Guidance

Taiwan: Knowledge Base profile

Published 8 May 2024

Version 4.0

About: Taiwan

This document contains useful information about Taiwan which will help His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Guidance team.

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Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 4.0
• published for Home Office staff on 1 May 2024

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.

Taiwan: names

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about names in Taiwan.

Names in Taiwan consist of a:

• surname
• forename

Children can be given either the mother or father’s surname (if the father has registered himself as the father).

Change of name

Name changes are allowed.

Names can be changed by:

• marriage
• divorce
• adoption

If a customer is registered with a local Household Registration Office (for example, they have a personal identity number), they must change their name at their local Household Registration Office before they can apply to amend their passport.

People under 18 years old must have consent from both their parents to change their name.

Names in passports

A Taiwan passport has space for 39 characters for the holder’s name and will show the holder’s surname first, followed by any forename. Foreign names can be recorded on the personal details page as an ‘also know as’ name using the Roman alphabet.

Customers from Taiwan can have their name shown in traditional Chinese characters translated into the Roman alphabet using their native pronunciation rather than Mandarin. This native pronunciation translation will be shown on their passport as an ‘also known as’ name and will then be used as the person’s alternative name. For example, someone with the surname 黃 will have the name:

• Huang – in Mandarin
• Wong – in Hakka

Taiwan: nationality

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about nationality in Taiwan.

Dual nationality is allowed in Taiwan.

Foreign nationals who naturalise in Taiwan are required to formally renounce their foreign citizenship.

Taiwan: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Taiwan.

Legitimacy

Taiwan recognises a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

A child is considered:

• legitimate if the parents are:
  • married at the time of birth
  • not married and the father acknowledges that he is the father
• illegitimate if the parents are not married and the father does not acknowledge he is the father

Parental responsibility

Both parents have parental responsibility if they are married. If the parents are not married, mother has parental responsibility.

Taiwan: adoption

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about adoption in Taiwan.

Adoption is legal in Taiwan.

Same sex couples cannot adopt in Taiwan.

Taiwan: surrogacy

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about surrogacy in Taiwan.

Surrogacy is not legal in Taiwan.

Taiwan: gender recognition

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about gender recognition in Taiwan.

Transgender citizens are recognised in Taiwan.

Citizens can get a new identity card, in their new name and gender, if they give the Household Registration Office proof they have had gender reassignment surgery.

Taiwan: civil partnerships and marriage

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about civil partnerships and marriage in Taiwan.

Same sex marriage is not legal in Taiwan.

Civil partnerships are legal and can be registered at Household Registration Offices.

Civil partnerships in Taiwan do not have the same rights and benefits as marriage.

Taiwan: documents

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about documents in Taiwan.

The Department of Ministry of Interior in Taiwan holds a central register for identity documents. The central registry for all other documents is the Household Registration Office.

The Taiwan authorities do not laminate documents.

Birth certificates

When a birth takes place in a hospital or clinic in Taiwan, the hospital or clinic will issue a birth certificate, these certificates differ for each hospital or clinic. Copies of birth certificates can be obtained.

Taiwanese and English versions of birth certificates are available. If the parents are not married, the authorities in Taiwan will:

• not add a foreign father’s name on the Taiwanese version of the certificate
• add a foreign father’s name on the English version of the certificate

Taiwan citizen parents must also register the birth with the Household Registration Office within 60 days; these documents are standardised (black font on light yellow paper). Any amendments will be made on the household registration document and a certified copy re-issued.

If neither of the child’s parent are Taiwan citizens, the parents must apply for an Alien Registration Certificate (ARC). The ARC must be applied for within 15 days of the birth.

Marriage certificates

Marriages take place at the local court and the customer must register their marriage at the Household Registration Office within 30 days. The court will give the customer a marriage certificate and the Household Registration Office will give them a registration document.

Death certificates

The district prosecutor issues death certificates. The family must register the death within 30 days.

Identity documents

Identity cards are issued to everyone living or working in Taiwan.