[quote=“ImaniOU”]First of all, I want to apologize if this has been done before. I have searched the threads thoroughly and could not find anything either recent or relevant that would help my inquiry.
I will avoid ranting about the blade currently resting between my shoulder blades from my officially former employer who canceled my ARC two days before informing me (who I ironically didn’t get an APRC beforehand because I was naive enough to believe they wouldn’t pull something like this on me). Damn. I did rant.
I have three questions:
How much is and where do I get a 60-day extendable visitor visa in Hong Kong? An address would be nice if possible.
What could I possibly tell them to convince them to give me the 60-day visa? I don’t have the funds to go to school and I don’t have a job yet (and therefore no work permit). Could I tell them that I am currently processing my APRC and if so, what proof would I need to prove to them of this if any?
How long will it take to process a 60-day visa in Hong Kong?
Any recommendations of places to stay to a person who is jobless and is using her rent and utilities money to do this visa run at the last flippin’ minute? I don’t really plan on eating even if I stay for two days to get this taken care of so that’s not much of an issue.[/quote]
May I ask what you do and if you are looking for a job? Perhaps I may be of assistance.
So now comes the question. I might have a summer job, but it requires me to start right away and I may have to move my flight to this weekend instead of taking three days off next week.
How long does it take to get a 60-day visa? Should I set up a two-day stay in Hong Kong? Will one day be enough?
And how much is the cost of the visa? Should I put aside NT$5000? More?
Haven’t done it for a couple of years but you can get it done in 1 day. catch the first plane out and pay extra for same day service and you can catch a plane back in the evening and have a nice 8 hours or so in HK.
Any idea about the cost? I am going to have to do this before I get paid for June and even with it being the same day (so no hotel, taxes, or meals), it’s going to be tight. Maybe tighter than I can afford but I’d rather not risk losing this job offer because of it.
You may be better off just coming in on a visa free at this time. Just fly out and fly back in. Pick the cheapest flight to anywhere. 60 day visas are not cheap for US citizens now at 131 us dollars if I am reading this correctly.
You’ll need to research the ticket cost yourself, it’s very variable.
It’s many years since I’ve done this, but I can tell you that it’s extremely challenging to get the visa done in one day. You must submit your application before 12 noon and you won’t have much time for errors.
Take the first plane. Try to change money before you leave Taiwan - you simply won’t have the time to loiter in HK. Get your photos done before you leave as well (I had to get mine done at an MTR station en route). You’ll need two 2"x2".
Leave HK airport on the airport express (~NT$400) and get out at Central (EDIT: As Chris says, the station is Hong Kong and it’s linked to Central by underground passage). Jog to the MTR station and take the MTR to Admiralty (less than NT$100). Follow the signs to the Lippo Centre (exit B) and go to tower 1. It’s on the 40th floor.
I recommend you download and fill in the application form before leaving. Your goal should be to get a number and get in line as soon as you enter the office.
Your visa will cost between NT$1650 and NT$3300 depending on what kind of visa you’ve got. If you’re American (and I think you are) it’ll cost NT$4500 (probably because your country charges something outrageous just to transit while en route for another country). I can’t tell if that’s an additional fee to the regular pricing or just a flat fee for Americans. Same-day processing will cost you an additional fifty percent (still cheaper than a hotel).
A few hints from someone who has made mistakes visiting HK and ended up wasting valuable time:
At the airport, when you get your Airport Express ticket (HK$100 same-day return; HK$120 return ticket over more than one day), also get yourself an Octopus Card. It’s kind of like the EasyCard. It’ll save you a lot of hassle and speed things up significantly, even though you’ll be staying a very short time. You can keep it for future visits to Hong Kong, or if you’re done with it, redeem it at the airport (I think), or sell it to a furriner here in Taiwan.
Take the Airport Express to the last station, Hong Kong Station.
Then it can be a little tricky due to Hong Kong’s notorious lack of helpful signage.
After exiting through the turnstiles at Hong Kong Station, you’ll see a set of elevators in front of you. Take the elevator down. (I made the mistake of going up before, wasting a lot of time !)
After exiting the elevator, get out your handy-dandy Octopus Card, and go through the turnstile. Then turn right, and almost immediately thereafter, turn right again. Now you have to head through a long underground walkway that leads directly to Central Station. There are moving walkways to help boost your speed. Once at the MTR station, you can get on the train right there to your desired destination (Admiralty, if you’re going right to the Lippo Centre).
Looks like the job has pretty much fallen through so I am back to “enjoying” a full vacation, including the month and a half of unemployment after I come back, assuming that something even comes up before school starts. If the severance pay turns out to be as much as a I anticipate, I might just switch my job hunt to the US instead and stop wasting the time and hope of getting something here. Even if it doesn’t, I’d rather be unemployed in the US than here.
Seems kinda sad that I am more likely to get a teaching job back home even without certification than I can get walking into a buxiban here.
Thanks for the help anyways. It will make it a whole lot less confusing when I am in Hong Kong, even though I can take my time now.
[quote=“ImaniOU”]Looks like the job has pretty much fallen through so I am back to “enjoying” a full vacation, including the month and a half of unemployment after I come back, assuming that something even comes up before school starts. If the severance pay turns out to be as much as a I anticipate, I might just switch my job hunt to the US instead and stop wasting the time and hope of getting something here. Even if it doesn’t, I’d rather be unemployed in the US than here.
Seems kinda sad that I am more likely to get a teaching job back home even without certification than I can get walking into a buxiban here.
Thanks for the help anyways. It will make it a whole lot less confusing when I am in Hong Kong, even though I can take my time now.[/quote]
Can you get something in China or Korea or Japan . And then build up some bucks and then go back to Taiwan if and when needed?
