Job Discussion Forums

Ledie · Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Posts: 24 Location: Toronto, Canada

So, I'm a little confused with the whole visa thing...

If you can't get ARC, does the visa thing work like this? :

1- Get 2 month visa in your own country.
2- Enrol in language classes in Taiwan.
3- Go to Hong-Kong to get a 2 month extendable visa.
4- Go back to Taiwan and every 2 months, go to a police station where they stamp an extra 2 months on your passport.
5- This is valid for up to 6 months.

That's all very well, but what if the school you are working for give you a 1 year contract? This method works for up to 10 months...
Do you just go back to Hong-Kong and start over again?

Sorry, I'm a little confused....

Taylor · Joined: 24 Oct 2003 Posts: 384 Location: Texas/Taiwan

Dear Readers,

As I mentioned before, the only contract with any validity is the one submitted to the governmental authorities. It stipulates that you will be assured 14 hours of work per week for one calendar year. This must be approved in order to get an ARC.

If a teacher chooses to work without an ARC (a.k.a "illegally"), then no contract will be submitted to any governmental agencies anyway.

If this doesn't make sense, just post again!

Taylor

Ledie · Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Posts: 24 Location: Toronto, Canada

Thanks Taylor for your reply.

What I'm actually asking is a Visa question. Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough. Sorry.

I want to know if the method posted above for extending my visa is how the "visa extention thing" goes.

What I also want to know is how long does this method work for. What if you want to stay for more than 1 year??

wood · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 202

Aristotle · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1388 Location: Taiwan

Unfortunately it really depends on where you are in Taiwan and what the local FAP decides in your specific case.
Things that make visa extensions more difficult or less are:
1. Ganxi.
Do you have influential friends?
2. Race.
Do you have the right skin color and/ or nationality?
3. Paperwork,
Is all your paperwork in order?
4. Attitude of the office where you are applying.
That means come first thing in the morning, properly dressed after the officials have their coffee and you will have less problems.

Ki · Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 475

Ledie,
you had it pretty much right for what you are wanting to do.
re # 4: After the first two months you will need to renew your visa every month for a total of six months. This will be a total of 8 months if you add the sixty days before your Hong Kong trip. Then you will need to repeat step 3. ie visa trip. You don't have to go to Hong Kong. There are many neighboring countries to visit. Think of it as a mini-holiday.

There are 'language classes' where you don't have to attend for the sole purpose of doing this. But for only a little extra money you can enrol in real classes and actually get something for your money, ie. Chinese lessons.

If you are doing a visa run, then make sure you have a return ticket to leave Taiwan, and take this with you. They may or may not believe you have one. If they don't then your visa will be refused and you will need to get one anyway to be let back into Taiwan. I know of instances from HK where this was the deciding factor and as Aristotle has mentioned it can easily go either way. It is also a good idea to have the contact details, and ID number of a friend in Taiwan who can vouch for you.
Ki.

myesl · Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 8:33 pm Post subject:

Ledie · Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Posts: 24 Location: Toronto, Canada

What?? Now I'm even more confused!!

myesl · Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2004 6:26 pm Post subject:

Well, you can do it once you arrive, but that is the one sticky point for two reasons: 1) the schools seem to prefer you get things set up beforehand and anyway you have to apply in time so that you can start the next session before your visa expires, and more importantly 2) you've come on a tourist visa, so technically you're opening up an issue for the FA police, though I did it this way in Taipei and had no problem. Shida is a sh^&*y school (aka MTC or CCLC).

As for your other questions, of course the school will not pay for anything, the paper work is neither cheap nor expensive, I said how long you need to be there to apply for things, and you need to talk to whatever school you choose and they can answer all your questions with more up to date information (if they've bothered to update themselves which Shida didn't do).

I've heard Wenda is good, but I don't know. Zhengda is way out of the way. TLI and other private schools can't give ARCs (or at least they couldn't as of two years ago).

Time to do your homework Smile

Richard · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 33 Location: Taiwan

TaoyuanSteve · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 1028 Location: Taoyuan

"Are there any other alternatives to returning to the source country for a new visa once a year? It's bloody expensive..."

Get a legal job and none of the above applies.

Ki · Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 475

Myesl,
I agree, with your number 1 - 'enter on a 60 day multiple entry tourist visa'. But are they still issuing these visas. I applied about a year ago and they said they were faizing out all 60 day visas. I thought I was lucky just to get a 60 day single entry visa. I think different visa offices, possibly at different times, are easier than other offices to get these longer better visas.

So what do you say to the visa officer when you apply for the visa? Do you tell them that you want to study Chinese? I was told to not mention anything at all about studying and only tell them that you will be a tourist. I said I was going to visit my girlfriend and had give them her ID number and contact details. I will be going through all of this myself (again) in a couple months. There doesn't seem to be one right way to go about it.
Ki.

Richard · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 33 Location: Taiwan

myesl · Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2004 2:50 pm Post subject:

Richard, earlier in this thread I said you can get an ARC as a language student at a uni. Hence, no need for a yearly return. I hear the FA police/FA ministry frown on more than two years of this, but I don't know if that is really true. (all this assumes there hasn't been a major change in the regs since early 2003)

Ki, what you said has been what I've heard since the first time I went to Taiwan in 1998. Maybe it's really true now. I have no idea. I got my first 60 day multiple without asking for it or even knowing better. Twice since then I've gotten them by asking specifically for a 60 day multiple. I asked for it saying I had it before and I said I wanted to visit friends in a few different cities. I applied to the New York consulate. I don't think I answered your question ( Embarassed

) but I'm not sure if there is an _available_ answer.

TaoyuanSteve · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 1028 Location: Taoyuan

At the risk of sounding even more brusque: if an ARC is not even an option for you, you perhaps ought to reconsider your plans to come here. If you do not have proper academic qualifications, life will be alot harder for you here. I know people who go the "language school" way for visa extensions. It's a huge pain. First, you have to pay for courses you likely won't attend if you work (in fact, at one school I know of, the majority of its "students" do not attend classes. It is purely a visa scam). Then there are the constant visa trips (every six months) and trips to the police station. All of this is cuts into savings considerably. You also will be working illegally here, risking (however slight the risk) deportation. The best jobs will want you full-time; and that means they will want to sponsor you for ARC. You will not be able to get these jobs if you do not qualify for ARC. Your job options will be limited, you'll be risking deportation and you'll have alot more hassle and expenses than those of us with work permits. Is it really worth it?