• General Inquiries

Q1: What kinds of document may TECO authenticate?

A:

• TECO may authenticate the documents issued in the Philippines and apostilled by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA);
• TECO may authenticate the documents authenticated by the ROC (Taiwan) Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• TECO may authenticate the validity of an applicant’s signature on a private document, however the applicant has to sign the document in person in front of a consular officer;

 

 

Q2: Can TECO authenticate my documents without the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) apostille?

A: No. TECO will only authenticate Philippine documents that have an attached DFA apostille signed by its corresponding official.

 

 

Q3: Do TECO authenticated documents have an expiry?

A: Although the TECO authentication itself does not have a written expiry date, the acceptance/rejection of the document will be up to the discretion of the receiving Taiwan agency.

 

For example, NBI clearances to be submitted to the Taiwan National Immigration Agency (NIA) must be within the six (6) months validity period from the date of issue even if your NBI clearance states that it is good for one year. Documents to be submitted to the Taiwan Ministry of Labor (MOL) by Foreign Service Agencies for recruitment permit must be within three (3) months validity from the date of issue indicated in the document. The Taiwan Household Registration Office requires authenticated CENOMAR/CEMAR certificates to be submitted to them within the (6) months validity from date of issue by the PSA.

 

 

Q4: I am an applicant who is not residing in the Philippines, what is the procedure to authorize someone in the Philippines to file on my behalf?

A: It is not a requirement for the applicant to be in the Philippines during his/her application. For as long as the applicant has signed a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) or Authorization Letter, he/she may authorize a representative to file on their behalf. It is important that the applicant’s signature must match the signature on his/her passport. The chosen representative must also present a valid government-issued ID during the application.

 

 

Q5: I am residing in the Philippines but my documents were issued from abroad, can they be authenticated by TECO in the Philippines?

A: No. The document must first be authenticated by Taiwan’s representative office in the country where the document was issued, and then authenticated by the Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) in Taiwan. Only then can our office authenticate the seal made by BOCA.

 

 

• Application Requirements＆Process

Q6: Should my documents be attached with a Chinese Translation? Where can I have my documents translated?

A: As a general rule, foreign documents to be used in Taiwan must have a Chinese translation attached and authenticated with the original documents. The translation can be authenticated by TECO or a notary public in Taiwan. You may first check with the receiving agency in Taiwan if this will be required before applying to TECO.

 

Please note that the translation may come from anyone, either yourself or a translation service agency. However, TECO and its employees are strictly prohibited from providing translation services. They may only provide a list of outside translators to provide this service.

 

Please keep in mind that TECO and its staff will not be held liable for mistakes or inaccuracies made by any translator. (Attach here List of Translators)

 

 

Q7: I am applying for a white-collar job in Taiwan, and I want to authenticate my Affidavit attached with my Certificates of Employment (COE) issued by employers based in the Philippines. What are the other requirements aside from passport?

A: You will need to submit to us a printout of your SSS employment history, SSS contributions, and other documentation indicating if you have had previous work employed with the companies, agencies, or institutions in the Philippines mentioned in your Affidavit.

 

Q8: I have submitted additional document/s for compliance. When can I expect to claim my authenticated documents?

A: The authentication officer may ask you to provide additional documents to support your application. Should this occur the date for the release of your documents will be moved starting from the date of your compliance, not the date indicated on your receipt. It will take three (3) working days for the expedited process, and seven (7) working days for the regular process. Please make sure to comply with providing the additional requested document/s to avoid delays.

 

 

Q9: Why am I charged verification fees on top of the fees for the authentication process without an official receipt?

A: Due to rampant cases of tampering or counterfeiting of documents, TECO will have to verify these documents with the relevant authorities in the Philippines. In most cases, the verification fees collected are for verifying Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) documents.  Should you wish to receive a copy and are willing to wait, we may forward to you a copy of the official receipt from the PSA upon request.

 

 

• Errors and problems

 

Q10: The birth/ CENOMAR/ marriage/ death certificate came officially from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and has been authenticated or apostilled by the DFA. Why must I still have my documents corrected?

A: This is due to either a usual error in the document (e.g. “Carita” instead of “Clarita”), a discrepancy in the details or its lack of an attachment. Errors in official documentation must be corrected in accordance with the regulations of the law. As often the case with civil registry documents, please check for the available remedies on the correction of these errors.

 

Another reason would be that the document does not reflect the actual status of the applicant according to his/her purpose, such as a child not yet legitimated or acknowledged in his birth certificate.

 

 

Q11: How do I apply for correction of my civil registration document?

A: You must inquire with the Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) that issued your document. This office is located within your registered city or municipal government.

 

Depending on the gravity of the correction, presenting of additional documents or undergoing a judicial order might be required. The following are common errors which may be remedied by the R.A. 9048 and R.A. 10172 laws except for age, nationality and status:

 

• Misspelling
• One or more letters are interchanged, or letters written in a wrong order
• One or more letters in the name are omitted.
• Unnecessary letters or characters are used in the name.
• One or more letters are wrongly used.
• One or two letters are superimposed over the other letter/s.
• The hyphen is omitted.
• A space is mistakenly inserted within the name.
• Displacement of words from the right spaces
• The entries, particularly in the space for the name, are interchanged.
• Wrong Dates
• Error in the recorded day and month of birth.
• Error in the recorded date of marriage.
• Mistake in recording of the date and place of the marriage.
• Errors in the recording of surnames
• Doubt as to what is the correct spelling of surname.
• Error in the recorded gender

 

 

 

Q12: I found an error in my document after it was processed by your office. Can it be re-authenticated for free?

A: No. You will need to re-apply and pay the corresponding fees again. If the mistake is found on the original document, for example a mistake in an Affidavit’s contents, then you will need to prepare a new Affidavit, have it authenticated again in DFA, and then TECO will re-authenticate the document.