Apply for JFRV now, or after return to Taiwan in few years?

Legal Legal - Marriage
1

I am about to get married to my lovely fiancee, and am wondering if it is worth the trouble to apply for my JFRV visa now. I currently have a work visa and plan on staying at my employer for one more year (I have been there for 3 years, so I don’t think things are suddenly going to go sour on me).

After a year, we will go back to the States where we will both go to school. We plan on returning to Taiwan after approximately 4 years, as I intend to do my graduate research here in Taiwan, and I’m sure she’ll be homesick. Past that, who knows?

So should I just stick with my work-issued ARC for the next year, or get the JFRV taken care of now? Would I need to do it all over again in 4 years regardless, or could I easily renew it then? I presume I’ll be making a lot of trips back to Taiwan to see the family, so would it be worth it just for the reentry visa? Then again, I can get a month landing visa …

Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot.

2

Yep, just do your visa when you return. If you’re not resident here then you don’t need a resident visa.

You can easily get a visitor visor to return during your time away if need be.

3

Yep, just do your visa when you return. If you’re not resident here then you don’t need a resident visa.

You can easily get a visitor visor to return during your time away if need be.[/quote]

Well, my main concern would be summers, as I imagine I would spend a few of them here. I could get a 60-day visa, but that costs $3300NT.

Is it even feasible to maintain my residency visa? Actually, can I have the residency visa (allowing reentry) and not have the ARC?

4

OK, here is the lowdown.

A JFRV (marriage based resident visa) may be issued to you, and then you would get an ARC based on that for one year, or three years. (Those are the two most commonly seen time periods … )

That being said, there is no minimum number of days which you must be physically present in the Taiwan area in order to maintain an ARC based on marriage.

However, according to my knowledge, you have to be in Taiwan to renew your ARC.

[color=brown]Some people have asked me in the past: [/color] [color=blue]What if my wife was here in Taiwan, and she had the ARC in her hand … could she go to the local Foreign Affairs Police Station as my “agent” and renew it for me?[/color] [color=orange]I would say that it is “possible” … but the officals at the Police Station would most likely want to see your passport too. That being said, the officials there would also want to know your “Date of Arrival.”

In other words, on the form you have to fill out to renew an ARC, there is a blank space for “Date of Arrival.” That is interpreted to mean your most recent “Date of Arrival.” So … that is a problem. If you are not in Taiwan, then there will be no valid date to put in that column, and when the officers at the Police Station check your passport, they will be able to easily verify that you have left Taiwan and are no longer here…[/color] [color=darkred]Under these circumstances, I believe they will not renew your ARC.[/color]

So, if you can get an ARC for three years, there might be some benefit (in terms of coming back and forth from your home country to Taiwan for visits, etc.) to having it. The underlying question is: If you go through the process for getting a JFRV, can you get a three year ARC?? To my knowledge, there is no guarantee of that.

Then, if you have a three-year ARC, then can you be reasonably sure when it comes due you will be in Taiwan? If not, kiss that ARC goodbye. (In order to get another one after it has expired, you would have to go through the entire process of getting the JFRV from the beginning … )

Hence, after all these “ifs” and “buts” are analyzed, you might just be better off to wait until you are back in Taiwan some years down the road, reasonably settled down, happy in your married life, etc. and then get the JFRV then.

Also, when you are coming back to Taiwan at that point, it might be easier to get all the necessary documentation, (CCRD, etc.) plus the necessary stamping and verifying at the overseas Taiwanese Representative Office, etc., etc. rather than going through the hassle of trying to coordinate that from your apartment here in Taiwan at this point.

My NT$ 2.

5

Also it may depend on wether you want an APRC down the road. You need to be married for 5 years and/or be a legal resident for 5 years. (Depending on the interpetation)
So if you renew your JFRV while your visiting, you sould have less hassel if you decide to get the APRC in the future.

6

Thanks all for all the replies - awesome!

The reason I ask now is that I am going home in August, so I can take care of paperwork then. Also, what is the APRC? I’m not familiar …

7

APRC = Permanent Resident Visa

8

Thanks for the info. OK, I think I would definitely be interested in that, so that’s a consideration.

Do you have to renew on an exact date? For example, if I apply for my JFRV in September or October, can I renew a couple of months early in the future (say July or August)? Or would I only be able to renew in September or August (whichever is the anniversary of my JFRV …)

Thank you all so much for your help!

9

In order for you to renew your ARC, your wife has to be listed on her household registration. I believe that if she is listed on the household registration, then she will need to keep paying health insurance premiums during the time you’re living in the US.

You may have to decide if it’s cheaper for you to keep paying for NHI premiums plus your ARC fees in order to get the JFRV, or if it’s cheaper to just get an occasional visitor’s visa when you visit Taiwan.

Someone please correct me if any of the above is wrong.

10

Another question - isn’t the ARC separate from the visa? Can I get a visa (for re-entry and what not) without getting the ARC?

Thanks for all the answers.

11

[quote=“bobl”]Also it may depend on wether you want an APRC down the road. You need to be married for 5 years and/or be a legal resident for 5 years. (Depending on the interpetation)
So if you renew your JFRV while your visiting, you sould have less hassel if you decide to get the APRC in the future.[/quote]

Not so. I have forgotten how many days you need to be in Taiwan every qualifying year, but it’s a fair bit more than what you can notch up during an extended summer stay. I think it’s some 8 months per year.

If you time the application, so you can renew when in Taiwan, on summer breaks, it might just work out.

If not, I would not bother at the current stage

12

[quote=“bobl”]Also it may depend on wether you want an APRC down the road. You need to be married for 5 years and/or be a legal resident for 5 years. (Depending on the interpetation)
So if you renew your JFRV while your visiting, you sould have less hassel if you decide to get the APRC in the future.[/quote]

He won’t qualify for an APRC unless he has stayed in the ROC for 183 days a year in addition to having a valid ARC and so this will not count as he won’t be here for that amount of time.

13

As far as i know, US passport holders can enter Taiwan without visa for some time (30 days if I’m not mistaken).

So, may be this is enough for you and you will not need to apply for a visa.

14

[quote=“tairus”]As far as i know, US passport holders can enter Taiwan without visa for some time (30 days if I’m not mistaken).

So, may be this is enough for you and you will not need to apply for a visa.[/quote]

It is 30 days, and I can pay to get up to 90. There a couple of other considerations, including my scooter, license, etc, since I’ll be back most summers. But I think I have a good handle of the positives and negatives. Thank you so much everyone for your help!