Taiwan Reciprocity Schedule

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Visa Classification	Fee	Number of Applications	Validity Period
A-1	None	Multiple	60 Months [A] [B]
A-2	None	Multiple	60 Months [A] [B]
A-3 [1]	None	Multiple	12 Months [A] [B]
B-1	None	Multiple	60 Months
B-2	None	Multiple	60 Months
B-1/B-2	None	Multiple	60 Months
C-1	None	Multiple	60 Months
C-1/D	None	Multiple	60 Months
C-2	None	Multiple	12 Months
C-3	None	N/A [A] [B]	N/A
D	None	Multiple	60 Months
E-1 [2]	None	Multiple [C]	60 Months
E-2 [2]	None	Multiple [C]	60 Months
F-1	None	Multiple	60 Months
F-2	None	Multiple	60 Months
G-1	None	Multiple	12 Months [A] [B]
G-2	None	Multiple	12 Months [A] [B]
G-3	None	Multiple	12 Months [A] [B]
G-4	None	Multiple	12 Months [A] [B]
G-5 [1]	None	Multiple	12 Months [A] [B]
H-1B	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
H-1C	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
H-2A	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
H-2B	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
H-2R	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
H-3	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
H-4	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
I	None	Multiple	60 Months
J-1 [4]	None	Multiple	60 Months
J-2 [4]	None	Multiple	60 Months
K-1	None	One	6 Months
K-2	None	One	6 Months
K-3	None	Multiple	24 Months
K-4	None	Multiple	24 Months
L-1	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
L-2	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
M-1	None	Multiple	60 Months
M-2	None	Multiple	60 Months
N-8	None	Multiple	12 Months
N-9	None	Multiple	12 Months
NATO 1-7	N/A	N/A	N/A
O-1	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
O-2	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
O-3	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
P-1	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
P-2	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
P-3	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
P-4	None	Multiple	60 Months [3]
Q-1 [6]	None	Multiple	15 Months [3]
R-1	None	Multiple	60 Months
R-2	None	Multiple	60 Months
S-5 [7]	None	One	1 Month
S-6 [7]	None	One	1 Month
S-7 [7]	None	One	1 Month
T-1 [9]	N/A	N/A	N/A
T-2	None	One	6 Months
T-3	None	One	6 Months
T-4	None	One	6 Months
T-5	None	One	6 Months
TD [5]	N/A	N/A	N/A
V-1	None	Multiple	60 Months
V-2	None	Multiple	60 Months [8]
V-3	None	Multiple	60 Months [8]

Documents

Birth Certificates

Available. A household registration record (hukou) or extract thereof shows the name of the person, date of birth, names of parents and name of spouse, if married. The island of Taiwan was under Japanese rule from 1895 to 1945. The Japanese Government maintained the same system of household registration (koseki) as they did in other parts of Japan. This system of household registration, with minor changes, has been continued. Records concerning Taiwan Chinese, i.e., those who were Japanese nationals until the end of World War II, are fairly complete. Records on Chinese who came from the China mainland after World War II date back to the date they first applied for registration with the local household registration office, and are based on information provided by the applicant.

Military personnel are not registered in the household registration system, while foreigners are registered with the Foreign Affairs Police.

Extracts of household registration records may be obtained by furnishing the name of the person, date of birth, names of parents, and name of spouse, if married. However, only the provincial affiliation, not the place of birth, is given--so a person born in Taiwan whose father is from Shanghai will be entered as a native of Shanghai. Care should be taken to ensure that the applicant is submitting a properly certified extract of the household registration, and not just a photocopy of his Household Roster card. A properly certified extract will have a statement stamped on it, and will be impressed with the seal of the household registration in red ink. The Household Roster card is a simplified version of the household registration, but certain information which might be significant for visa purposes and which will appear in the certified extract will not appear in the Household Roster.

As mentioned above, foreign residents are registered with the Foreign Affairs Police. Children born of foreign fathers, since they are not granted citizenship by the Taiwan authorities, are usually registered with their own consular authorities. Persons born outside of Taiwan should be requested to obtain the documentation applicable to the country in which they were born.

Household Registration Records

Household registration records will contain entries regarding birth, death marriage, and divorce. Extracts of the household registration may therefore be accepted as prima facie evidence of this fact.

Divorce Certificates

A husband and wife may obtain a divorce by mutual consent by signing an agreement in the presence of two witnesses and registering the divorce at the household administration office. No other legal intervention is necessary, unless one of the parties is a minor. For a divorce to be valid, its registration should be reflected on the individual's household registration.

Death Certificates

Death certificates are issued by the attending physician, not by a government agency. In the case of an untimely death, the certificate will be issued by a coroner. If the death occurred during military service, a military indemnity eligibility certificate is acceptable as proof of death.

