Hey all, in a bit of a pickle here. Any advice would be appreciated.
My passport is about to expire, and I’m sending it in to the AIT for renewal tomorrow. However, I’ve just found out about the new rules for ARC renewal (have to apply 30 days before expiration), and I now realize that my new passport might not get back in time to meet this deadline. (New passport takes 3-4 weeks; if it’s 3 weeks I’ll be fine, but if it’s 4 weeks I’ll be fewer than 30 days before ARC expiration).
What happens if you try to apply for a new ARC fewer than 30 days before expiry? Is there a way around it, like an ARC extension first (once the passport comes) and then renewal? Or is there a way to show proof that the passport is coming somehow, so I can apply on time? Finally, should I call the AIT and try to see if there’s a way to rush my passport processing?
Any advice, similar experiences or info would be gratefully received.
I don’t think there is any issue if you apply with less than 30 days remaining. A few years ago they would tell you to come back later if your ARC was still valid for more than one month.
I have received a letter from Immigration to renew my ARC 30 days before it expires. I had applied for renewal at that time already. After applying they said it will take 10 days and I am about to get the new ARC this Friday.
3.A foreign national shall apply for an extension within 30 days before his/her period of residency expires if they have to continue their visiting or residency in Taiwan.
I actually researched this terminology to see if there’s an accepted legal definition for the ambiguity. There have been legal cases in the U.S. where parties have contested whether “within 30 days before/prior to” means “more than 30 days before” or “no sooner than 30 days before, and within 0-30 days before,” with the latter being the definition that won the legal case. But I have no idea if that’s the case in Taiwan (especially with laws translated sometimes imperfectly into English). Perhaps someone here knows from experience?
I took his answer to mean that he applied before the 30-day window, since he said he had applied for renewal before the letter came. Perhaps I misinterpreted?
< 2 weeks:
Due to university red tape and the fact I am the only foreign prof at the school, my new contact and other documents are usually only available within the last two weeks before my ARC expiration date. Never had a problem. Extensions of 4 or 6 months have also be granted, given some official letter from the employer, on order to allow time for paperwork to go through.
<1 day:
I have applied for renewal the day OF the expiration date. No not deal, unless you plan on leaving the country before your renewed ARC card arrives (within 10 working days). In that case, your lack of ARC (your re-entry permit) would result in denied re-entry.
Overstayed:
I have also absentmindedly applied for renewal two days AFTER the deadline. Paid a fine (around 2,500 NTD, if I recall correctly). Also added a year onto the minimum required consecutive residence with employment (originally 5 years, now 6) to apply for an APRC.
Oops, sorry, I only remembered the last sentence of the post.
Usually people ask here if they can do ARC renewal more than 30 days before the expiration date. And the answer posted is you can if there is a reason that you cannot do it within 30 days.
Have a new update.
Yay! I received my ARC today, just 10 days later.
But…
The stars aligned extremely unfavorably on the ARC expiry.
I will travel internationally and my old ARC would expire before the flight, hence the early renewal (35 days before expiry)
My Passport will expire end of July and I will renew it when I get back as it takes 3-4 weeks (Passport with Chip can only be made in Germany). Not enough time to renew passport and ARC afterwards
They matched ARC expiry to the date of the Passport expiry!
So instead of 3 years they renewed my ARC (marriage based) for only 5 months
They charged me 1000 TWD.
Now I need to do the runaround again when I return and get a new passport.
It kind of makes sense since it is a resident visa, no valid passport => no visa.
me