Coming to Taiwan from the mainland

Hi,

I am a US citizen working for a Taiwanese company in Shanghai, and I will be transferring to the Taipei office in December 2006.

My boss is willing to do whatever is neccessary to get me a work visa, although he’s never brought in a foreigner from the PRC mainland so he’s not too sure about the procedure.

I want to make the move to Taiwan and get the visa taken care of as cheaply and quickly as possible (i.e. I’d like to be able to go from Shanghai straight to Taipei and stay there, without having to go back to the States or make a visa run to HK.)

Does anyone have any experience with this kind of situation? I know it’s a bit unusual.

Cheers

Lennet

Unless you were born on the mainland your situation is the same as any other person wishing to come to Taiwan. I don’t understand what’s unusual.

Well, you’d at least have to make a transit through Hong Kong since there’s no direct flights. I don’t think there’s any unusual requirements in your case though. You might need to stop in Hong Kong to get a resident visa, but see what your company says first.

[quote=“ldaigle”]Hi,

I am a US citizen working for a Taiwanese company in Shanghai, and I will be transferring to the Taipei office in December.

My boss is willing to do whatever is neccessary to get me a work visa, although he’s never brought in a forigner from the mainland so he’s not too sure about the procedure.

I want to make the move to Taiwan and get the visa taken care of as cheaply and quickly as possible (i.e. I’d like to be able to go from Shanghai straight to Taipei and stay there, without having to go back to the states or make a visa run to HK.)

Does anyone have any experience with this kind of situation? I know it’s a bit unusual.

Cheers

Lennet[/quote]

The company should not have a problem getting you a work visa. There’s a possibility you might have to go to Hong Kong to get your residence visa, but the rules are changing all the time. If you do have to go to Hong Kong, perhaps you can have a layover there for a few days (because you most likely will pass through HK on the way to Taipei) to get the proper visa if your company informs you that that’s what you must do. That way you will save an extra trip to HK.

In any case, flights to HK are cheap and plentiful from here (except during Chinese New Year).

I am something of a newcomer here in Taiwan ( … 30 years in residence).

According to my recollection, there were times in the past when even having a record of your visits to the PRC in your passport (e.g. the presence of PRC visas, entry/exit stamps, etc.) would disqualify you from getting a visa to come to Taiwan … but to my knowledge those days are long past.

Hence, I would expect that here in Taiwan you will be treated just like any other US citizen.

Well considering there are no Taiwan pseudo-embassies in the mainland, you’re pretty much forced to make some sort of run. If you get all the paperwork you need for a resident visa beforehand (which should be the exact same for a foreigner coming from their home country), you could apply for it in HK same day. Arrive in HK in the early morning, apply and pay the express fee, pick it up in the afternoon, and fly out at night. You might as well do this since you’ll have to fly though HK to come to Taiwan anyway.

Thanks for the info, one of the things I was wondering was how long it would take to get a work visa in HK. Hours? Days? Weeks? If I can do it in one day then there should be no problems.

I guess the big difference is that there is no Taiwan consulate here in Shanghai, natch.

I wouldn’t mind spending a day or two poking around HK anyway.

Thanks again!

Lennet

You’d be well advised to avoid the HK visa office altogether. Although the Ministry of Making Things Up changes its mind from time to time, the general procedure is come to Taiwan on a tourist visa (extendable) which you pick up in HK, and then change it to a resident visa in Taiwan (the TR/A type visa). However, the HK visa office is notorious for making things up as they go along. Make sure your company is covering all costs including accommodation if you are thinking of applying for a resident visa BEFORE you enter Taiwan. It could take some time to do. It is possible, but unusual. You may get stuck in HK because the Hong Kong office is having a bad hair day and hotels in HK obviously aren’t cheap. Assuming you are 100% legit you could get your visa in another Asian city. If the company’s footing the bill then you’ll be all right in any case. It will also focus the minds of their HR people when you’re in a hotel in HK racking up a US$200 a night bill because some paperwork is not in order.

Some of the above advice is useful and some is not.

  1. There is no such thing as a work visa. There are visitor visas and resident visas.
  2. To ensure a smooth process, your employer should apply for a work permit before you come to Taiwan. (I mean at least two weeks beforehand).
  3. By presenting the work permit to a Taiwan representative office abroad (could be Hong Kong or any other - coming from Shanghai Hong Kong would be the most convenient for you), you can apply for and get a resident visa.
  4. There is no same-day service for a resident visa. You can get it on the afternoon of the next working day after you apply.
  5. Actually they give you a document that you exchange for a resident visa before you pass through immigration at your port of entry to Taiwan (most likely Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
  6. Having entered Taiwan with your resident visa, you can (must) apply to the police for an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) within a couple of weeks.
  7. The only possible hitch I can think of to the above is the issue of a medical certificate. You need a medical certificate to get a work permit. Normally this is done in Taiwan, after which you get your work permit and take it to a Taiwan representative office overseas to apply for your resident visa. Does anyone know whether the medical check-up can be done abroad?
  8. Please ignore any advice that you can exchange a visitor visa for a resident visa in Taiwan. Assume that any such advice is out of date until proven otherwise - unless you are the spouse or other dependant relative of an ROC citizen (or of a permanent resident?).

When did they stop giving same day service for resident visas in Hong Kong? Two years ago I got mine there on the same day.

No idea. You can get a visitor visa on the same day for an extra charge (50% more, I think), provided you apply early enough in the day.

Interesting. When did this change? So the practice of getting a work permit in Taiwan and changing from V to R visa on the strength of this has ceased?

If this is the case then the OP should ignore everything I wrote, as this is a sea change in policy. Ideally your company should be doing all this for you. Credibility means a lot in these cases and if your company goes to bat for you then it should be plain sailing.

Many thanks for all the advice. This stuff is looking to be even more complicated than the mainland visa process.

I wrote the Chung Hwa Travel Serivce (which as I understand is the defacto Taiwan consulate in HK?) and they sent me a list of the requirements for a resident visa, which included something from my company and some kind of approval from the Taiwan gvt.

I assume that as long as I have those things I’ll be ok. Once I’m in the country legally I trust that I can get all the other stuff done. And since my job and my boss are both legit, it shouldn’t be a problem. I really don’t mind hanging around in HK for a few days either, I’d like to see the city. But I don’t want to be there for weeks. Here’s hoping…

Thanks again,

Lennet