In the absence of a system of vital statistics registration that may be considered as adequate and complete as defined by visa regulations, the documents described above may be accepted.

Police Records

Taiwan issues police certificates, although the information is not always comprehensive. Also, legislation is pending in Taiwan that will cause criminal convictions resulting in a penalty of a fine, probation, a suspended sentence, or a sentence of less than two years be deleted from a person's criminal record. Crimes committed by juveniles are not part of the criminal record. Therefore, under the new legislation, a police clearance certificate will not show these convictions. Crimes relevant to visa issuance may be included in those that may not be shown on a person's police clearance certificate. Conversely, convictions, once part of a person's record, remains in the person's record indefinitely. The information reported by the police on police clearance certificates is reliable, but applicants have been able to exclude relevant convictions by specifying specific dates for which the check is to be performed. Information recorded in police clearance certificates comes from a national database of criminal convictions that is updated weekly. If posts suspect that a Taiwan visa applicant is concealing a criminal conviction despite presentation of a clean police clearance certificate, posts should send a completed DS-156 with a photocopy of the bio page of the applicant's passport to the Fraud Prevention Unit at AIT.

Taiwan does not use a standard system for romanizing names, resulting in a wide range of name spellings. However, every Taiwan citizen is assigned a unique national identification number that never changes. Whenever possible, queries should include a person's national identification number. Applicants with Taiwan passports should apply for a police certificate from the police headquarters having jurisdiction over the county or city in which the applicant's household is registered, as recorded in the Household Registration certificate. A third party can assist in this application. Previous residents of Taiwan not holding a Taiwan passport may apply for a police certificate by writing to:

Foreign Affairs Division
Taipei Municipal Police Department
No. 96, Yen Ping South Road
Taipei, Taiwan

Applicants should enclose a completed application form (available from Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices (TECRO) or Republic of China Embassies). There is a processing fee of US$11.00). No police certificate is available for previous residents of Taiwan who were dependents of U.S. military personnel and covered by the Status of Forces Agreement or persons living in Taiwan prior to August 1945."

Prison Records

Unavailable. There is no established procedure for obtaining an official document containing a report of an individual's confinement in prison. However, if a person has been arrested and sentenced, this information may appear in the police certificate or clearance report.

Court Records

Available. Theoretically, the records of all cases that came before a court in Taiwan are available. However, due to the dispersal of records in Taiwan, difficulty may be experienced in obtaining full information on old cases. A certified copy of the court judgment may be obtained upon application by an interested party to the appropriate court.

Military Records

Unavailable. An official military record as defined in visa regulations is unavailable. Persons who have served in the armed forces in Taiwan after World War II will possess discharge certificates showing their military service status, e.g., reserve Army officer with rank of Lieutenant, or retired Air Force sergeant, etc., giving date of discharge.

Passport and Other Travel Documents

Passport Must Contain Unrestricted Reentry Permit

Passports issued prior to May 20, 2000:  A regular tourist passport issued by the authorities on Taiwan should contain a reentry permit (in English) on page 2 granting the bearer the right to return to Taiwan as long as the passport remains valid.  A Taiwan passport with this permit is considered a valid passport that meets the requirements of INA 101(a)(30).  Taiwan passports issued prior to May 20, 2000 that do not contain such unrestricted reentry permits do not fulfill the passport requirement of INA 101(a)(30).

Passports issued since May 20, 2000, meet the definition of a passport under INA requirements as long as they contain a national identification number on the biographic page. Despite the term "passport" on the cover, documents that do not show that the bearer has a Taiwan national identification number do not allow the bearer unrestricted right to enter and/or reside in Taiwan and do not satisfy the definition of a passport under INA 101(a)(30). Pursuant to 22 CFR 41.114(b)(4), the Department has waived the passport requirement for bearers of such documents, who may be issued visas on Form DS-232 if they are otherwise eligible.  Visas should be limited to a single entry within three months.  Such persons are considered stateless for visa issuing purposes.

Visas may never be placed in diplomatic or official passports issued by the Taiwan authorities.  When issuing visas to bearers of diplomatic or official passports, consular officers should follow the instructions in 22 CFR 41.113(b) and place visas on Form DS-232.  In accordance with policy guidance issued annually by the Department, Taiwan's official and unofficial representatives abroad may not enter U.S. diplomatic or consular premises; however, onsite biometrics collection may be unavoidable at posts that have not implemented offsite biometrics collection when accepting applications from Taiwan's representatives.  Taiwan official and unofficial representatives are entitled to no-fee visas only in the case of  E-1 TECRO visas as described below.  

Taiwan's official and unofficial representatives may apply for tourist (and other) visas using their regular tourist passports, and may also use their tourist passports to apply for B1 visas for official TDY travel.  In these cases, a Taiwan official or unofficial representative must pay the MRV fee and must be fingerprinted. 

