Visa overstay

Third.

Very cool of @mmstoin to post about his outcome :thumbsup:

I have had my own shares of trouble involving visa runs and visiting the visa office and what allā€¦

What I feel, The guys there are helpful, I mean they would not purposely or deliberately try to create hindrances for you. I remember when I had the misfortune of visiting that rather not-so-pleasant location, the staff told me right on the face that my presented work permit is expired and I could try as much as I want, but my visa application would eventually be rejected. That, in-fact made me realise that my owner was trying to BS me, saved me 1200 HKD and gave me more time to plan out my next step.

Of course, they can only do so much to help you and are tied by the law and the official rules, but if your documents are complete, you do not try to BS with them and are polite enough to accept your mistake - You should be fine.

May the force be with you @mmstoin ! Anxiously waiting to hear from you

I was very polite as I always am with officials and though I canā€™t say for certain, I do believe it helped my case.

Before me was a couple and their kid tryinf to get the wife a visa.

The couple forgot to print a document of ID or something. When the officer, same one who ended helping me, kindly asked they go get the copy, the husband started flipping out.

It kept escalating for no reason. Her request was simple and easy to comply with which the wife seemed to want to do. But the guy kept going off saying stuff likeā€¦
Iā€™ve been here 30 times!
You donā€™t need that document.
Donā€™t listen to them.
Donā€™t let them boss you around like that.

Finally the officer told them they were going to call a manager which he replied, " yes. "

I donā€™t get it, he was so irate over something so small and was willing to jeopardize his wifeā€™s visa over some kind of personal vendetta. The whole thing was awkward to say the least, but when they finally went over to another counter to see a Manger thatā€™s when I was call to that officer. She probably felt very relieved that a calm polite person like me came up after that which may or may not have made things go more smoothly.

The above shouldnā€™t effect outcomes, but nevertheless I think itā€™s a good story to share since I think demeanor is extremely important when going up again this. Keep calm, stay polite.

Edit: sorry for typos and such, I can clean them up later but Iā€™m out and about and typing fast on mobile so bear with me.

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Probably a last-straw type of thing. Perhaps he had patiently followed all the instructions, was repeatedly told to go get this or that, which he dutifully did, and this one request pushed him over the edge.

Still, not a wise reaction when dealing with people who hold sway over your future.

One time, my retired husband came into Taiwan in a visa exempt but since he wanted to stay for 6 months, I wanted to sponsor him on my ARC. We had to go to HK and it was really difficult to get all the papers in order. I had to send a marriage certificate from Taiwan to the Taiwanese embassy in the US, get it back with the stamp. Kinda funny that I had to prove that we were married since we have celebrated 35+ years. There have been times when i have lost my cool especially with work permit stuff that is kind of life and death for us. Getting an APRC is the same feeling as the sunshine coming out after a terrible storm.

There is actually less documentation required if you work here, so I suggested that he get a job. NOT!

To make matters worse, it was over a holiday time so the office hours were not great. I think the government people are great, but they sure have a lot of rules and check boxes to cover which donā€™t always make sense.

Today, he just comes in on visa-exempt and doesnā€™t stay over 3 months. Not worth the paperwork and hassle. I guess if you have to have insurance and things like that it is, but there really are no other benefits to having an ARC for him. Health care is very cheap here even without insurance.

couldnā€™t he just go to hong kong after the 3 months then come back for another 3 months? it would still be the six months, still have a flight to hong kong but you wouldnā€™t have to deal with the paperwork and visa hassle.

@mmstoin
Yeah this is really weird, you should ask your bank. I have accounts at Chase and Bank of America and both give me all statements.

Congrats on overcoming this! Happy 4th of July :beers:

Thatā€™s the plan. Itā€™s just he keeps going past HK to the US and stays away for awhile.

Just a note to clarify some terms.

  1. Visa Free entry is FRee of charge and is available to citizens of some countries. This privilege is taken away if one should over stay on said Visa Free Entry (not a visa) by even one day.

  2. Landing visa. A Landing Visa is given when one actually physically lands on Taiwan and is not free of charge and is NOT guaranteed. It is to be used by people who would normally qualify for the above mentioned Visa Free Entry but who are carrying a passport that has less then six months validity or is travelling on temporary travel papers.

This is NOT a visa that you apply for in advance of your arrival in Taiwan.

  1. Tourist Visa. A visa that you apply for in a country OUTSIDE Of Taiwan and is generally not Free of charge and not to be confused with a Landing Visa. But often is.
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Thanks, and for extra clarity, we should say that a tourist visa is officially called a visitor visa, and in some situations itā€™s possible to obtain a visitor visa while in Taiwan.

I would love to know exactly how a tourist or visitor visa can be had in Taiwan
Other then the conversion from visa free entry to visitor visa for certain white collar workers to. Be followed by arc

I mainly wanted to clarify the very common mis handing of the landing visa versus a tourist or visitor visa

Landing visas are very rarely used because most airlines wouldnā€™t let you fly to Taiwan if you did not have a passport with over six months validity or were traveling on temporary papers in the first place

And I certainly would not chance it that way anyway and would not recommend it

BOCA can issue a visitor visa if you have a medical emergency, a court case, force majeure, that kind of thing. I think thereā€™s a post about it somewhere.

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Quick update

I got the VISA today, no issues. I walked in, showed them my reference card, and they handed me the passport with the VISA inside.

Notes about the VISA
Multiple Entry
90 Days
NON EXTENDABLE
Only good for 1 year

It could have been better (5 years and extendable), but hey, it could have been way worse. All in all this went far better than I thought and wouldnā€™t have believed this would have been the outcome 2 days ago.

Iā€™ll have one more big post to make after Iā€™m back in Taiwan, one that could be used as a guide for someone who is in a similar situation.

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Most visa-exempt 90 days can be extended for another 90 days when in Taiwan making the stay 180 days before a visa run to HK.

Most? According to what BOCA says on its website, only British and Canadian passport holders can apply for an extension when entering visa-free. Aikaili has mentioned previously thatā€™s sheā€™s American (although maybe her husband is British or Canadian?)

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And extensions on the 90 only once in a year.
This was granted to U.K. Passport holders because the U.K. granted tw passport holders six months visa free.

Tw went cheap and should have granted U.K. Subjects the same 180 days straight off.

Learn something new every day!

Odd rule that however in typical Taiwan fashion I know a UK passport holder who does 2 visa runs a year by extending each 90 days for an additional 90 and has been doing so for quite a number of years without issue.

Well itā€™s Taiwan
Thereā€™s the law and thereā€™s the interpretation
And the two may differ

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Quick update

Iā€™m home.

Unbelievable. I really thought I was royally screwed several days ago and there was no going back. Itā€™s so surprising that even after over staying 29 days itā€™s possible to get back.

Iā€™d call this a success story. Iā€™ve already shared and detailed most of it but Iā€™ll try to some it up in a bigger update sometime over the next few days. A how-to guide if you will to serve as help to other lads who might find themselves in a similar situation.

Thanks everyone.

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@mmstoin did you need to apply for a visa while in HK? My husband accidentally overstayed his visa (actually got royally screwed by BOCA) and MOFA only told him he needed leave and come back and pay a fine.

If he leaves does he need to apply for a visa while overseas? Or only pay a fine?