WE LIVE IN USA
"Absent from the country for two years or more, one shall register a move-out": the statute imposes a duty on you; the system doesn't do it for you
Taiwanese people living long-term in the US tend to leave household registration and national health insurance untouched. And leaving them untouched usually rests on a misunderstanding.
The misunderstanding: it happens automatically once the time is up
Household Registration Act, Article 16:
"Where a person has been absent from the country for two years or more, a move-out registration shall be made."
The key is "shall be made"In two words: this isa reporting duty imposed on the individual, not "the system moves you out once the clock runs out."
Many people assume their registration simply disappears after two years abroad and so do nothing. In fact it's something you're supposed to go and do.
Source: Household Registration Act Article 16
The same article lists exceptions
- Personnel posted abroad on official duty and their dependents
- Those working aboard ROC-flagged deep-sea fishing vessels
Also note: periods when you entered on a passport other than an ROC one still count. In other words, a short stay in Taiwan on your US passport doesn't restart the count of days you've been away.
Plenty of people don't know this and assume one trip back to Taiwan resets the two-year clock to zero.
Health insurance: not spelled out here, because it has changed repeatedly
Whether your household registration is active directly affects NHI eligibility and premiums. But the rules on suspending and resuming coverage, and how premiums are computed, have changed several times in recent years.
This site deliberately doesn't hard-code that part; go by the NHIA's current announcements: www.nhi.gov.tw
The specific questions to ask:
- Given my current household registration status, am I still covered?
- Are premiums accruing?
- Should I suspend coverage, and what are the conditions for resuming it when I return?
Why to handle this together with the marriage registration
Because updating your registration (see item 15 of the checklist) touches your household register itself. When you go to register the marriage, your registration status and NHI eligibility will surface anyway. Rather than dealing with it separately later, it is better to ask about everything clearly right then.
Also, if your foreign spouse later applies for Taiwanese status or residency, your own registration status is one of the preconditions.
Men of conscription age, read this alongside
Household registration status is linked to military service. Living long-term in the US without moving out of the register puts you in a different position than having moved out and obtained overseas-national status (see item 81 of the checklist). Don't handle these two items separately.
In one line
"A move-out registration shall be made" is your duty, not the system's; and the health insurance rules have changed several times, so ask the NHIA for the current position.