| Legislative： |
1.The enacted Act with all 17 Articles was promulgated by Presidential Decree Hua-Zong-Yi-Yi-Zi No.09100243550 on December 18, 2002
2.The amended Articles 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, and 13 as well as Article 15-1 were promulgated by Presidential Decree Hua-Zong-Yi-Yi-Zi No.10400149631 on December 23, 2015
3.The amended Articles 13 and 17 were promulgated by Presidential Decree Hua-Zong-Yi-Yi No. 11000003591 on January 20, 2021, and will be implemented from January 1, 2023. |
| Content： |
Article 1
This Act is promulgated for purposes of issuing Overseas Compatriot
Identity Certificates and processing of Overseas Compatriot Identity
Endorsements.
Article 2
The competent authority of this Act is the Overseas Community Affairs
Council, R.O.C. (TAIWAN).
Article 3
This Act applies to the Republic of China, TAIWAN (hereinafter referred
to as the “R.O.C. (TAIWAN)”) nationals who reside overseas. However,
the Act does not apply to persons with residency status in Mainland China,
Hong Kong or Macau; nor does this Act apply to persons holding passports
issued by Mainland China.
Article 4
The R.O.C. (TAIWAN) nationals residing overseas and who satisfy any
of the following conditions may apply for the Overseas Compatriot
Identity Certificate:
1.A person who resides in a country or region with a permanent residency
system, and satisfies the following requirements:
(1) Obtaining permanent residency in the place of residence overseas;
(2) Accumulating residence overseas for at least four years;
(3) Continuously residing in the place of residence overseas for six months,
or accumulating residence overseas for at least eight months of each year
in the past two years at the place of residence overseas.
2.A person who resides in a country or region where there is no permanent
residency system, or where there is a system of permanent residency but
it is difficult for foreigners to obtain such permanent residency, and
satisfies the following requirements:
(1) Obtaining legal residence status at the place of residence overseas for
four consecutive years, and is eligible for further extension of residency;
(2) Accumulating residence overseas for at least four years;
(3) Continuously residing in the place of residence overseas for six months,
or cumulative residence overseas for at least eight months of each year
in the past two years at the place of residence overseas.
3.A person who currently or previously has had household registration in the
R.O.C. (TAIWAN), and legally resides in the place of residence overseas for
ten consecutive years and has been legally employed in the place of residence
overseas for at least four years since his or her departure from the R.O.C.
(TAIWAN), and is eligible for further extension of residency.
The “countries or regions that are difficult for foreigners to obtain permanent
residency” as referred to in Subparagraph 2 above, as well as recognition of
residency qualifications shall be publicly announced each year by the competent
authority upon consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (hereinafter
referred to as the “MOFA”) and published in the Executive Yuan Gazette.
For males who currently or previously have had household registration in the
R.O.C. (TAIWAN) and satisfy the requirements in Paragraph 1 above but have
not fulfilled their compulsory military services and are close to or of
conscription age, and who are applying for an Overseas Compatriot Identity
Certificate for the purpose of conscription administration or recognition
of identity upon arrival or departure processing, their applications shall
only be granted as long as Article 10 of this Act and other laws and
regulations do not restrict them from obtaining an Overseas Compatriot
Identity Endorsement. The competent authority shall annotate on such
Certificate that the said Certificate is issued for the purpose of
conscription administration only.
Article 5
A person applying for an Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate shall
lodge the application with the competent authority by submitting the
following documentation:
1.Application form;
2.Personal identification document;
3.Proof of residency at the place of residence overseas;
4.Proof of period of foreign residence;
5.Proof of the R.O.C. (TAIWAN) nationality, or proof of Chinese ethnicity
authenticated or issued by the R.O.C. (TAIWAN) embassies and consulates,
representative offices, offices, or other agencies authorized by the MOFA
(hereinafter referred to as the “Embassies and Missions abroad”).
6.Other relevant evidentiary documentation.
