APRC - fell at the first fence!

Legal Visa & Residency
1

I got up again. Can I get back in the race?

I stopped off to see the nice people at the Banqiao immigration office today to ask what the skinny really is on getting an APRC. I was directed upstairs to the person who handles these, and after entering my passport number she did the sucking in of breath and tutting thing. I tried to smile.

It’s like this. I’ve been continuously employed by the same school for over five years, but had second jobs at the same time. One of these, back in 2004, decided to misreport how much they paid me. This meant that in 2005 I got a huge tax bill which I protested. Then I had a lot of discussions with the new owners of the offending school, who denied responsibility, and with the previous owners - who also denied responsibility. Eventually I got fed up and filed an appeal which was eventually upheld.

But in the meantime I had an unpaid tax bill, which meant I couldn’t get the certificate of tax paid which is required to renew a work permit. I got an extension, but on the day it expired I still didn’t have a resolution. Problem 1, I couldn’t get a flight the same day and ended up overstaying one day. But my lady friend at the immigration office didn’t mention this. She was concerned about problem 2: on arrival at the TECO in HK, I was told that they couldn’t give me a new visa because I had been working but didn’t have a new work permit and wasn’t a student. They eventually relented, on the grounds that I had to go back and pay my taxes and gave me the standard 2-month visa. (You have to love these people for finding reasons for helping you out.)

So I arrived back in Taipei to find my tax certificate waiting for me, and everything was processed and approved in due course without any further problems. However, I apparently was not resident in 2005 as a result. I had a visitor visa for a short period, which counts as a break in residency. At least that’s what my lady friend thinks. Therefore the clock started again after I got the new work permit and I can’t apply for my APRC until 5 years from that time.

Here’s what it says on the guidelines she gave me: Qualifications: Aliens who have legally and continuously resided in Taiwan for 5 years during which they have resided for over 183 days each year.

I was in Taiwan for more than 183 days of each year for the last five years. The tax office consider me to have been resident for each of those years. I was resident, in the country for more than 183 days, in 2005, but happened to have a visitor visa for a short period. The regulation doesn’t say “held a resident visa,” it says “resided in Taiwan.” I guess it’s just a matter of interpretation.

Can anyone offer any advice on how one might go about getting a more sympathetic interpretation that would make it possible to actually apply for the APRC? Is there any way to obtain some kind of ruling on whether I was or wasn’t resident? Is it worth hiring someone to help with pushing this through? etc.

In other words… heeeeeeelp!

Thanks

2

Yep, That’s what they said to me too. Was trying to get one so I could quit that godawful job, but there was a six month period when I was a student (legally) but here on the visitor visa while my resident’s visa was being sorted.

Stuff it, said I.

Edit …which doesn’t help or answer your question, but just to say, they were strict with me, even though I legally resided in Taiwan, I was not a ‘Resident’ for 4-5 months.

3

[quote=“Loretta”]Here’s what it says on the guidelines she gave me: Qualifications: Aliens who have legally and continuously resided in Taiwan for 5 years during which they have resided for over 183 days each year.

I was in Taiwan for more than 183 days of each year for the last five years. The tax office consider me to have been resident for each of those years. I was resident, in the country for more than 183 days, in 2005, but happened to have a visitor visa for a short period. The regulation doesn’t say “held a resident visa,” it says “resided in Taiwan.” I guess it’s just a matter of interpretation.

Can anyone offer any advice on how one might go about getting a more sympathetic interpretation that would make it possible to actually apply for the APRC? Is there any way to obtain some kind of ruling on whether I was or wasn’t resident? Is it worth hiring someone to help with pushing this through? etc.

In other words… heeeeeeelp!

Thanks[/quote]This is a situation mentioned in a few of the other APRC threads. It’s quite normal for the authorities to refuse on these grounds, but apparently some people have successfully appealed the refusal. What you need to do, apparently, is get an official refusal in writing. Then you can start the appeals process. But I’m not sure when you should do all the other malarkey with background checks and all that. And I’m also not sure whether it would be worth getting legal help. Perhaps others with more experience of this stuff can advise.

4

I’d send a PM to rotalsnart if I were you. Save yourself pages of armchair theory.

That said, isn’t the standard response that you have to apply anyway, so that you can get a written formal rejection to use in future appeals?

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[quote=“sandman”]I’d send a PM to rotalsnart if I were you. Save yourself pages of armchair theory.[/quote]It would be a pity to keep it to private discussions. The APRC threads are some of the most informative ones on the site, actually, thanks to contributors such as Rotalsnart, Taffy, Feiren, Citizen K, Highwave, and others. I believe it’s directly due to those threads that some people have got their APRCs.

6

My girlfriend was denied for the same reasons and so was her appeal. The explanation (both times) is that she didn’t continuously reside in Taiwan for 7 years (that was before they changed it to 5). About half way through she changed jobs and made a visa run. Her original visa was cancelled and she was issued a new when she returned. So for three days she did not legally reside in Taiwan and to qualify you must reside legally and continuously.

As it was explained to us, there are two factors in the opening clause that you have to fulfill before you qualify: continuity and physical presence. To qualify for continuity you must have held the same visa for five straight years (legally and continuously reside in Taiwan for five years) and to qualify for the physical presence you must have been in country for at least 183 days of each of those years.

So in my girlfriend’s case, because she was not a legal resident of Taiwan for three days she broke her continuity even though she was legally in country for more than 183 days for seven straight years. She qualified to pay taxes but couldn’t qualify for an APRC.

Anyway, some people have had luck appealing under similar grounds but to appeal you must have an official rejection. So don’t let them just blow you off, make them do the paperwork even if you don’t plan on appealing.

7

I agree.

If everything in Taiwan was cut-and-dry, with consistent answers to every question, I’d say check the official sources directly. In reality, the answer changes depending on the person you talk to, the day of the week and the position of the constellations. It pays to hear the experiences of different people to formulated a strategy.

8

Mine’s similar due to a visa run after my first year here. For me it’s not a biggie, as my 5 years will be up in May 2009 instead of May 2008 (or Aug 2008 as that’s when the 5 year rule started). So I’m just waiting until then.

I do wonder though if they’ll give me any grief over the month that I didn’t have a new ARC this year due to them running out of the new IC cards. I didn’t have to visa run as they gave me a stamp on my old one, but it would be just like Taiwanese bureaucracy to use that as a reason to deny me.

9

Thanks guys.

There’s also a minor snarl-up with renewing my current ARC, which means that they gave me an extension yesterday. As extensions are no longer stamped on ARCs, the old one is invalid. So the man at the office kept it.

Looking at the requirements this morning I see that required documents include “The original and copy of applicant’s current/old ARC.”

Are these fuckers going out of their way to make it impossible to apply for this bloody document, or am I just being paranoid?

10

[quote=“Loretta”]Thanks guys.

There’s also a minor snarl-up with renewing my current ARC, which means that they gave me an extension yesterday. As extensions are no longer stamped on ARCs, the old one is invalid. So the man at the office kept it.

Looking at the requirements this morning I see that required documents include “The original and copy of applicant’s current/old ARC.”[/quote]

Well, if it’s any consolation, I was missing one of mine and an expired passport, when I applied and it didn’t seem to matter. They had all my information, down to every entry and exit I have made, on their database. I’d try to stop in there today and try to get it back, but it might be long gone down the paper trail by now. :frowning: