Hi, maybe someone can answer this and provide me with a Chinese link.
My school finally received the work permit for me, with this I can now apply for an ARC. Today I was at southern MOFA and the lady told me I first need to change my Visa Excempt free into a visitor visa, and then afterwards I can change that visitor visa into a work based ARC. According to https://www.boca.gov.tw/cp-149-4486-7785a-2.html it should be possible to change it directly and going from Excempt to Visitor should be impossible (unless you are sick or other special circumstances that do not apply).
So either 1) I missunderstand something 2) the lady at MOFA was not very competent (like most Taiwanese) or 3) the English version of the Boca link is different from the Chinese one.
Would be really grateful if someone could enlighten me. Thank you
Slightly different circumstances to yours but I was also on a visa exempt when i got married to my Taiwanese GF. I had to fly to HK with all my paperwork and get a visitors visa and then had 2 weeks to convert it to ARC when back in Taiwan.
Lots of discussions and info on this site if you search and some good advice off other contributors.
Visa-exempt entry cannot be converted to visa-based stay, unless any of the following applies:
Foreign nationals entering the ROC on a visa exemption may only apply for conversion to a visitor visa within the permitted duration of stay at the Bureau of Consular Affairs or MOFA branch offices in the event of situations that prevent them from leaving the ROC, such as severe acute illness, natural disaster, or other force majeure reason. In addition, white-collar professionals who have obtained a work permit within their permitted duration of stay(Brunei, Philippines, Russia and Thailand are not included) may apply for a work visa together with their spouse and minors (under age 20) who entered the ROC at the same time.
Applicants who enter the R.O.C. (Taiwan) without a visa and have obtained a work permit issued by competent authorities of the R.O.C. (Taiwan) may apply to the Bureau of Consular Affairs or any of its Central, Southwestern, Southern, or Eastern Taiwan Offices for an extendable Visitor Visa. Subsequently and with the extendable Visitor Visa, the applicants must apply to the National Immigration Agency for an Alien Resident Certificate