When do you need an English birth certificate?
何時需要英文出生證明
When a Taiwanese gets married with foreigners, wants to study abroad, or needs to immigrate to a foreign country, you’ll need to get your English birth certificate.
Where to get an English birth certificate?
哪裡申請英文出生證明
Right now the Taiwanese Household Registration Office doesn’t offer English birth certificate. (Hopefully they will in the near future.) However, if you were born in a hospital that offers English birth certificate, simply call the hospital and apply for one. Each hospital charges differently.
If the place you were born doesn’t offer an English birth certificate, you can first go to any household registration office in your city to apply for a Chinese one. Then translate the Chinese birth cerfificate into an English one. (Each district in a city has one household registration office, so find one that is the closest to you.)
Step 1: Apply for Chinese Birth Certificate from Household Registration Office如何向戶政事務所申請中文出生證明
1. Apply for your own birth certificate in person…
Bring your ID card and go to the Household Registration Office close to you. Pay NT$10 and wait for 10~30 minutes. The staff there will contact the office where your document is and get the fax for you.
2. Or ask someone to apply your birth certificate for you…
If you can’t apply for it in person, you can ask your friend or family to do it for you. Here are the steps.
(1) Download the Letter of Attorney from the website of Department of Household Registration and print it out. (Website: Department of Household Registration)
(2) Fill in the form you download and make sure both parties sign the document. Birth certificate is not listed in the document so just write it in item number 8 (other).
(3) Things your friend or family needs to bring along:
a. your ID card
b. your friend’s or family’s ID card
c. the signed Letter of Attorney
d. NT$10 per copy
e. your name stamp just in case(better call the office to confirm)
The form might be updated every once in a while. It’s suggested you go to the website of Department of Household Registration to download the latest one.
Step 2: Translate the Chinese Birth Certificate
如何翻譯中文出生證明
1. Hire someone to translate and notarize it for you.
You’ll need to pay NT$2~3 per word for it depending on different charges. Usually they offer notary service too.
2. Translate it yourself and notarize it later.
Basically, a Chinese birth certificate and a translated one will look like this:
Template of English birth certificate: Google Doc Link
Here are the principles of translating your birth certificate.
翻譯出生證明注意事項
(1) The format of the English birth certificate has to be exactly the same as the Chinese one.
(2) Every item on the document needs to be translated, including all the words, name stamps used and names mentioned. (the squares in the pictures are the name stamps)
(3) Your English name has to be the same as your passport.
(4) If your name is not listed in the Chinese birth certificate, you still need to list it in the English document.
Useful Links:
Template of English birth certificate: Google Doc Link
Remember the format needs to be exactly the same as your Chinese birth certificate.
Pinyin of Chinese names: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Chinese address to English address: Chunghwa Post Office
Step 3: Notarize the Birth Certificate
如何公證/認證出生證明
What you need to bring
- your ID card
- your English birth certificate – printed
- NT$750 per document (If you need the same document for five copies, they only charge the same as one copy.)
1. Go to any of the civil notary service office.
Like I mentioned, if you hire someone to translate your birth certificate, usually they offer notary service too. Or you translate the birth certificate on your own and then use the notary service. They charge the same fee as the court.
2. Or…go to a court to notarize it.
To notarize your birth certificate in the court, you should always check their office hours. For example, the court in Taoyuan runs Monday to Friday 8:30am-12:30pm / 13:30-17:30 while the one in Zhongli runs only Monday to Friday in the morning. They can also refuse to take your document if there are too many people on that day. It’s also suggested you call them in advance to confirm what you should bring.
Note: If you translate the birth certificate on your own, you should also bring your laptop with you in case there’s an error in the translation. That way you can edit the document on your laptop. Depending on where you live, some courts may not have a printer on site, so you’ll have to reprint one at a nearby 7-11 or Family Mart.
