Job Discussion Forums

[km]

Hi there, i'm coming to Taipei from the uk but i've found from one of the schools i've been e mailing that even though i have my 60 day visa, i will still have to do a visa run to HK and apply outside Taiwan for a resident visa. Has anyone else heard about this? Apparently these new rules come into force from the 1st october.

[steeevieboy]

yes, it's true. that's what I've been hearing on forumosa.com as well

[Aristotle]

Rules and regulations on Taiwan are not enforced or implemented in any consistent way, shape or form. They are often changed dramatically on a case by case basis.
My best advice is to come here and work it out from Taiwan.
Good luck,
A.

[TaoyuanSteve]

I recommend that you check out www.forumosa.com

They have forums dealing with visa and legal matters. You'll likely get more informed opinions there.

[Fortigurn]

Here's what happened when I went to HK on a visa run to apply for a 60 day visa:

• I handed them the usual letter from the employer, and requested a 60 day visa
  
  
• I was told that I was not permitted to apply for a 60 day visa, since a 60 day visa is for tourist purposes and I was clearly not a tourist
  
  
• I replied that I had been sent by my school to obtain a 60 day visa for the specific purpose of applying for an ARC, and that the letter explained everything
  
  
• They told me that my letter was wrong, and that I was applying for a tourist visa under false pretences
  
  
• They then told me that I had to apply for a resident visa or an employment visa
  
  
• Then they told me that I needed a work permit letter from the Labour Council in Taiwan
  
  
• I replied that I had been told that in order to receive the work permit letter, I needed the visa
  
  
• They told me that the reverse was true - in order to receive the visa, I needed the work permit letter
  
  
• I asked them what I was supposed to do now
  
  
• They told me that I was supposed to obtain a work permit letter from the Labour Council in Taiwan, and they would process an employment or resident visa
  
  
• I asked them how long it would take for a work permit letter from the Labour Council in Taiwan to be processed
  
  
• They told me it would take 7 days
  
  
• I said fine, asked for my passport back, and told them I would return with the letter
  
  
• They informed me that they were witholding my passport, and that they were not going to permit me to return to Taiwan without an employment or resident visa
  
  
• I asked them if they expected me to stay in HK until I had somehow obtained the work permit letter from the Labour Council in Taiwan (which I clearly could not visit without leaving HK)
  
  
• They said yes, that was the idea
  
  
• I asked if there was any visa I could use to return to Taiwan, in order to apply for and obtain this work permit letter from the Labour Council in Taiwan
  
  
• They informed me that there was - either the employment visa or the resident visa (for either of which, I required the work permit letter from the Labour Council in Taiwan)
  
  
• Since this was clearly impossible, I asked if I could return to Taiwan on any kind of tourist visa in order to apply for and obtain this work permit letter from the Labour Council in Taiwan
  
  
• They informed me that there was no way they would issue a tourist visa to someone who was clearly intending to work, since I would be a applying for a tourist visa under false pretences

At this point I could see why they were separated from me by bullet proof glass.

The end of the story is that I begged, pleaded, and cajoled, and was permitted to return to Taiwan using my visa-free status, on the condition that I return in 30 days with my work permit letter from the Labour Council in Taiwan.

This whole business took 2 days, 2 trips to the visa office, 3 hours of waiting, and cost NT $6,000, at the end of which I still didn't have a visa.

My school was totally incensed (not at me, at them), particularly because they hadn't been informed by anyone as to this change of procedure, and has since sorted matters out for me.

I should be able to return at the end of this month and pick up resident visas for both my wife and I (the NT $6,000 we have already spent will be credited to us for this purpose).

Apologies in advance for not knowing the correct terminology - I suspect 'work permit letter from the Labour Council in Taiwan' may not be strictly accurate, but that's how they described it.

This post of mine is also in a thread on Formosa here, where this issue is being discussed in detail.

[Aristotle]

Unfortunately the visa application process is in a state of transition. For reasons I can only speculate( racism and corruption) there are certain people in high bureaucratic positions that encourage these kinds of problems.
These kinds of ignorant policies can go on for years before someone at a higher level intervenes. I would go so far as to speculate that because of this new policy and many other factors there will be a sudden decline in the number of teachers on Taiwan in the near and distant future.

[Taylor]

Dear Readers,

As Aristotle pointed out, he is expecting "a sudden decline in the number of teachers on Taiwan in the near and distant future." This may be exactly what they want--in order to allow more jobs for locals.

I think American universities are doing the same thing. They realize that if too many Americans have degrees (and can't find good jobs), that the whole idea of needing a college degree will be threatened. So, they simply create mazes of bureaucracy that you only see after you have applied. Only the most dedicated will be willing to tolerate the madness.

Fortigurn, your patience is to be admired. You seem to have played the game very well. How did it only cost you NT$6000???

Only once have I been treated well in Hong Kong at the "quasi-embassy." It was right around the time President Chen was elected. I think those Taiwanese people working in Hong Kong were afraid of losing their jobs--so I received a virtual 'red carpet' that day over 4 years ago.

Let's keep posting so that others can have some idea about the proposed changes effective Oct. 1.

Best wishes!!!

Taylor