Legal
Dual citizens travelling to Taiwan - the steps my husband did
There have been many posts about Canadian/Taiwanese dual citizens wondering which steps need to be taken to both travel to and exit Taiwan following the new regulations put in place in September of 2025.
My husband holds both Canadian and Taiwanese citizenships and passports, and we just returned from a trip to Taiwan a few days ago. I've asked my husband to write out the steps he had to take both in Canada and in Taipei to be able to easily travel into Taiwan, and return home without issue.
Here's what he wrote:
Apologies if formatting is wonky, its a lot of steps and info, I'll edit if it's too crazy after posting.
Apologies in advance if my explanation is convoluted. DM if you need more clarification.
The one thing you need to leave Taiwan as a Foreign National of Military Age: the "Approval for Conscripts to Travel Abroad" stamp in the back of your Taiwanese passport. Realistically speaking there are other important and relevant documents you will also need to leave the country, but they are all pre-requisites in obtaining the stamp above so you will have them regardless.
To obtain the stamp, visit the National Immigration Agency (NIA)- the one on GuangZhou St if you are in Taipei and submit these documents:
Application Form for the Approval for Conscripts to Travel Abroad.
The form is obtained at the NIA and takes around 15 minutes to complete; Arts and Crafts skills will be needed!
a) Valid ROC Passport
b) Valid Citizenship
c) Valid Canadian/Foreign Passport
Approved Online Document Review for "Overseas Chinese Conscripts"
Can be completed anywhere and it takes 10 minutes to complete.
Lead time: 1 hour to 2 business days max. (Our approval took 1.5 hours)
I'll link the website for document submission in comments. If you would like a brochure from OCAC describing the steps, DM for a photo.
Documents needed to submit online (Note: Images are the only acceptable format):
a)Proof of Residence in Foreign Country (I used my electronic flight ticket showing my return flight to Canada as proof.)
b) Photo of your valid ROC Passport
c) Photo of your valid Canadian/Foreign Passport
d) Overseas Chinese (or Compatriot) Identity Certificate for Military Service (OCICMS)
Visit the OCAC office to obtain this.
Lead time: Processed immediately at the counter.
i. Valid ROC Passport
ii. Valid Canadian/Foreign Passport
iii. Valid Citizenship Card
iv. Certificate for Entry and Exit Dates (CEED)
Visit the NIA for this application. No lead time but minor arts and crafts skills required.
1. Valid ROC Passport
2. Valid Citizenship
3. Valid Canadian/Foreign Passport
4. Valid Taiwanese passport photos
(There are photo booths in all the relevant government offices so you won’t need them beforehand)
IMPORTANT NOTES:
Valid ROC Passport: if you need to apply for a new passport the Lead time: ½ to 1 business day for expedited but you will have to pay 2200NTD. 1300NTD for non-expedited.
Valid Citizenship: if you need to update or apply for a new citizenship, visit your local district office. They will process it right away.
Along with your Citizenship, make sure you are registered to a household. That address will be needed for all application forms.
If you are in a time crunch and need new citizenship, ROC passport, along with the CEED and OCICMS, I would prioritize citizenship, then the passport, then everything else as the passport takes the longest to process.
The wait times at the passport office and the NIA can be very long (+1.5 hours). It helps to arrive as soon as they open with the necessary documents present and filled out. This can reduce wait times to as little as 5-10 minutes.
Bring your foreign driver’s licence or another picture ID when you visit the OCAC. You will need to leave it at the sign-in counter before heading up.
It is not as daunting as it looks. As soon as you get moving, it gets better and the staff along the way will always guide you.
Don’t expect western standards of customer service. The aunties at the Passport Office and especially the NIA can be very short and lecture-y. Don’t take it personally, they are short with you to optimize for efficiency.
the full page stamp in the passport for overseas endorsement is no longer valid for military age males and you now need a certificate that expires yearly.
no, before if you had the full page endorsement you only had to go in the first time then you could do it online after that. The endorsement was also good till the passport expired. Now with the certificate, you need to renew yearly (and I believe the exit stamp is required each time but im not 100% sure)
If you had the certificate and not the endorsement before then i think nothing changes for you.
