I could need some help with a Visa Issue I have. I am in Taiwan since the 19. August of last year to study Chinese at Shida and have my return flight at the same date of this year.
I returned to Taiwan 11. February after I got my 2. 180 days Visa in HK. After I extended my Visa for the second time in June I told the guy, that my flight was for the 19. and my Visa extension only to the 4. of August and I asked him if I should call my Travel Agency in Germany to alter my booking to a earlier flight.
He clearly said No, if I would get him the attendence papers from Shida and show him my flight I could get another extension for two weeks. I was a little confused, because I thought the Visa is only for 180 days, but my taiwanese girlfriend that we can trust him, its probably some exception regulation…
Well, yesterday I went there for my extension and we talked to the exact same guy, but now he couldn’t remember to have ever said anything like this and said we were lying and that he could only extend my VISA to the 10. of August which would be exactly 180 days. I didnt care too much, because his boss assured me, that even if I overstay that 9 days, it would only amount to a small fee of 2000 NT$.
The only thing that concerned me, was that he also mentioned I couldnt get back to Taiwan with the regular one month tourist visa for one year and I planned to come back to Taiwan in February for probably one month.
Can you guys please help me and tell me the exact penalties for overstaying in Taiwan?
Could you guys think of any alternative to solve the problem?
I guess I could still apply for a ARC, but I am really busy right now and I don’t know if its worth the trouble.
Book an earlier flight home or take a short trip to Hong Kong before your visa expires. Don’t overstay your visa if you have plans to return to Taiwan.
you’ll get a fine at the airport and they may bar you from entering the country again. I would go to the police station (or whoever deals with this, someone else will provide the specifics I’m sure) and talk to them. May not do you any good but worth a try
The fine cannot be paid at the airport. They will make you go back to the city -hence losing your flight. And that’s for starters.
Overstay has very serious consequences, especially if you are planning to return/study/spend longer time here. It is no slight matter. Never, ever, let your visa expire/overstay. Fine may not amount to a lot of money but under current regulations, it is a big deal. It will be an ugly monster that will reach out from the depths of time and mar your stay here evermore. And I am not kidding. I am talking from friends and colleagues experiences. You will be losing a lot of money, too, later on, for trying to save now.
Oh, and never trust anything that is not in writting again. No seal, no deal.
Hmm, not as far as I know -and I know at least 3 people who had to postpone their flights at the gate. I’d rather not risk telling that to a newbie.
I have a friend who worked for a govt. agency. Even though it was their fault delaying the paperwork, and the overstay was only two days, he had to leave, and come back -$$$- and that has delayed procesing of stuff ever since. Same with a collegue after he quit, and accidentally overstayed. Big nightmare coming back. So it is better to advise not to try it.
Nonsense. I overstayed by a couple of days and I paid at the airport. It was about 1500NT for 2 days.[/quote]
Me too. I overstayed 23 days and paid the 5k fine at the airport. Left for Hong Kong and came back the next day with a visa. Had an APRC within 5 months of returning. This was a year ago. But, and a very big
BUT , I had my work papers in excellent order upon arrival at the airport and HK visa office. I would not recommend this route to the OP.
Alright, guys you are scarring the shit out of me right now. LOL. I defintely want to come back here, I fall in love with island and I plan to move here in 3 years so I don’t want any unnessecary trouble later on.
I am just confused, because several people at ShiDa told me they over stayed, one of them for almost a month, and got back to Taiwan the same year without any problems. So I figured, even if they where just lucky, that the authorities will turn a blind eye on it… I guess I was wrong?
Well I wait for a few more responses, but if the tone stays this grave, I won’t take a chance and will leave a week earlier for Bangkok. Which sucks, because I was planning a 5 day trip to Sun Moon Lake and Ali Shan, but well, I figure that can wait for the next trip.
Oh yes, one more thing, isn’t there some offical statement/regulation concerning overstays, that states the specific fines and consequences of an overstay in relation to the days one overstays, that I could acess online or somewhere in the city?
Really, dude/ess, if you are concerned about coming back to Taiwan, don’t take any chances. It’s relatively painless and not too expensive to do a visa run before yours expires. Don’t even overstay for one day.
It’s easy to pay the fine at the airport but you will never erase the black mark on your name to Taiwan officials.
You won’t be allowed a visa-exempt entry or landing visa. You will still be able to get a visa from a visa office but they will scrutinize you more.
