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).