Applying late for ARC

Hello,

So my family entered all with a residence visa under my ARC with the idea to do a family reunion. Normally you should apply within 15 days for an ARC, something my company takes care of. But to prove our relationship we should provide translated + authenticated marriage and birth certificates. It will take about 3 weeks before these are processed.
When applying in our home country for the residency visas at the Taiwanese economic office the original documents were sufficient and we were not aware that we should provide them again with these documents but translated and authenticated.
My question is following, my family will only be able to apply around 4-5 weeks in stead of 15 days after arriving in Taiwan for an ARC. What are the consequences of this? I read you can get away with just paying a fine but it is not clear what the maximum amount of late days are allowed and do they count from day of arrival or from the day after the 15 day application limit.

Thanks for any advice!

Back when I got my original resident visa based on marriage, as a sticker in my passport, the woman at the Taipei representative office in Macau told me that if I don’t apply for the ARC within 15 days, I would have to go back to Macau and apply for a new residence visa. I don’t know if she was just trying to scare me, but it’s probably true. I imagine you can get an exception to this by explaining your situation to the immigration agency before the 15 days are up, and asking for an extension to apply.

Call NIA, or go there and ask in person.

I’m not trying to be mean, but as a general question - why do people expect randos on an internet forum to be legal experts and know the intricacies of immigration law and exceptions? The NIA has a toll free number, speaks excellent English, and is generally very helpful.

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Very true and OP can also check their site too.

How does a foreigner renew or apply for an ARC?
https://www.immigration.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=1090287&ctNode=30085&mp=2

"A foreign national who enters with a residency visa or obtains a residency visa in Taiwan shall apply for an ARC within 15 days or the over-due penalty will be NT$ 2,000-10,000. A foreign national who applies for changing his/her domicile or his/her place of employment during the period of his/her residency, he/she shall apply for registering the change within 15 days or the over-due penalty will be NT$ 2,000-10,000. "

Edit: it doesn’t say how many days, so OP needs to call.

I don’t expect to find any experts here, maybe somebody who experienced a similar situation.
@tando, I did found that information also but I believe there is a time limit to it which is not clear.

But each situation is unique to the circumstances of that particular situation. Even a very similar situation may result in a different outcome, so in the end you’ll need to call or visit NIA anyway to get the answer for your specific circumstances.

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No.

Never overstay. It is not a matter of paying a fine and all is forgiven.

Go to NIA. Explain your situation. Get an extension or follow their instructions on this matter. No, do not leave this to your company. It is too serious and important. Do not assume they know what they are doing.

Be humble, be polite, and you will get help at NIA. Try the no one told me line and you will find yourself in a world of trouble and pain.

Good luck.

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So for people who experienced a similar situation let me share the outcome… NIA was very helpfull, we applied on time with the non authenticated documents and they issued a temporary arc for six months for my family. Giving us sufficient time to get everything authenticated.

Delete.

I know i am late responding to this post, but maybe my info would help others.

My wife and i were married before finally deciding to move to Taiwan. I have lived in Taiwan for 8 years now. Came in on a tourist visa, changed it to a residency visa, and later got my ARC. I have had my mother come in on a tourist visa to help us care for our new born baby. Her visa was given for 2 months only, but we were able to extend it for 2 more months as we could not find a suitable baby sitter at the time. The Taiwan immigration office in Banqiao were very helpful with the case and made sure my mom did not have to leave the country.

My mother finally left, and had my cousin come in to help. She was given only 1 month visa, but were able to extend to 3 months here in Taiwan, and later again extended for 6 months total. We still could not find a suitable baby sitter and applied for one more extension, but were told at this point my cousin had to temporarily leave Taiwan, and re-apply for a visa from Macau to get back in. So we did that, and she was able to come back to Taiwan on a 2 month visa, which like the first time, was extended a total of 6 months.

So in total, she was here for a year, and only had to leave for Macau once to re-apply for the visa. The Immigration office in Taiwan is one of the best in the world, and definitely deal with situations case-by-case instead of general rules.

Also had my niece visit over the summer on a 3 month visa, which i unintentionally thought of as 90 days. So when she was leaving, we were told she had overstayed for 1 day. But since she was a minor, they just had us sign some papers, but was left off the hook with no penalty or a dent on her records or passport.

In conclusion, the best thing to do is to call or go in person to the immigration office and present your situation. The people there are friendly and will provide you with the best action to take.

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welcome @george4barca, excellent first writeup.
yes NIA are SO much better and helpful nowadays.
Must be due to all those satisfied/not satisfied touchscreen kiosks, lol