What a difference 10 years makes!

[quote=“afterspivak”]The point here (which I am sure you understand) is that the OP is amazed at how much smoother many parts of this process have become. This is certainly true with many parts of the bureaucratic machine in Taiwan over the past while. Do any old timers remember dealing with the cops to renew ARCs? I shudder just thinking about this. Do any of you remember the tight-wire act needed to get necessary documents to apply for an APRC? Lots of this nonsense (but certainly not all) has been chucked out the window. Who knows what things will look like in the future? But for now, and for this stuff viewed narrowly, I think we can be pretty pleased.

Guy[/quote]

Remember the old police office on Changan Rd. where you went for visa extensions?

The Tax Office with papers stacked to the ceiling?

The DMV to change title to a scooter?

:roflmao:

It’s completely different world.

Filed my application Wednesday morning July 29 and got my new passport in the mail in Taidong this morning, August 6. Processed, issued and mailed in six working days.

What has happened to the Canadian Civil Service? :astonished:

Last time I filed it ten weeks before the deadline because they said it on the website it took six weeks and ended up having to pay a NT$6000 fine to Taiwan Immigration for overstaying because it took 13 weeks to arrive.

Yes. I also remember having to go to one government office to get a permit to leave Taiwan (after securing tax clearance), and another office halfway across town to get a permit to re-enter Taiwan.

It is very refreshing to see a good story in a sea of hate threads about the island. I have not been here long enough to have a similar experience, but good to hear about improvement.

Hey Y’all!

So a little clarification is in order on this OP. I haven’t been here for a long while so I didn’t see all these responses.

First of all, it wasn’t the same cab driver from 10 years before. I’m not sure how that connection was made but I guess I understand.

And the reason my pp applications were 10 years apart is because I renewed my pp in Canada between these visits mentioned in the OP.

Good to be back here after all these years. I’ve got a whopper of a tale to tell so keep your eyes peeled in the Living in Taiwan section over the next few days.

Cheers

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Looking forward to it!

Guy