You won’t get through immigration as fast as you used to because they will scrutinize you. Just one overstay stamp on my passport caused me a 20 minute delay when coming back to Keelung from a cruise into Japanese waters and we hadn’t even landed in Japan. All my in-laws had to wait for me while they sent my passport to an upstairs office for a thorough checking. The stamp on your passport and red light on your computer file will cause you delays and embarrassment for years to come. :aiyo:
Also, remember it won’t just affect you in Taiwan. Immigration officials in other countries will also see you as a potential overstay risk by the stamp in your passport.
[quote=“fangshi”]
I am just confused, because several people at Shi-Da told me they over stayed, one of them for almost a month, and got back to Taiwan the same year without any problems. So I figured, even if they where just lucky, that the authorities will turn a blind eye on it… I guess I was wrong?[/quote]
Well, there is your mistake…don’t listen to the goofs at Shi-Da
Sure, there is a chance that you could run into an immigration official who is having a good day. There is also a chance that you could run into one who is having a bad day or is just a hard ass and not let you through at all. The law says they can ban you for it. I would NOT take that risk. And remember, immigration has the right to refuse anyone entry at any time and without reason.
A friend of mine was barred from entering for overstaying 10 days. She was a sweet girl, had all of her stuff here, etc…they didn’t even let her in to collect her things and someone had to ship her things (the ones that could be shipped). She told me in an email how absolutely livid and mean the immigration supervisor was-and completely unsympathetic to her situation. You want to take the chance of running into that guy?
[quote=“fangshi”]Alright, guys you are scarring the shit out of me right now. LOL. I defintely want to come back here, I fall in love with island and I plan to move here in 3 years so I don’t want any unnessecary trouble later on.
I am just confused, because several people at Shi-Da told me they over stayed, one of them for almost a month, and got back to Taiwan the same year without any problems. So I figured, even if they where just lucky, that the authorities will turn a blind eye on it… I guess I was wrong?
Well I wait for a few more responses, but if the tone stays this grave, I won’t take a chance and will leave a week earlier for Bangkok. Which sucks, because I was planning a 5 day trip to Sun Moon Lake and Ali Shan, but well, I figure that can wait for the next trip.
Oh yes, one more thing, isn’t there some offical statement/regulation concerning overstays, that states the specific fines and consequences of an overstay in relation to the days one overstays, that I could acess online or somewhere in the city?[/quote]
I would just try going to immigration with your plane ticket and talk to another officer. Tell the officer your situation and what you can do about it. Rules here are not written in stone. You just need to find one person who is willing to help you out.
[quote=“Charlie Phillips”]It’s easy to pay the fine at the airport but you will never erase the black mark on your name to Taiwan officials.
You won’t be allowed a visa-exempt entry or landing visa. You will still be able to get a visa from a visa office but they will scrutinize you more.
You won’t get through immigration as fast as you used to because they will scrutinize you. Just one overstay stamp on my passport caused me a 20 minute delay when coming back to Keelung (Jilong) from a cruise into Japanese waters and we hadn’t even landed in Japan. All my in-laws had to wait for me while they sent my passport to an upstairs office for a thorough checking. The stamp on your passport and red light on your computer file will cause you delays and embarrassment for years to come. :aiyo:
Also, remember it won’t just affect you in Taiwan. Immigration officials in other countries will also see you as a potential overstay risk by the stamp in your passport.[/quote]
This is some of the stupidest things I have heard. I agree that Taiwanese officials will know forever but as for other countries you just need to get a new passport and then no one outside of Taiwan will every know.
[quote=“steelersman”][quote=“Charlie Phillips”]It’s easy to pay the fine at the airport but you will never erase the black mark on your name to Taiwan officials.
You won’t be allowed a visa-exempt entry or landing visa. You will still be able to get a visa from a visa office but they will scrutinize you more.
You won’t get through immigration as fast as you used to because they will scrutinize you. Just one overstay stamp on my passport caused me a 20 minute delay when coming back to Keelung (Jilong) (Jilong) from a cruise into Japanese waters and we hadn’t even landed in Japan. All my in-laws had to wait for me while they sent my passport to an upstairs office for a thorough checking. The stamp on your passport and red light on your computer file will cause you delays and embarrassment for years to come. :aiyo:
Also, remember it won’t just affect you in Taiwan. Immigration officials in other countries will also see you as a potential overstay risk by the stamp in your passport.[/quote]
This is some of the stupidest things I have heard. I agree that Taiwanese officials will know forever but as for other countries you just need to get a new passport and then no one outside of Taiwan will every know.[/quote]
I don’t think that response was stupid at all. It IS stupid to think you can get a new passport just because you want one. And sure, if you want to lie to your own country and say you lost your it or wait until it expires, it may not be visible to other countries…but why have the mark until you get another passport? Plus, in other countries, you will be asked if you have ever overstayed anywhere. What if they do decide to check? With all of the chips in most passports now, are you really so sure that no other country will know? The fact that Taiwan will always know is a good enough reason to not overstay.
