Which Chinese schools can one legally get a visa for?

[color=blue][Moderator’s note: Currently it is only possible to legally get a visa for studying Chinese through a government approved school. For the best resource to find out which schools you can get a visa for, please consult the New official list of approved language schools from MOE topic in Learning Chinese. Discussions about which schools are government approved should be made in that topic. Any other more general questions about student visas should continue to be posted in Visa & Residency Issues.][/color]

Is there any restriction as of which Chinese schools are good enough to be able to extend one’s visa? I have a friend coming over from German, she plans to stay 4 months. Is there a better visa option besides Chinese classes?

Bored and reading through the various forums, I now found my answer:

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?t=43868

Does anyone know if Flag is still in operation, and if so, how to contact them? I have a friend who needs a visa fast!

hey
anyone knows how to get a student visa without taking classes? i know there used to be some language centers providing this sort of service, but i never knew anything about them, but now i am considering getting a student visa myself

NOpe not anymore. It wouldn’t be wise to even ask about this as the FAP is taking it all too seriously.

[quote=“Si Wei”]hey
anyone knows how to get a student visa without taking classes? I know there used to be some language centers providing this sort of service, but i never knew anything about them, but now I am considering getting a student visa myself[/quote]

Student \Stu"dent, n. [L. studens, -entis, p. pr. of studere to
study. See Study, n.]
1. A person engaged in study; one who is devoted to learning;
a learner; a pupil; a scholar; especially, one who attends
a school, or who seeks knowledge from professional
teachers or from books; as, the students of an academy, a
college, or a university; a medical student; a hard
student.

So, err… no. Sorry for being facetious, but visa abuses make it harder on those of us with legitimate applications.

I havent found anything about exchange students in this forum. I’m going to study at Soochow university for one year. The TECO in germany wouldnt give me a resident visa they said on the phone, but only a visitor visa that has to be renewed after 60 days. (max. 180days). (And I have now applied for it)
I have heard about an exchange student who successfully applied for a resident visa in Taipei (entering on a visitor visa), but its been years since then, can someone help me out with some information about how to apply, what mistakes to avoid…

[quote=“nomatt”]I havent found anything about exchange students in this forum. I’m going to study at Soochow university for one year. The TECO in Germany wouldnt give me a resident visa they said on the phone, but only a visitor visa that has to be renewed after 60 days. (max. 180days). (And I have now applied for it)
I have heard about an exchange student who successfully applied for a resident visa in Taipei (entering on a visitor visa), but its been years since then, can someone help me out with some information about how to apply, what mistakes to avoid…[/quote]

It is not unusual now even for full time students to have to get a visa for the first six months. Towards the end of the six months you would apply for a student resident permit and would likely be asked to show attendance records from your school so that they can ensure that you are really a legitimate student. In the past some people abused the ease of getting student resident permits through lax schools and so now they make it more difficult for everyone to get a student ARC.

Does that include I would have to leave the country after the visitor visa has been extended two times? Or can I apply for a resident visa after 6 month ‘seaminglessly’?

I dont know why but everytime I mention the word “resident” during a phone call with the TECO here they get all bitchy and start to repeat “visitor visa” bla bla “can be extended two times” bla bla “maximum 180 days” bla bla and wouldnt even listen to me anymore.

Another question, maybe a little off-topic: I wont be eligible to enroll to National Health Insurance with this visitor/resident combination, will I? Maybe for the last 6 months?

An extendable visitor visa can be converted to a resident visa (and then ARC) without leaving the country.

You would need to have an ARC before enrolling in NHI.

I went to Taida the most famous school or so they say in Taiwan I’m no expert and I dunno what country your from but what I do know is I would never put in the time to put together a packet of strict regulated papers only to obtain some kind of student visa that needs to be obtained outside of Taiwan if you are a USA passport holder I would instead get or finish my ba use my visa that last 6 months with extensions take a boat ride to matsu and then china 2 times a year on the cheap for a visa run and then get a job or arc after I got my ba or if you fell in love in the mean time that’s also an option to marry

Is it true that the minimum requirement to study Chinese in Taiwan is a High School Diploma?
May I know what is a High School Diploma equivalent to?
Will the schools take in mature adults applicants who do not possess this minimum education requirement?

Appreciate your kind advises please…