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Kissing the Bride
Getting Married in Taiwan
For Filipinos
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Two Filipinos getting married in Taiwan

It's entirely possible for two Filipinos to get married in Taiwan and even register their marriage with PSA in Philippines, without leaving Taiwan. 

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If you have found your soul mate in Taiwan and don't want to delay your marriage, then you can choose to get married in Taiwan first before returning to Philippines. 

 

Below is a list of 10 steps you need to follow to complete this process : 

  1. (Optional) Final a Household Registration Office

  2. Get a Chinese Name

  3. Sign an 'Intent to Marry' at MECO Taiwan

  4. Prepare Birth Certificates and CENOMAR

  5. Get TECO Appointment

  6. (Optional) Chinese Translation

  7. MOFA Authentication

  8. Witnesses and Appointment

  9. Getting Taiwan Marriage Certificate

  10. Registering your marriage in Philippines

Important Note: Once you are successfully married in Taiwan, you can report your marriage to MECO, so they can register your marriage with PSA in the Philippines. 

Keep reading below to understand the details of each step. We also strongly recommend watching this video that explains all the same details through an experience of a Filipina who got married in Taiwan. 

Step 1 (Optional) : Find a Household Registration Office

  • Visit your HHRO and inform them that the two of you want to get married and ask them for the required documents. 

  • HHRO is short for a Household Registration Office. Marriages in Taiwan need to be registered at an HHRO. 

  • If you are unsure about your HHRO, you can check the address of on your ARC. There will be a district mentioned there. That’s the primary HHRO where you should register your marriage. 

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  • This step is not necessary, but it’s better to inform your HHRO of your intentions in advance so you can know whether they will accept you later or not. The reason for this step is because some HHROs like to turn away foreigners by telling them to get married in their own country.

  • Don’t lose hope if this happens to you. It’s not necessary for you to register marriage in the HHRO of the district that you live in. Keep visiting other nearby HHROs until you find the one that is willing to marry foreigners.

Step 2 : Get a Chinese Name

  • Most Filipinos already have a Chinese name in their ARC. If you do, then you can skip this step. Otherwise, you have to pick a Chinese name and update your ARC accordingly before moving to the next step. 

  • Make sure to prepare your Chinese name stamps as they are needed for the marriage registration in the final step. 

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Step 3 : Sign an 'Intent to Marry' at MECO Taiwan

  • Go to MECO and prepare an ‘intent to marry’ letter stating that you will marry one another. 

  • Additionally prepare an SPA (special power of attorney) in the name of DAAP. 

  • Send the SPA + ‘intent to marry’ along with copies of your ARC and passport to DAAP's office address. 

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Step 4 : Prepare your Birth Certificates and CENOMAR

  • Sign and scan a letter of authorization and send it to DAAP Philippines so we can apply and collect your Birth Certificates and CENOMARs from the PSA office. 

  • Once birth certificates and CENOMARs are ready, we will need to get them authenticated by DFA (i.e. get a red ribbon certificate). 

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Step 5 : Get TECO Appointment

  • This is the most difficult part. Due to COVID, TECO is operating a lot slower. It’s not unusual to get an appointment that is 6 months away. ​

  • We hope that these delays will get fixed after middle of 2022. ​

  • TECO requires DFA serial number prior to giving an appointment. So, STEP 5 is necessary before applying for an appointment. 

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Step 6 (Optional) : Chinese Translation

  • This step is optional because translation is not required by TECO. It’s up to you if you want to translate in Philippines or in Taiwan. Both are accepted by HHRO. 

  • If you want to translate in Philippines, there will be additional cost for translation, and both the original documents and their translations must be authenticated by TECO. 

  • Alternatively, you can translate the original documents after you receive them in Taiwan. 

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Step 7 : MOFA Authentication

  • After applying for TECO Authentication, DAAP will send the certificates to your address in Taiwan. 

  • If you didn’t translate your documents in Philippines, then you will need to translate them in Taiwan now. 

  • To do that, search for any public notary in your area. Most of them provide a translation + notarization service. Typically, this costs about 1500 NT$. If you are in Kaohsiung or Tainan, we can recommend a good notary to you. 

  • Once you are ready, take your original + translated certificates to Ministry of Foreign Affairs Taiwan to get them authenticated again. 

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Step 8 : Witnesses and Appointment

  • Go to the HHRO and ask for an appointment. Usually this is very quick. Some may even offer to marry you right there and then. 

  • At least two witnesses are required for marriage. They don’t need to be present during marriage registration. But you need to bring copies of their Taiwan ID, or ARC + Passport (if they are foreigners), and their Chinese name stamps. 

  • Ideally, it’s better if the witness can accompany you to the marriage registration. 

  • Don’t forget to take your own Chinese name stamps with you. 

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Step 9 : Getting Taiwan Marriage Certificate

  • On the day of the marriage registration. The HHRO will fill and print some forms for you. You will need to do quite a bit of signatures.

  • This will not take very long. Soon, they will print a Chinese + English marriage certificate in your name. You can get extra certificates for 100NT$ each. 

  • And Viola! You are both now legally married to one another, and your marriage is registered in Taiwan. 

  • Don’t forget to take photos at the HHRO. They have some props available. 

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Step 10 : Registering your marriage in Philippines

  • Take the English version of your marriage certificate and get it notarized by a public notary. 

  • Then get it authenticated by Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan. 

  • Whenever you are ready, visit the nearest MECO and fill out the ‘Report of Marriage’ form. 

  • Typically, it will take 3 months for your marriage to be registered with PSA Philippines.

  • After 3 months you should receive your Philippines Marriage certificate from PSA via MECO. 

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