I just finished my Chinese class at a bushiban. I will leave for a week of vacation in Japan on Aug. 22nd. My single-entry, 60-day visitor visa will expire on Aug. 12th. I don’t want to enroll in Chinese class until I return from vacation (b/c I haven’t decided whether to change schools/classes yet).
What’s my cheapest, safest plan of attack here? I will probably pay over US$120 for a new visa in Japan. Will I have much flack at the airport when I leave Taiwan (with an overstayed visa)? If so, how likely will Japan reject my visa application?
The safest plan is of course to shell out a semester’s worth of tuition now and pay to have my visa extended. This is not the cheapest, however, and really doesn’t seem worth it since I will only get 10 days’ worth from the extension (prior to leaving for Japan).
Blast those xiao3qi4gui3men that gave me a single-entry visa!
You will be fined, get a stamp in your passport saying you overstayed, and consequently have trouble getting a new visa. Why can’t you leave before 12 August?
I’m meeting a friend in Tokyo during the last week. I also can’t afford to leave earlier (due to hurting my work schedule and b/c I can’t afford Tokyo without the help of a friend right now )
Thanks… I better practice my puppy dog face and crying.
Landing visas start from the day you arrive, not from the day your old visa runs out. The best thing for you to do would be to take a trip to Hong Kong, Macao, Manila or Okinawa and come straight back, thereby renewing your status. Would a return ticket to one of these places break the bank?
Juba is right. You will get a fine, a stamp in your passport, and definetly denied a landing visa for several years (don’t know exactly how many), possibly denied a new visa in Japan. Flights to HK, Guam, PI, etc are pretty cheap.
There is also a gambling cruis ship that takes you out to international waters, and brings you back the next day. With some smart Black jack playing you could possilby earn enough for your trip to Japan thus easing your friends burden, and geta 30 day landing visa to solve your timing problem.
Thanks, guys. To be safe, I paid for a semester of Chinese at a buxiban, got the necessary paperwork and extended my visa at the cop shop. I hope that I can get a multi-entry visa in Japan since I want to take a couple more trips by year-end.
I would bet that if you had taken your TWN-JPN air ticket to the foreign police office near Ximen and asked for a few days’ extension of your current visa they would have granted it and told you something like “Don’t make this a habit.” In my experience if you abide by the law and make a reasonable request, the slack the Taiwan authorities will cut you can be pleasantly surprising.
Possibly they are more generous with Americans?? Not sure …
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