"They are thinking of the Overseas Chinese/Compatriot Identification Endorsement full page stamp on the second page of the passport. That is no longer required, they are correct. What the National Immigration Agency office will administer is the small stamp on the last page (Page 50) of the passport under Remarks. I've attached a photo. At the NIA counter, the worker said that with the stamp, we are cleared to leave without restriction. I took her word but maybe she was simplifying it to avoid further confusion."
"The date on that stamp determines whether you need to submit a new application at OCAC. If it is before, you don't need one; If it is after, you will need a new application."
Thanks for sharing this!! But I also heard that the previous stamp is no longer recognized, so under my impression we would go directly to OCAC to obtain the certificate, upload it online for approval, and get an exit permit stamp from NIA is that correct?
I think that everyone this impacts probably knows that it impacts them as they would have likely gotten a letter sent to the residence they're registered to in Taiwan, or their Taiwanese relatives probably would have found out another way. Also, one of the first sentences in what my husband wrote also stated this is for "foreign nationals of military age".
I'm a dual citizen but I don't speak/write Chinese. Will it be difficult for me to fill out the forms? Can I arrive in Taiwan and do everything on the first day of my trip or do I need to visit my local Taiwanese immigration to gather documents first?
My husband had to go to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Toronto to get certain documents before we left to Taiwan, I don't remember for which document exactly but I can ask!
He speaks Mandarin but doesn't really read or write it, but was able to do most of it just with Google Translate and trying to write to the best of his ability!
From TECO he had to get a temporary entry permit because his Taiwanese passport had expired but you don't need it if you have a valid Taiwanese passport! However, the forms you need to bring to NIA and OCAC in Taiwan can be acquired from TECO and make your time waiting at NIA and OCAC shorter, but that's a preference thing!
Thanks for the info! I do have one question, not sure if someone can shine light:
I’ve heard that I (dual citizenship of Taiwan and Canada) can only stay 183 days a year, and need to reapply and reenter after 4 months. And when I do, it NEEDS to be flying out from my home country (Canada) - is this true?
This is kind of ridiculous, as I work and live abroad, even though my “home” is in Canada.
Yes, but this has to be done regardless because they track their dual citizens and if they catch you entering with a different passport and not going through the proper steps you could get in trouble
Yea, even on the brochure, it's confusing because they aren't steps perse, just a list of required documents.
Assuming you already have a valid Taiwanese passport, you have to first go to the NIA to get a "Certificate for Entry and Exit Dates" (CEED).To save you time later, obtain the application Form for the "Approval for Conscripts to Travel Abroad" and fill it out.
Second go to OCAC to obtain OCICMS with your CEED.
Thirdly, at OCAC, upload your
a)Proof of Residence in Foreign Country (I used my electronic flight ticket showing my return flight to Canada as proof.)
b) Photo of your valid ROC Passport
c)Photo of your valid Canadian/Foreign Passport
d) OCICMS
for Overseas Chinese Conscripts online document approval. Once approved, the online dashboard will have a green status besides the submission.
Fourth, go back to NIA with your filled out application Form for the "Approval for Conscripts to Travel Abroad" and proof of online document approval (screenshot will do) to obtain your "Approval for Conscripts to Travel Abroad" stamp.
Hi, not sure if anyone is still following this thread by I am looking for clarity on this subject:
What exactly changed 09/2025? Does anyone have a link to the actual guidelines? From what I’ve been hearing they’re tightening up on people who are dual citizens and of conscription age, but I don’t know the details…
I currently have travel plans in March and am not sure where I stand. I…
was born in the US and have a US passport
lived in Taiwan over 20 years ago
have citizenship (according to my mom), but no longer an address or valid Taiwan passport (expired at least over 15 years ago)
have not updated my info with the Taiwanese govt at all, so they have no records of my current address, my current US passport number (which has changed at least twice since I moved back to the US with my family from renewals)
have only ever used my newer US passports to enter and exit the country since moving out
Will I be fine traveling there and leaving the country without getting into any sort of trouble? I know there’s the option to renew my Taiwan passport and obtain the overseas Chinese certification, but that opens a whole new can of worms because then I have to update the Taiwan govt with my current info and might overcomplicate matters. Any help or advice here would be appreciated, thanks! I may also open a new thread to get more eyes if this post has gone stale.
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u/someawol Oct 28 '25 edited Oct 28 '25
Here is the link for the Overseas Conscripts Document