1. Foreign civil institutions and organizations that wish to set up offices in Taiwan may apply for registration in accordance with these Directions, unless other laws and regulations stipulate that applications be submitted to other relevant competent authorities. Unless otherwise provided by laws and regulations, these Directions shall apply to civil institutions and organizations from Hong Kong and Macao that wish to set up offices in Taiwan; however, these Directions do not apply to people, legal persons, or organizations from mainland China or other mainland Chinese institutions and organizations established in Hong Kong or Macao that wish to set up offices in Taiwan. 2. In these Directions, the “competent authority” is the Ministry of the Interior; a “regulatory authority of the respective business” is the relevant central or local government agency for the respective business of the office, which is responsible for supervision of the office. 3. In these Directions, a “foreign civil institution or organization” is a cultural, economic, industrial, commercial, scientific, technological, or other nonprofit institution or organization established in a foreign country. In these Directions, an “office” is a contact point set up in Taiwan by a foreign civil institution or organization. 4. A foreign civil institution or organization may set up only one office in Taiwan. However, offices that receive special authorization from the foreign civil institution or organization, and are distinguished by different names, are exempt from this restriction. 5. An office shall appoint a responsible person to represent it. If the responsible person is a national of the Republic of China (Taiwan) they shall have household registration in the Republic of China (Taiwan). If the responsible person is a foreign national, they shall have an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) issued by the Republic of China (Taiwan). Where it is temporarily impossible for the foreign national to obtain an ARC for some reason, the regulatory authority of the respective business may report to the competent authority for record, specifying the reason. If the foreign national referred to in the preceding Paragraph has not obtained an ARC within six months after the office’s registration with the competent authority, the office’s registration may be revoked. A person from mainland China may not serve as the responsible person or be a staff member of an office. 6. The following documents shall be submitted at the time of application: (1) A letter of application (see Appendix 1) (2) A document explaining the history and development of the foreign civil institution or organization (3) The credentials of the foreign civil institution or organization (4) The current charter of the foreign civil institution or organization (5) Proof that the responsible person has been authorized to represent the office of the foreign civil institution or organization (6) An office work plan (see Appendix 2), which shall record the following: i. The purpose of setting up the office ii. The location and telephone number of the office iii. A program of work iv. The office’s organizational structure and staff duties v. Source(s) of funds (7) Resumes of the office’s staff members (see Appendix 3), which shall record the following: i. Name ii. Nationality iii. Gender iv. Date of birth v. Education and work experience vi. National ID Card number or ARC number and photocopy vii. Contact address and telephone number The credentials, current charter, and proof of authorization referred to in Subparagraphs 3 to 5 of the preceding Paragraph shall be submitted to and authenticated by the overseas mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) stationed in or whose jurisdiction covers the foreign civil institution or organization’s country. The original and a photocopy of the first two of these documents shall be submitted at the time of application. For any documents in foreign languages, a Chinese translation shall be attached. 7. If application documents required to set up an office submitted by a foreign civil institution or organization are incomplete, the competent authority shall notify the applicant to hand in the required documents within one month. Failure to hand in the required documents within the given time limit will result in the return of the application documents. 8. A foreign civil institution or organization that has been registered with the competent authority shall be issued a certificate of registration, which shall specify the following information: (1) The name of the office (2) The name of the responsible person (3) The address of the office (4) The telephone number of the office Any changes to information in the preceding Paragraph shall be reported to the competent authority and regulatory authority of the respective business for record. 9. After an office has been registered with the competent authority, the office shall handle the following matters: (1) Submit the previous year’s work report and final accounts, together with the current year’s work plan and budget, to the competent authority and the regulatory authority of the respective business for record within three months after the end of the fiscal year, and input the data into the relevant information reporting system. (2) An office that terminates its business should report the reason to the competent authority and to the regulatory authority of the respective business for revocation of registration. 10. If an office’s business or activities violate the laws and regulations of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in a serious manner or, as warranted by facts, have jeopardized national security, social order, or public interest, the competent authorities for the said laws and regulations may handle related matters according to the law and then inform the relevant regulatory authority of the respective business, which may give the competent authority notice to revoke the office’s registration. 11. An office shall handle the employment of staff and other affairs in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of the Republic of China (Taiwan).