A Taiwan passport holder who is the immediate relative of a principal alien holding A or G nonimmigrant status may be issued an A or G dependent visa on Form DS-232 upon request from the principal alien's government or organization.  A  Taiwan passport holder who is the immediate relative of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident alien posted to an international organization in the U.S. may also be issued a G visa on Form DS-232 upon request by the organization. 

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) is the instrumentality provided for in Section 10 of the Taiwan Relations Act [Public Law 96-8] to represent the people of Taiwan in the United States in the absence of diplomatic relations.  Taiwan passport holders traveling to the United States for an official posting to a U.S.-based TECRO office should have a letter from the local TECRO office confirming their assignment.  Taiwan passport holders who will be assigned for more than 90 days to the TECRO office in the U. S., and their spouses and dependent children, should be issued no-fee E-1 visas and will be exempt from fingerprinting requirements and visa application fees.  Applicants will present G-series Taiwan passports for this purpose.  Applications submitted outside Taiwan should be delivered to U.S. embassies/consulates via courier with a letter of request as Taiwan's official and unofficial representatives are not permitted as a matter of policy to enter U.S. diplomatic or consular premises. 

The guidance that accords TECRO E-1 applicants these courtesies is 2004 State 141510 (SOP 69), Title 8 CFR 235.1(D)(i)(IV)(B),  the Taiwan Relations Act (PL 96-8), as well as the 1980 AIT-TECRO Agreement on Privileges and Immunities.  Visas should be annotated as follows:

For the principal:

EMPLOYEE OF TECRO ACCORDED COURTESIES
USVISIT EXEMPT PER 8CFR235.1(D)(i)(IV)(B)
DURATION OF STATUS AUTHORIZED PER TRA 4(A)

For the dependents:

DEPENDENT OF (principal applicant’s name)
EMPLOYEE OF TECRO ACCORDED COURTIESIES
USVISIT EXEMPT PER 8 CFR235.1(D)(i)(IV)(B)
DURATION OF STATUS AUTHORIZED PER TRA 4(A)

“FP BIOVISA EXEMPT” should be typed into the Local Tracking/Misc field in NIV.

Unmarried dependent sons and daughters of TECRO employees, over the age of 21, may be issued E visas so long as they attend school, engage in employment, or remain in the United States for the purposes specified in 8 CFR 214.2 (a)(2) and otherwise normally reserved for “immediate family members” of “A” diplomats over the age of 21.  

Other immediate family members (e.g., parents, parent-in-law, etc.) who are members of the same household may also be issued E-1 visas under certain circumstances.  These adult dependents should provide a Taiwan household registry (with English translation) showing the same official residence as the principal E applicant.  They should apply with a “G” series Taiwan passport.  The above annotation for dependents should be used.  If the family member’s residence on the household registry is not the same as the principal E applicant, they are not dependents and cannot obtain an E visa or reside in the U.S. with the principal applicant.  

If adult family members wish to visit the principal applicant only, but do not plan to reside with the principal applicant during their posting to the U.S., they should be issued a B1/B2 visa, not an E visa, regardless of their residence.  Personal employees of TECRO personnel may be issued B-1 visas subject to the same regulations and guidance as applies to the personal employees of nonimmigrants in general.

Special Clearance and Issuance Procedures

VISAS MANTIS Security Advisory Opinion Requests: Visas Mantis is strongly recommended for applicants with a background or purpose of trip that is listed in the TAL. Please see 9 FAM Appendix G 502.1-7.

Visa Processing for Taiwan Residents

The Consular Section of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) became operational on April 23, 1979. AIT is a non-governmental organization created by Public Law 96-8 (The Taiwan Relations Act). Prior to July 1, 1997, immigrant and non-immigrant visa applications were issued under the authority of the Consulate General in Hong Kong. Since July 1, 1997, the AIT Consular Section has had authority to issue and deny visas.

Visa records are retained in Taiwan and AIT processes clearance requests for former residents of Taiwan. Posts having files for individuals who plan to pursue their applications in Taiwan should transfer the files to AIT for further action. Persons wishing to inquire about such cases or other cases involving Taiwan residents should address their questions to AIT directly via international mail to:

Consular Section
American Institute in Taiwan
#7, Lane 134, Hsin Yi Rd., Section 3
Taipei, Taiwan 106

Consular officers should consult post’s communications personnel for instructions on handling pouch or classified material for AIT Taipei.

Areas Serviced:

All of Taiwan, Penghu (Pescadores) Islands and other areas administered by the Taiwan authorities including the islands of Jinmen (Kinmen, Quemoy) and Mazu (Matsu) in the Fujian Province.

Country Specific Footnotes

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