ARC holder: exit/re-entry

Apologies if this is repeating information … I did two searches and did not come up with an exact answer.

I have an ARC. I’d like to accompany a friend on a visa run this weekend (short notice).

  • I believe I will need a re-entry permit to leave Taiwan and return. Is this true? How long does that take to process?

  • Based on what I have read, without a re-entry permit, I will have to re-apply for a resident visa upon returning. Again, is this the case? Is that a pain in the butt or just a waste of money?

I’m sure someone here has a quicker answer than sifting through all those horribly-written FAQs on the Web.

When you applied for an ARC at the Foreign Affairs Police station you should have gotten a half-page sticker put in your passport which is your re-entry permit. It is very unusual to get an ARC without a re-entry permit. If you didn’t get one then take your ARC and passport to the Foreign Affairs Police and fill out the form to have a re-entry permit added. It should only take a couple of minutes once your number is called. Once you have a re-entry permit then you can enter and leave the country as often as you like as long as your ARC stays valid.

Thanks for the quick answer - I’ll check my passport when I get home. I don’t remember seeing any additional pages, but I could be wrong.

In any case, I’ll just run to the police station tomorrow and get it done.

It’s not an additional page, it’s a half page sticker pasted in.