- Ways to apply
- Citizenship at birth through a parent (Art. 2)
- Dual citizenship
- Kept, however you apply
Each answer assumes none of your ancestors became a citizen of another country before their child was born. Below is what changes each answer.
On this page›
- 01Who qualifies
- 02Dates that matter
- 03Through your mother
- 04Keeping your citizenship
- 05Ways to apply
- 06The documents
- 07What it takes
- 08Where the records live
- 09Law changes
- 10Other options
- 11Sources
Who qualifies, generation by generation
LIKELY
Can you claim Taiwanese citizenship through a parent?
Citizenship at birth (Art. 2)
A child of an ROC-national parent is Taiwanese by birth, regardless of where the child is born, and can keep any other citizenship since descent carries no renunciation condition.
What would settle itFor an adult male applicant, whether registering household residency in Taiwan would also trigger a conscription obligation; those who never register there are generally excluded from it.
- A person has the nationality of the ROC if the father or mother was an ROC national at the time of birth. Nationality Act, Art. 2 ↗
- The certificate-of-loss-of-original-nationality requirement applies to naturalisation applicants, not to a person who is already an ROC national by descent. Nationality Act, Art. 9 ↗
What changes the answer
- UNLIKELY
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 1980Citizenship at birth (pre-1980 maternal line)Before 2000, ROC nationality passed only through the father. The 2000 amendment that let a mother’s nationality count only reached back to those still under 20 when it took effect, so it does not cover a birth before about 10 February 1980.
UNLIKELY
Can you claim Taiwanese citizenship through a grandparent?
Two or more generations
Taiwanese nationality does not reach a grandchild or great-grandchild directly; the claim runs through whether your parent held ROC nationality at your birth. We found no separate heritage residence option for this generation.
What would settle itWhether your parent held ROC nationality at your own birth, which would put you on the parent option instead.
- A person has ROC nationality at birth only if the father or mother was an ROC national at the time of birth (or at death, if the father died first); the Act does not extend this to grandparents. Nationality Act, Art. 2 ↗
UNLIKELY
Can you claim Taiwanese citizenship through a great-grandparent?
Two or more generations
Taiwanese nationality does not reach a grandchild or great-grandchild directly; the claim runs through whether your parent held ROC nationality at your birth. We found no separate heritage residence option for this generation.
What would settle itWhether your parent held ROC nationality at your own birth, which would put you on the parent option instead.
- A person has ROC nationality at birth only if the father or mother was an ROC national at the time of birth (or at death, if the father died first); the Act does not extend this to grandparents. Nationality Act, Art. 2 ↗
The dates that matter
- 2000
9 February 2000The Nationality Act was amended, effective 9 February 2000, to let either parent pass on nationality, but this applies only to those who were still under 20 on that date. Nationality Act, Art. 2 transitional clause ↗
Claiming through your mother or grandmother
In Taiwan’s rule, the answer changes when the ancestor you descend through is a woman:
- UNLIKELY
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 1980Citizenship at birth (pre-1980 maternal line)Before 2000, ROC nationality passed only through the father. The 2000 amendment that let a mother’s nationality count only reached back to those still under 20 when it took effect, so it does not cover a birth before about 10 February 1980.
In the law’s words
- The Nationality Act was amended, effective 9 February 2000, to let either parent pass on nationality, but this applies only to those who were still under 20 on that date. Nationality Act, Art. 2 transitional clause ↗
- A person has the nationality of the ROC if the father or mother was an ROC national at the time of birth. Nationality Act, Art. 2 ↗
- A person has ROC nationality at birth only if the father or mother was an ROC national at the time of birth (or at death, if the father died first); the Act does not extend this to grandparents. Nationality Act, Art. 2 ↗
Dual citizenship with your home country
You keep your citizenship.
On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.
- Nationality acquired by descent carries no renunciation condition; that applies only to naturalisation. Nationality Act, Art. 9 ↗
Every way to apply, and the law behind it
The law
- A person has the nationality of the ROC if the father or mother was an ROC national at the time of birth. Nationality Act, Art. 2 ↗
- The certificate-of-loss-of-original-nationality requirement applies to naturalisation applicants, not to a person who is already an ROC national by descent. Nationality Act, Art. 9 ↗
What would settle an unsure case
- For an adult male applicant, whether registering household residency in Taiwan would also trigger a conscription obligation; those who never register there are generally excluded from it.
- UNLIKELY
Through a parent, if the parent is your mother and you were born before 1980Before 2000, ROC nationality passed only through the father. The 2000 amendment that let a mother’s nationality count only reached back to those still under 20 when it took effect, so it does not cover a birth before about 10 February 1980.
