Investment immigration requires a "Certificate of No Criminal Record." How to apply for a Taiwan Police Criminal Record Certificate, its validity period, and document authentication process?

Almost every investment immigration and citizenship-by-investment program requires applicants to provide a "Certificate of No Criminal Record" (commonly known in Taiwan as a "good conduct certificate," officially named the Police Criminal Record Certificate). Obtaining this certificate itself is not difficult; the real challenge often lies in the subsequent process: before using it abroad, it must undergo "document authentication," which is not simply having a notary stamp it. Moreover, if you have resided in multiple countries or regions for extended periods, you typically need to obtain one from each place. Below, we explain how to apply for a Taiwan Police Criminal Record Certificate, its "validity period," and how to authenticate it for use abroad.

Why is this document required for almost every program?

A Certificate of No Criminal Record is one of the most basic pieces of evidence for the "due diligence (background check)" in investment immigration—the reviewing authority needs to verify whether the applicant has any criminal or judicial records, and this document is the most direct official proof. For detailed information on the review items and common reasons for rejection, please refer to the "Due Diligence" page on this site. Here, we focus specifically on the practical process of "how to apply for and authenticate" the Taiwan Police Criminal Record Certificate.

How to Apply for a Taiwan Police Criminal Record Certificate: Channels, Fees, and Processing Time

Anyone currently or previously registered as a household in Taiwan, or with a residence or stay record, can apply for a Police Criminal Record Certificate from the police department of the municipality or county (city). The domestic application fee is NTD 100 per copy, with NTD 20 for each additional copy in the same application. Processing time varies by application method: for online applications, pickup at the main office takes approximately 1 business day, and at a branch office approximately 4 business days; in-person applications have similar processing times (excluding weekends and holidays). If you are already abroad, you can prepare a certified copy of your passport (or other identity documents) and mail it to the Foreign Affairs Division of the Taipei City Police Department. The fee is USD 7 per copy (USD 6 for Hong Kong and Macau, payable in cash).

Source.：National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior — Police Criminal Record Certificate

No official "validity period," but receiving authorities usually have their own time window requirements

A common misunderstanding: The Police Criminal Record Certificate itself **only shows the date of issuance and has no officially prescribed validity period**. However, in practice, the immigration authority or investment citizenship program that receives this document usually sets its own requirement that the certificate must have been issued within the last few months (commonly 3 to 6 months, varying by program). This means you need to time your application carefully—if you apply too early, the certificate may fall outside the acceptable time window by the time you submit it, requiring you to reapply. It is advisable to confirm the acceptable issuance period with your consultant or the relevant authority before submitting your application, and apply within that window.

To use documents abroad, they must first undergo "authentication," not just local notarization

Many people think that having a notary (or civil notary) in Taiwan stamp a document makes it directly usable abroad, but most countries actually require a formal "document authentication" process: first, apply for authentication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Bureau of Consular Affairs or its domestic offices, and some countries further require sending it to that country's representative office in Taiwan for re-authentication. This two-step process of "domestic authentication + re-authentication by the representative office" is not exactly the same as the common "Apostille" single-stamp procedure. Which authentication method applies and whether re-authentication by the representative office is required depends on the destination country. Before submitting, be sure to confirm the latest regulations with the Bureau of Consular Affairs or the destination country's representative office in Taiwan to avoid having your documents stuck at the authentication stage.

Source.：Bureau of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Explanation of Domestic/Foreign Document Authentication

If you have resided long-term in multiple countries, you usually need to prepare one from each place

Background checks for investment immigration typically look not only at the applicant's current place of residence but require a Certificate of No Criminal Record from every country or region where the applicant has resided long-term (the threshold for long-term residence varies by country, commonly a cumulative period of 6 months or more). If you have studied, worked, or resided long-term in countries other than Taiwan, remember to apply for a Certificate of No Criminal Record from the relevant authority in each of those countries, and confirm the authentication and validity requirements for each. Missing any country where you have resided long-term may result in a request for supplementary documents, delaying the overall application process.

This page is a neutral information compilation, for reference only, notImmigration/LawAdvice, which does not constitute any commitment. Programs frequently change, please refer to the latest official announcements.　·　Last Updated：2026-07-14