Job Discussion Forums

[Ferfichkin]

Hi everyone,

I just left Taiwan a few days ago to come and visit my family in Canada for Christmas. I am going to come back to Taiwan in early January and I have a question.

In order for me to come back to Taiwan I am obviously going to need a visa. Well, I noticed today as I was looking at my passport that the Taiwanese authorities at the airport stamped my passport as having left Taiwan on December 3, 2006. Now, what I'm wondering is, will this be a problem when I apply to get a new visa? I will most likely be coming back to Taiwan on a 60 day visitors visa, but the people at the Taiwanese consulate will know that I'm lying when I say that I'm going to Taiwan to visit a friend, since I only left Taiwan a few weeks earlier.

Has anyone had experience with this? Do the people at the Taiwanese consulte care that I just left the country and am reapplying for a visa several weeks later on clearly false pretenses? I mean, they will know I'm lying, but do they care? And also the authorites at the Taiwan airport, they will know that I'm lying too, does that matter do you think? I wonder what I should tell them when they ask me why I'm going back to Taiwan to visit a friend a few weeks after I left the country? If any of you has information or experience on this and can let me known I would really apprecite it.

Thanks,

fich

[Toe Save]

[Ferfichkin]

Woops, sorry about that. I accidently wrote that I left Taiwan in January 2006, but I actually just left a few days ago, in December 2006.

I have the name and address of a friend in Taiwan, that's not a problem, but what I'm worried about is when the Taiwanese officials start asking questions. I'm sure they'll ask me why I'm going back to Taiwan to visit friends less than a month after I left, and I'm not sure what I should tell them. I'm thinking about just saying that I want to get out of Canada for the winter and spend it in Taiwan visiting my friend and travelling around the island, that's seems as good an excuse as any.

What do you think, will that lie fly? Have you or anyone you know had to do this before, (ie), apply for a visa to re-enter Taiwan shortly afer you left Taiwan? What did you say to them and what was their reaction? Any advice that you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Don't worry, I won't mention that I'm going to Taiwan to work, I know you can't do that. I applied for a visa last year when I came to Taiwan, but at that time it was my first trip into the country, so claiming to be a tourist wasn't a problem. But this time it's got a different feel to it because the people at the consulate will know that I'm not going to Taiwan to visit firends, the only questions is, will they care?

Thanks for your help,

fich

[Dr_Zoidberg]

As the Toe noted, it all depends on who you speak to and what mood they're in that day.

I really don't see how having just left working in Taiwan and applying for a tourist visa in Toronto is any different from having just left working in Taiwan and applying for tourist visa in Hong Kong. Then again, we're talking about TECO officials.

My advice to you, for what it's worth, is to smile, be polite, be respectful, and if someone decides to do some power-tripping make sure you are properly awed by their authority and sufficiently grateful for all their help.

If anyone asks, you came home to be with your family at Christmas, and now you're taking some time off to tour Asia before you get settled back into the Canadian workaday world (or before you go back to university, whichever works best for you).

And one more thing, don't think about it too much.

[Ferfichkin]

Hey, thanks for your help guys, it's appreciated.

So, what do you reckon I should tell them if they ask me what I did in Taiwan for the past year? Should I be honest and tell them I was working? I figure they might ask me, I should probably have some kind of excuse, right?

I wonder what kind of visa and flight I should get. I was thinking about getting a visitors visa rather than a tourist visa and getting an extendable return ticket back to Canada. I was planning to tell them I was coming home for Christmas and then going back to Taiwan to see friends and avoid the winter, what do you think of that plan?

Do you think it would be better to get a flight leaving Taiwan going to Honk Kong or Thailand rather than back to Canada? Then I could use Dr Zoidberg's excuse and tell them that I'm travelling Asia for the winter, not a bad idea I think. The only thing I'd be worried about is they might try to give a 30 day rather than a 60 day with that plan.

I don't know, I guess I just want the best posible excuse, I've got an apartment and a girlfriend in Taipei, I don't want to mess this up you know what I mean? Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks again,

fich

[BigWally]