The law
What would settle an unsure case
- Your exact birth date, to confirm it falls before the cutoff the transitional clause implies; this figure comes from practitioner sources reading the clause, not a government-stated date, so it is worth independent confirmation before relying on it.
- UNLIKELY
Through a grandparentTaiwanese nationality does not reach a grandchild or great-grandchild directly; the claim runs through whether your parent held ROC nationality at your birth. We found no separate heritage residence option for this generation.
The law
- A person has ROC nationality at birth only if the father or mother was an ROC national at the time of birth (or at death, if the father died first); the Act does not extend this to grandparents. Nationality Act, Art. 2 ↗
What would settle an unsure case
- Whether your parent held ROC nationality at your own birth, which would put you on the parent option instead.
The documents, as the rule lists them
Citizenship at birth (Art. 2)
Through a parent
- Your parent’s Taiwanese household registration (hukou) record or passport
- Your birth certificate
- Household registration (hu-ji) application at a Taiwan representative office
Most countries also want proof that your ancestor didn’t become a citizen somewhere else before their child was born: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter saying there isn’t one.
What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides
Citizenship at birth (Art. 2)
- Time
- A few weeks to a few months for a Taiwan passport, once your parent’s ROC nationality or household registration is confirmed.
- Cost
- About $150–350: certified household registration or passport copies, translations, and the passport fee.
- The hard part
- Establishing your parent’s ROC nationality when the family never registered a household in Taiwan, or the parent’s own records are decades old.
- Who decides
- A Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) for your U.S. address, or Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency if applying in Taiwan.
- The first record
- Your parent’s Taiwan household registration (hukou) record or ROC passport, from A Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), or the Household Registration Office in Taiwan. Contact the TECO for your address with the parent’s name and, if known, their old household registration address in Taiwan; TECO can request a household registration transcript on your behalf. ris.gov.tw ↗
How it’s filed
- Where
- A Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) for your U.S. address, or the National Immigration Agency if applying in Taiwan.
- How
- In person; you appear in person
- Fee
- About $45
- Decision
- 2–13 weeks
What goes in the file (4)›
- The completed passport or household-registration application
- Your U.S. birth certificate, translated into Chinese
- Your parent’s Taiwan household registration record or ROC passport
- Your parents’ marriage certificate, translated, if applicable
What goes wrong (4)›
- A person can be an ROC national without ever establishing household registration in Taiwan (a ‘national without household registration’); that status carries a passport but not a vote.
- For a male applicant, establishing household registration in Taiwan later triggers a compulsory military-service obligation from age 18; someone who never registers there is generally exempt.
- USD 45 for a 10-year passport (USD 31 under 14), in cash, money order or cashier’s check to TECO. Add USD 15 for each U.S. document TECO authenticates, such as the birth certificate and the parents’ marriage certificate.
- Apply in person, by appointment. A U.S. birth certificate from outside the office’s states must first be authenticated by the TECO for the state that issued it.
source ↗
Fees are each office’s published fee, converted to U.S. dollars.
Where each record lives, and how to ask for it
birth
The parent’s Taiwan household registration (hukou) record, held by the household registration offices; or the parent’s ROC passport
Give the parent’s full name and, if known, their old household registration address in Taiwan. Any household registration office in Taiwan issues the transcript; from abroad, a relative or agent there requests it for you.
- Takes
- 2–9 weeks
Good to know (1)›
- From abroad: sign an authorization letter (委託書), have it verified by a TECO, and send it to the relative or agent in Taiwan who will file. A child or grandchild of the registered person qualifies as a direct relative. The office issues the transcript on the spot for NT$15 a page; the wait is the post.
source ↗
Translations
- Into
- Chinese
- Who may translate
- Any certified translator; the translation itself is legalized
- About
- $20–$45 a page
For the passport, TECO takes U.S. birth and marriage certificates in English and authenticates them (USD 15 each); no translation is needed. For household registration in Taiwan later, each certificate needs a Chinese translation, and TECO must verify both the English original and the translation.
source ↗
The passport
- Where
- A Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) for your U.S. address, once your ROC nationality is confirmed.
- Fee
- About $45
- Time
- 7–10 weeks
- USD 45 for a 10-year e-passport, USD 31 for a child under 14 (5 years). The book is made in Taipei and takes about 8 weeks; an emergency 1-year passport (USD 10) takes 5–10 business days but does not qualify for visa-free travel.
source ↗
Recent and pending changes
We know of no pending bill or recent court ruling for Taiwan.
We re-read the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person checks the rule before we update anything here.
If descent doesn’t reach you
3 residence programs lead to Taiwan without an ancestor, each with its own law and road to citizenship.