Becoming a Taiwanese national through descent…

Since I am from the UK, these documents are required to be certified by the Foreign Commonwealth Office. They have a special office in the UK setup for this called the “The Legalisation Office”. Per document it cost me £30’s each to get these certified. (Source) Essentially, I needed these documents to prove that I am indeed a child of these two people who are married, and more importantly that my mum is married to my dad. This is proof that my birth certificate is indeed correct and that I am the son of someone who’s Taiwanese. (i.e. my mother)

You also need to fill out their form which can be downloaded from here: (Applicable to those who are British Subjects)

These documents also need to be verified and stamped by the Taipei Representative Office (TRO) in London. (Sort of an unofficial embassy in the UK or just like a consulate)

Translation of the documents

At the original time of writing, it cost £10s each to get my birth certificate and marriage certificate verified and stamped by the TRO. However I was also required to have these documents translated. (Source)

TIP: It is a good idea to get them translated, just in-case if you need the documents. It costs a bit extra, but the extra effort and money is worth it for any certain amount of scenarios which may occur.

TIP: So, if you are unsure whether you have to get them translated or not, make sure you either concretely find out whether you need translated copies (Of your birth certificate and of your parents marriage certificate) or purely just get a translated copy and that will solve any issues which may arise.

Although, I have heard that English is accepted in some parts of Taiwan, thus a translation is not required, however in Taichung where I live, it was most definitely required. Though as stated, it is always a good idea to get a translated copy. It doesn’t too much to get one and it’s not that difficult to find a lawyer or someone who can do it for you. You can see how I got my documents translated below.

The translations need to be verified by the Taipei Representative Office in London

There is an additional cost of £10’s for each document to purely get them verified; the translated copies. (The TRO does not supply a translation service for your documents, they need to be translated first and sent with the original copy to their offices in London)

However, I managed to simply get these documents translated by an IT company who were competent enough to translate the documents into Chinese from English. I could have done this myself if I knew Chinese well enough to translate the documents. (Via creating a spreadsheet or using Microsoft Word to create a table and to fill it in Chinese, like the same design or aspect as the original English version) – As long as the information is correct, I believe the TRO in London will verify and stamp it. Once that it is done, the document can be used anywhere in Taiwan as an official document.

How can I pay the Foreign Commonwealth Office? (UK Foreign office)

You can pay them via their website; all online.

All you have to include is a print out with proof that you paid them for the documents.

You also need to pay for post and packaging. They also have an option online, whereby you can pay via Fedex to have it returned to you insured. However I will include another option or the option which I took which was much easier, since you still need the documents to be verified by the Taipei Representative Office in London; whom are also located in London. So there is no point them sending the document back to Taiwan, for you to just send it back to the UK to the TRO’s legislation office to get it verified. See what I did below under “How did I send it off via mail?”.

Checklist before you send your documents off to the UK – Legalisation Office:  

• Your parents marriage certificate.
• Your birth certificate.
  • A translated copy of your parents marriage certificate.
  • A translated copy of your birth certificate.
• Legalisation application form for the Legalisation Office (Foreign Commonwealth Office) – Filled in. Download here.
  • You need a bankers cheque addressed to the “Foreign Commonwealth Office” worth around £2 or £3. Personally I sent £3. This was so they could send the verified and stamped documents to the Taipei Representative’s Legalisation Office in London. You must also include an envelope addressed to the Taipei Representative Office in London or their legalisation office including a note directing them what you want them to do. (I.e. Please send this to the Taipei Representative Office in London. (Including their address))
• Legalisation application form for the Legalisation Office (Taipei Representative Office) – Filled in. Download here.
  • You will need a bankers cheque for the amount £40 to get all 4 documents legalised/verified. (£10 for each document) They will also send the document back for a fee of £8 to Taiwan. So in total you need a bankers cheque worth £48.00 addressed to “The Taipei Representative Office”. You also need another envelope, addressed to your home address in Taiwan. They will stick all the documents inside that, once they place their verification stamp or seal of approval on the documents then send it off to the address on the envelope.
  • You are also required to have a form of identity sent to the Taipei Representative Office. I copied my passport and included it inside the envelope addressed to the TRO’s legalisation office.

• A photo copy of my passport as proof of identity.
• The application form the TRO requires you to fill in for their verification service.
• The two translated copies of your birth certificate and your parents marriage certificate.