ARC without resident visa, is it ok?

Hi, Dear forumosans!

I have a confusion with visas right now. From what I read on different official websites, ARC is issued after resident visa.
But I come to Taiwan, to take 1 year official employment in IT company (with contract signed and other papers), with visitor visa on my passport.
Visa says it’s 60 days valid. I have work permit for whole year, contact for year, invitation and such, and already got ARC from NIA with term of expire for 1 year. But I don’t have anything like resident visa in my passport, just same visitor visa 60 days. :eh:

Now I’m confused, because from what I read before - first change visa to resident and then get ARC, but I still have visitor visa and got my ARC. Is this valid, and am I safe to stay in Taiwan for a year during ARC valid date? :ponder:

Asked employer about this few times, he said it’s okay, nothing to worry about.

[quote=“Showman”]Hi, Dear forumosans!

I have a confusion with visas right now. From what I read on different official websites, ARC is issued after resident visa.
But I come to Taiwan, to take 1 year official employment in IT company (with contract signed and other papers), with visitor visa on my passport.
Visa says it’s 60 days valid. I have work permit for whole year, contact for year, invitation and such, and already got ARC from NIA with term of expire for 1 year. But I don’t have anything like resident visa in my passport, just same visitor visa 60 days. :eh:

Now I’m confused, because from what I read before - first change visa to resident and then get ARC, but I still have visitor visa and got my ARC. Is this valid, and am I safe to stay in Taiwan for a year during ARC valid date? :ponder:

Asked employer about this few times, he said it’s okay, nothing to worry about.[/quote]Alien Residency Certificates (ARC) are issued to individuals who have a Joining Family Residence Visa (JFRV), a working permit, or a student visa. The ARC is your resident certificate which gives you authorization to live in Taiwan while you work for the company who sponsored you for the work permit. You’re good.

This actually brings up a good question. What exactly I’d a Resident Visa? As far as I can tell it is a way to steal $2100NT from foreigners. As the OP pointed out, a visitor visa is a piece of paper in your passport, but the resident visa is a hypothetical visa that is ‘required’ to convert to an ARC.

NCS is correct, this fella is freaking out about the wording in the regulation. Most don’t realize that when they go to immigration to get an ARC they have their tourist visas first converted to a resident visa, what happens next I have no idea other than an ARC is issued and the prices is complete? Is the resident visa still valid?

T

Thanks, Surfer. I will sleep now safely. I thought that resident visa is piece of paper in passport too, just like visitor one. Officer at NIA noticed visa type, and asked for more money for “conversion” so I expected actually to get resident piece of “paper” in passport, but just got an ARC and that’s all :slight_smile:

Wasn’t the resident visa only good for your initial arrival here in Taiwan? According to the clerks at TECO Los Angeles, MFA/NIA only issues single-entry resident visas which are then subsequently replaced by our ARC.

This actually brings up another question. If I renewed my US passport while in Taiwan, do I need to bring my new passport to NIA to get them to reissue me a resident visa, or do I just update my ARC with them since it has not expired yet? What would happen if I just brought along the old passport and ARC (with my old passport # on it) with the new one every time I needed to exit and enter Taiwan?

This is actually pretty confusing to me, as my passport renewal period is coming up in a couple of months. And seriously, who came up with this stupid idea of using passport numbers instead of your ARC# at most businesses (like cell service providers)? Passports expire, and only one ARC/national ID/unified ID number is assigned to a single individual…

No, in the old days you came here with a visitor/joining family visa, when you had all papers you had to go to the MOFA, they issued a Resident visa, annulled the visitor/joining family visa and than you had to go the Foreign Affairs Police, now the Immigration Office … they issued the ARC on base of your resident visa, and put a stamp in your passport (re-entry permit) that enabled you to leave and return to Taiwan.
Long before that you had to go to the FAP to get permission to leave Taiwan and return.

In fact the resident visa is connected to your ARC. But it’s not visible as a paper or a stamp. I think that everyone that has an ARC also has also a resident visa as computer data stored.