(A non-citizen means you are a national without registered in the household system in Taiwan)
For mailing-in applications please include the following:
In addition to your application requirements, please include a prepaid, self-addressed Priority envelop using a stamp (no scanned-labels allowed due to they are time-restricted) or a prepaid UPS or FedEx envelop for returning your documents and new passport.
We accept:
- Prepaid Priority mail or Express mail of USPS and their respective envelopes (available for free to pick up at any USPS offices)
or
- Prepaid UPS or FedEx and their respective envelopes (available for free at UPS or FedEx)
(USPS first class or certified mail returns are not accepted, as USPS will not be responsible for compensation in case of loss of your passports or documents. When self-stamping, please be careful not to overlap stamps when you place them on the envelop to avoid being rejected by post offices)
In addition to applying by mailing, you can also apply in person:
Starting 7/1/2021, our office counter is open for walking-in services and no appointment is required.
Counter opening hour: (9:00am to 12:00noon, Mondays through Fridays).
10-year passports with a chip implanted cost $45 USD, are sent back to Taiwan for production, taking about 5-6 weeks. Please allow enough time, or you have an option of applying for one-year passports cost 10 USD, taking 7-10 working days.
Address for sending your passport application: One Union Square, 600 University St., Suite 2020, Seattle, WA 98101 (Attn: Passport section)
Tel: (206) 441-4586, Fax: (206) 441-1322
Email: infoseattle@mofa.gov.tw
Fees can be paid in USD (Cash) (no changes), personal check (Please write payable to TECO on your personal check), Money orders, Cashier’s checks (Credit cards or debit cards are not accepted)
(For applying the first-time, non-citizen passports, all required documents and passports need to be original and in effect)
1. Passport application form: Obtained either from our office or downloaded from our website (https://www.roc-taiwan.org/ussea/cat/17.html) Signing the application form:
(1) For applicants under 18 years old (minors): (except for those who are married) Their legal representative (either parent or legal guardian) signs the child's name with (by either parent or legal guardian) for the child. For example: Mary Wang (by mother)
(2) And sign either parent or legal guardian’s own name under the applicant in column 11 to express consent. (If the parents are divorced, the parent should provide the identity certificate with guardianship)
2. The applicant's (child's) local identity document: (US passports)
3. Birth certificate: If it is issued in the six states of (WA, OR, MT, ID, WY, and AK) under the jurisdiction of this office, no authentication is required, otherwise, it must first be authenticated by related TECO offices. Please contact related TECO offices for authentication requirements).
4. Three passport-size photos: taken within the last 6 months, with color frontal, hats off, clear facial features including eye-brows, eyes, and ears (cannot be blocked by hair or other objects), mouth sealed, with a white-color background and the length of the portrait from the top of the head to the chin in between 3.2 cm to 3.6 cm long. (For details, please refer to the chipped passport photo specification) However, the one-year passports do not have the same regulations and US passport photo standard is sufficient.
5. Effective passports of both parents: (if one of the parents is a foreigner, the foreign passport must also be submitted for verification).
6. Parents’ marriage certificate: If it is issued in the six states of (WA, OR, MT, ID, WY, and AK) under the jurisdiction of this office, no authentication is required, otherwise, it must first be authenticated by related TECO offices. Please contact related TECO offices for authentication requirements).
Two different situations:
Situation A: One of the parents or both is/are Taiwan nationals with household registration in Taiwan:• Parents who have married and registered their marriage in Taiwan: Please provide a Taiwan issued marriage certificate or a three-month new household registration record with a history remark as evidence of marriage registration.• Parents who have married in the USA but not yet registered their marriage in Taiwan: The foreign marriage certificate must first be authenticated by related TECO offices (unless it is issued in our office’s jurisdiction). In addition, parents both must provide a three-month new household registration record with a history remark showing your status of being single in Taiwan. • If the applicant is born to unmarried parent:- The applicant whose father is a foreigner and whose mother is a citizen of the Republic of China may acquire Chinese nationality in accordance with the mother (the applicant must be born after February 10, 1980 according to the Nationality Law). The applicant’s mother must provide a three-month new household registration record with a history remark showing her status of being single in Taiwan; if the applicant’s mother a non-citizen national of Taiwan, she must fill out an affidavit stating she is single.- If the applicant’s father is a national of the Republic of China and the applicant’s mother is a foreigner, the applicant’s father should first complete the legal adoption procedure and registration in Taiwan’s household registration system (the applicant’s father should contact related household registration offices in Taiwan for details of said requirement), the applicant then acquires the nationality of the Republic of China and qualify for a passport.
Situation B: Parents who are both Taiwan nationals without household registration in Taiwan or one of them is a foreigner:• Parents who have no household registration in Taiwan and are married abroad: In addition to the foreign marriage certificate must first be authenticated by related TECO offices, they both must also provide single affidavits to prove that they are single in Taiwan.
7. Letter of agreement on children's surname: (Adults over 18 years old do not need to provide it, as long as the Chinese name is taken from the father's or mother's surname).- If the applicant is a child born to married parents and under the age of 18, parents must provide the signed "children's surname agreement" in writing to declare the child’s legal Chinese name with either parents’ surname.- If the applicant is an adult (those who have reached the age of 18 in accordance with the civil law) exempts from providing the said agreement.- If the applicant is born to unmarried parents should follow the mother's Chinese surname, and no surname agreement is required. However, if the applicant is legally adopted by the biological father, the surname may be changed by agreement or consent.- If one of the parents is a foreigner, and the applicant requests that the surname of his or her foreign father or mother be given a Chinese surname (minor applicants must have an agreement on the child’s surname completed and signed by both parents), but the foreign father (or mother) must fill in a “Chinese name declaration form” to obtain a legal Chinese name and get it authenticated by our office first.
8. Others: The respective TECO offices may vary depending on the regions or the individual circumstances of the applicants. (Please call the related TECO to explain the qualifications of the applicant to confirm the required documents prior to submitting applications).
9. Passport fee: an one-year paper temporary passport is USD10, a five-year chipped passport (under 14 years old) is USD31, and a ten-year chipped passport (over 14 years old) is USD45.
10. Please note: - All the above required documents must be submitted as original documents (there is no problem when applying in person, but if it is handled by mailing, in order to avoid the loss of important documents such as passports during the mailing, they can be notarized by a notary within or outside the jurisdiction of the office or via The Consular Bureau in Taiwan authenticating that it is a true copy instead, but the remaining documents (such as birth certificates, marriage certificates and other documents issued abroad) must provide the originals.- Entering Taiwan with non-citizen passports can only stay for 3 months at a time, and you must apply for an entry permit sticker to enter the country. To apply for an entry permit sticker, please fill in an "Application for Entry and Exit Permit from the Taiwan Region of the Republic of China" And paste a photo (together with the above passport, a total of three photos should be submitted).- If you want to apply directly for entering your minors (under 18 years old children) into our household system in Taiwan, please refer to the naturalization method on our website or call us for inquiries.