The only thing that is stupid is giving the OP any advice that would even hint that overstaying is a good idea-it’s not. Nothing good can come from overstaying. The OP is hoping nothing bad will come of it, and maybe it won’t…but we can all be 100% sure that nothing good will come of it.
[quote=“suiyuan31”][quote=“steelersman”][quote=“Charlie Phillips”]It’s easy to pay the fine at the airport but you will never erase the black mark on your name to Taiwan officials.
You won’t be allowed a visa-exempt entry or landing visa. You will still be able to get a visa from a visa office but they will scrutinize you more.
You won’t get through immigration as fast as you used to because they will scrutinize you. Just one overstay stamp on my passport caused me a 20 minute delay when coming back to Keelung (Jilong) (Jilong) (Jilong) from a cruise into Japanese waters and we hadn’t even landed in Japan. All my in-laws had to wait for me while they sent my passport to an upstairs office for a thorough checking. The stamp on your passport and red light on your computer file will cause you delays and embarrassment for years to come. :aiyo:
Also, remember it won’t just affect you in Taiwan. Immigration officials in other countries will also see you as a potential overstay risk by the stamp in your passport.[/quote]
This is some of the stupidest things I have heard. I agree that Taiwanese officials will know forever but as for other countries you just need to get a new passport and then no one outside of Taiwan will every know.[/quote]
I don’t think that response was stupid at all. It IS stupid to think you can get a new passport just because you want one. And sure, if you want to lie to your own country and say you lost your it or wait until it expires, it may not be visible to other countries…but why have the mark until you get another passport? Plus, in other countries, you will be asked if you have ever overstayed anywhere. What if they do decide to check? With all of the chips in most passports now, are you really so sure that no other country will know? The fact that Taiwan will always know is a good enough reason to not overstay.
The only thing that is stupid is giving the OP any advice that would even hint that overstaying is a good idea-it’s not. Nothing good can come from overstaying. The OP is hoping nothing bad will come of it, and maybe it won’t…but we can all be 100% sure that nothing good will come of it.[/quote]
Did my post anywhere implying that overstaying was a good thing?
Anyways it is only 4000-5000NT to Manila and back.
[quote=“steelersman”][quote=“suiyuan31”][quote=“steelersman”][quote=“Charlie Phillips”]It’s easy to pay the fine at the airport but you will never erase the black mark on your name to Taiwan officials.
You won’t be allowed a visa-exempt entry or landing visa. You will still be able to get a visa from a visa office but they will scrutinize you more.
You won’t get through immigration as fast as you used to because they will scrutinize you. Just one overstay stamp on my passport caused me a 20 minute delay when coming back to Keelung (Jilong) (Jilong) (Jilong) (Jilong) from a cruise into Japanese waters and we hadn’t even landed in Japan. All my in-laws had to wait for me while they sent my passport to an upstairs office for a thorough checking. The stamp on your passport and red light on your computer file will cause you delays and embarrassment for years to come. :aiyo:
Also, remember it won’t just affect you in Taiwan. Immigration officials in other countries will also see you as a potential overstay risk by the stamp in your passport.[/quote]
This is some of the stupidest things I have heard. I agree that Taiwanese officials will know forever but as for other countries you just need to get a new passport and then no one outside of Taiwan will every know.[/quote]
I don’t think that response was stupid at all. It IS stupid to think you can get a new passport just because you want one. And sure, if you want to lie to your own country and say you lost your it or wait until it expires, it may not be visible to other countries…but why have the mark until you get another passport? Plus, in other countries, you will be asked if you have ever overstayed anywhere. What if they do decide to check? With all of the chips in most passports now, are you really so sure that no other country will know? The fact that Taiwan will always know is a good enough reason to not overstay.
The only thing that is stupid is giving the OP any advice that would even hint that overstaying is a good idea-it’s not. Nothing good can come from overstaying. The OP is hoping nothing bad will come of it, and maybe it won’t…but we can all be 100% sure that nothing good will come of it.[/quote]
Did my post anywhere implying that overstaying was a good thing?
Anyways it is only 4000-5000NT to Manila and back.[/quote]
Nope, nor did I imply that you said it was a good thing. In fact, I think I said we can all agree that it is not a good thing. It’s just that stating the mark on your passport might effect your entry into other countries is far from one of the stupidest things I have ever read
But, and a very big 