The rules applying to authentication or issuance of the “Certificate of
Chinese Ethnicity” referred in the Subparagraph 5 of the preceding paragraph
shall be determined by the competent authority in consultation with other
relevant authorities.
Article 6
Where a person applies for an Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate by
submitting a Certificate of Chinese Ethnicity referred to in Subparagraph 5,
Paragraph 1 of the preceding Article, the competent authority shall annotate
the Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate with the fact that the applicant
is based on the Certificate of Chinese Ethnicity. The substantive validity of
Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate shall be determined by authority in
charge of relevant industry.
Article 7
The competent authority may, depending on the special needs of the place of
residence overseas, authorized the Embassies and Missions abroad to accept
applications for the Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate. The procedures
for accepting applications and other matters to be followed shall be prescribed
by the competent authority.
Article 8
The validity period of Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate is one year
from the date of issue.
Article 9
Where an Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate is destroyed, lost or
damaged, a new application shall be lodged.
Article 10
The R.O.C. (TAIWAN) national who resides overseas, holds an ordinary R.O.C.
(TAIWAN) passport, and satisfies the requirements stipulated in Paragraph 1,
Article 4 may apply for an Overseas Compatriot Identity Endorsement on
his/her passport. Nevertheless, a male who has not fulfilled his compulsory
military service and is close to or of conscription age can be restricted
from obtaining the Overseas Compatriot Identity Endorsement.
The scope, conditions, procedures, and other matters to be followed regarding
the restrictions in the preceding paragraph shall be determined by the competent
authority in consultation with the Ministry of the Interior (hereinafter
referred to as the “MOI”) and MOFA.
Where a person applies for the Overseas Compatriot Identity Endorsement on
the passport shall be processed by the MOFA after being verified by the
competent authority, if the application is lodged within the R.O.C. (TAIWAN).
If the application is lodged overseas, it shall be directly processed by the
Embassies and Missions abroad authorized by the competent authority, or be
processed after the competent authority’s verification.
The documents required for the verification of overseas compatriot identity
shall comply with the provisions of Article 5, Paragraph 1.
Article 11
Where an application for renewal or replacement of a passport with Overseas
Compatriot Identity Endorsement is lodged, the said Endorsement may be
transferred after verifying that proof of overseas residency in the place
of residence overseas is still valid.
Article 12
Where a person holds a valid passport with Overseas Compatriot Identity
Endorsement, the valid effect of such Endorsement shall be the same as
an Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate during the validity period
of the passport. This does not apply where other laws or regulations
require submission of an Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate.
Article 13
Minors who are over 7 years old but under 18 require written consent
from their statutory representatives when applying for an Overseas
Compatriot Identity Certificate or Overseas Compatriot Identity Endorsement.
Minors under 7 years old or adults under guardianship should have
applications for Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate or Overseas
Compatriot Identity Endorsement carried out on their behalf by their
statutory representatives.
If there are more than two statutory representatives, the execution of
the right of consent or representativeness can be carried out by one of
the statutory representatives. If the statutory representative(s) cannot
apply in person, they can appoint an agent to lodge the application.
The regulations of this Act prior to the Amendment on December 29, 2020
remain to apply to those people aged under 18 who married before
implementation of the Amendment until they reach 18 years of age.
Article 14
A fee shall be charged by the competent authority in respect of processing
of Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate applications pursuant to this Act.
The amount of such fee shall be as determined by the competent authority.
Article 15
The format and required information to be recorded on Overseas Compatriot
Identity Certificates shall be as determined by the competent authority.
Article 15-1
For the issuance of Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate or Overseas
Compatriot Identity Endorsement, the competent authority may request the
MOI or MOFA to provide related information by computer connection or other
methods.
Article 16
The Enforcement Rules in respect of this Act shall be determined by the
competent authority.
Article 17
This Act shall enter into force from the promulgation date.
The Articles amended on December 29, 2020, shall be implemented from
January 1, 2023. |