Foreign nationals who wish to join a family member in Taiwan must apply for a Taiwan Join Family Visa. The Join Family Visa is one of the types of Taiwan Resident Visas, which are issued for long-term stays.
You are eligible to apply for a Taiwan Join Family Resident Visa (JFRV) if you fall under one of the following categories:
- You are the foreign spouse of a Taiwan citizen
- You are the child or grandchild under 20 years of age of a Taiwan citizen
If you are the spouse or dependent of a foreigner who is in Taiwan with a work permit (ie. not a Taiwan citizen), you can also apply for a Resident Visa to join them but there are different rules you have to follow once there.
Requirements for a Taiwan Join Family Resident Visa
When you apply for a Taiwan Family Visa, you must have several documents to support your application, such as:
- Completed Taiwan Resident Visa Online Application Form, completed and signed.
- Your passport, valid for at least another six months and with at least three blank pages where the visa can be affixed.
- A photocopy of your passport’s personal information page showing your picture.
- Two passport-sized pictures, taken within the last six months.
- Payment of the Taiwan Visa fee
- Health Certificate, issued in the past three months by a hospital in your country or a hospital authorized by the Centers for Disease Control of Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare (the original and a photocopy)
- If your Health Certificate is issued by a hospital in your country, you must legalize the document at a Taiwanese diplomatic mission before you submit it.
- Children under six years of age are exempt from having a Health Certificate
- Certificate of Police Clearance issued by the competent police authorities in your country in the past year.
- For spouses: Marriage registration or a marriage certificate (the original and a photocopy).
- If your family member has Taiwan Household Registration: Household Registration Certificate showing marriage registration, your name in your native language and your nationality (the original and a photocopy).
- If your family member does not have Taiwan Household Registration: Their Alien Residence Certificate or Alien Permanent Residence Certificate, which must be valid for at least another six months (the original and a photocopy)
- For children under 20 joining a parent:
- Birth certificate showing the parents’ names (original and a photocopy)
- Proof of their parent’s marriage (original document and a photocopy)
- Proof of their parent’s Household Registration, if the parents are Taiwan citizens (original and a photocopy)
- If the parents are divorced: Proof of custody (original and photocopy)
- For children under 20 joining a grandparent:
- Permission from the parents or legal guardians, allowing the minor to travel.
Note:
This is not an exhaustive list of requirements. The Taiwanese authorities handling your application may request any additional documents depending on your case.
All the documents you submit have to be either in Chinese or English. If they are not, they must be translated and both the original and the translation have to be submitted.
Translations of documents have to be authenticated by a Taiwanese diplomatic mission overseas before you submit them.
How to Apply for a Taiwan Join Family Resident Visa?
There are two ways through which you can apply for a Taiwan Family Visa:
- Abroad at a Taiwan diplomatic mission
- In Taiwan, at the Bureau of Consular Affairs
Applying for a Taiwan Family Visa abroad
You may apply for your Join Family Resident Visa before you travel to Taiwan from a Taiwanese diplomatic mission (such as an embassy or consulate). The application process is as follows:
- Complete the online Taiwan Resident Visa Application here. Print it and sign it.
- Collect the required documents (see “Requirements” below).
- Submit the application and the documents at a Taiwanese diplomatic mission.
- You choose which Taiwanese diplomatic mission you will submit your application when you complete the online application form.
- You may apply at any diplomatic mission or representative office, but it is recommended you apply at the one in your country (or the nearest, if there’s no Taiwan representation in your country).
- Pay the Taiwan visa fee.
- You may also be asked to enter an interview.
- If the Taiwan diplomatic mission staff consider that your application needs further review, they will forward it to the Bureau of Consular Affairs in Taiwan.
- Wait for the visa to be processed.
- If your visa application is approved, you have three months to enter Taiwan.
- Within 15 days of entering the country, you must apply for a residence permit at the National Immigration Agency.
Applying for a Taiwan Family Visa in Taiwan
If you have already entered Taiwan on a Visitor Visa, you can apply to turn it into a Resident Visa without leaving the country. You must apply for your visa at the Taiwan Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) at least eight days before your Taiwan Visitor Visa is set to expire.
Once the BOCA issues your Resident Visa, you must apply for a residence permit at the National Immigration Agency within 15 days.
Residence Permit for Taiwan Family Visa
Every foreign national who wishes to stay in Taiwan long-term has to obtain a residence permit, which is known as an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC), from a local service center of the Taiwan National Immigration Agency.
It is the ARC which allows the holder to remain in the country for longer than three months. An ARC can be issued for one, two, or three years and it is renewable. You must renew your ARC at least thirty days before it expires.
Once a foreigner has lived in Taiwan with an ARC for at least five years consistently, they may be eligible to get a Taiwan Alien Permanent Resident Certificate (APRC). You can apply for the APRC if you’ve spent at least 183 days per year in Taiwan out of the last 5 years and if you can give proof of self-sufficiency.
What is the Validity of a Taiwan Join Family Resident Visa?
As all Resident Visas, a Taiwan Join Family Resident Visa is valid for a maximum of three months on its own. This is why you have to obtain an Alien Resident Certificate, which is what actually allows you to legally live in Taiwan for an extended amount of time.
Additionally, a Resident Visa only allows the holder to enter Taiwan once, whereas the ARC also works as a re-entry permit, allowing you multiple entries into the country.
Can you Work With a Taiwan Join Family Resident Visa?
Yes, you can, but the rules change depending on the nationality of your family member.
If you are married to a Taiwanese citizen and you receive a Join Family Resident Visa along with an ARC, you do not need a separate work permit to be allowed to work in Taiwan. Your Resident Visa and ARC automatically allow you to work.
However, if you are the foreign spouse or dependent of an ARC/Resident Visa holder, you must obtain your own Work Permit to be allowed to work in Taiwan.
Taiwan Family Visa fees
The Taiwan Visa fees are as follows:
If you apply at a Taiwan diplomatic mission:
- Single-Entry Visitor Visa: US$50
- Multiple-Entry Visitor Visa: US$100
- Single-Entry Resident Visa: US$66
- Multiple-Entry Resident Visa: US$132
If you apply in Taiwan:
- Single-Entry Visitor Visa: NT$1,600
- Multiple-Entry Visitor Visa: NT$3,200
- Single-Entry Resident Visa: NT$2,200
- Multiple-Entry Resident Visa: NT$4,400
The acceptable method of payment depends on the location through which you submit your Taiwan visa application. Some offices may require you to pay through a bank beforehand while others only accept exact cash at the time of document submission, so be sure to inquire about the method of payment before you apply.