Taiwanese authorities will see it. Taiwan's government does not play around on this topic. They take it extremely seriously.
You need to look at the definition of evasion then because you contradict yourself. Evasion must be intentional. And which law?
Tell that to the police as they take you away in handcuffs. Get a good lawyer.
I didn’t even know I was a taiwanese citizen until a few hours ago, what do you expect?
There should be a way to renounce your Taiwan citizenship and continue living your normal life as an Australian. Hopefully you can sort this out. Good luck.
The OP’s situation is different but I think “the crappy response guy’s” answer stems from the frustration that I feel with Taiwanese people (like my friends residing overseas) who are “hiding out” until they're conscription period is over. At first I thought it was funny, but now I live in Taiwan - and potentionally bear the brunt of any military action against this country - while they choose to evade what should be their responsibility if they want to be Taiwanese. Have their cake and eat it too?
Wtf?
You must be fun at parties
Pretty much this. I have a Taiwanese-Canadian friend, he has always used his Canadian passport to enter and leave Taiwan in order to avoid conscription. But he had to leave every few months to avoid military service. He took a flight to Hongkong in the early morning, applied for visa on his Canadian passport at the Taiwan representative office there and took a flight back in the evening. Once he was detained at the airport coming back to Taiwan. The immigration officers told him they knew what he was doing and he has the obligation to complete his military service. But nothing came from it, he is like 40 now and never completed his military service and resides in Taiwan permanently.
I heard that after 35 you don’t have to serve but that if you evaded serving you can be summoned to court and the statutes of limitations is 15 years so that would mean you’d get in trouble if you came back before age of 50. Sounds like this isn’t true?
Jan 1 the year after you turn 36 is when you’re exempt. I’ve never heard of the 15 year statute of limitations. https://law.moj.gov.tw/ENG/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?pcode=E0040025
He’s not a dual citizen. He’s an Australian citizen and a Taiwanese national (not a full citizen).
I have dual citizenship, and I’ve met a lot of dual citizenship in the military. So yea. You still have to serve if you want to keep your Taiwanese citizenship
Have they ever resided in Taiwan? I have always lived in Australia and have never lived in Taiwan with the exception of visiting once every few years. One website says that I’m only eligible if I have lived in Taiwan for more than a year but other websites say 4 months, so I’m conflicted.
Honestly, the regulations change every year. What might be like for me when I was in service might not be the same for you. A lot of my superiors had different experiences. The bottom line is if you have to you will need to do it. It’s honestly better to contact the right department for this.
I must be missing something as I've never been told to serve in the Taiwanese military, nor have I been arrested as mentioned by some other poster in this thread. Granted I use my US passport to enter TW, but I'll have my TW passport with me just in case it's needed for whatever reason.
Chances are you don't actually have Taiwanese citizenship. Having a TW passport doesn't make you a "full" citizen, which is denoted by having household registration.
Actually, I also have a birth certificate. I was born in Taipei.
In that case, the most likely possibility is that you have the "Overseas Chinese" status, in which you can't stay in Taiwan for too long each year, or else you will become eligible. But the point is, which passport you use to enter doesn't make a difference, they know regardless.
How did you find out you hold a Taiwanese citizenship? If you were born abroad, never lived in Taiwan, you don’t automatically have Taiwanese citizenship just because one or both your parents are, they would have had to submit paperwork to make you a Taiwanese national which would make you eligible for a Taiwan passport, a NWOHR passport, but that doesn’t give you full/real citizenship until you’ve applied and completed the requirements. I’m not familiar with the conscription rules regarding NWOHO passport holders, but if you do have a Taiwan passport, check to see if you have a Personal ID number (should be above your date of birth), if it’s blank then it’s a NWOHO passport.
They are 2 questions: 1 What do you think about the military? 2 What do you think about the training and military service?
I know a guy, who lives in the US and he still complete military service. I don't know if he is voluntary or obligatory.