Curious if anyone knows the process here. Heard some stories about an expat before in Taiwan and thought some Forumosans may know.
Story goes that the expat had / caused an accident on his scooter (unlicensed driver), failed or ignored to pay the fines or damages (not sure how much). Expat arrested, had to serve sentence in jail / detention center, served the time and then got deported.
Does this sound correct? Does deportation sound correct for such an offence or is deportation always the case if an expat has served time in jail? Sounds harsh but maybe that’s just due procedure.
I can assure you if the police/government want you gone, they’ll make you gone. Pretty much almost anything is a deportable offence. I would say fine evasion is pretty high.
They might not even resort to deportation. You’ll just find out when you go to renew your ARC and it’s rejected.
That makes sense but is this what actually happens? And since Permanent Residents would have “right of abode”, this approach would not work for them since their ARC’s do not expire, i.e., do not require renewal
You have to get a new one each time your passport is renewed. They hand you a new ARC and give you back your old one with the corner cut out voiding it. They could potentially not renew it. They’ve revoked the citizenship of some new immigrants for various offenses before.
But I would not play around…
Camera fines and tickets would automatically go to the owner of the vehicle which is usually a citizen family member. You will hurt them.
Thank heaven, I have not caused damage or injury due to my traffic mistakes . But I’ve been the victim of a few accidents.
The police set up an arbitration meeting between the two parties. They determine what percent of the accident is each person’s fault and leave you to argue the details. Once you reach an agreement, the police witness the payment and sign off on it. If a party refuses to pay or feels the demands are excessive, it goes into the court system.
I’d assume failure to pay fines or court judgements could lead to more fines or perhaps imprisonment first. No one wants to go there. Fight your fines or damages in court but… Don’t break the law.
Unlicensed/Licensed…
I’ve been here a very very long time and am loosing respect for the term “licensed” in driving and various other professions.
Yes, Licensed means you are likely bonded and insured but does it make you smarter or better.
Taiwan has its own “legal system” in society. I was refreshed at being able to do certain activities that were considered normal back in the seventies in the US that I could not do with my students when I grew up due to legal concerns (fear of lawsuits). Don’t turn Taiwan into a litigious hell hole… Rant over…
Kids here drive their u
scooters unlicensed to and from driving school and tests. Bad? I’ve counted a group of ten at my last visit. (Kid in driving school now… Didn’t look forward to this)
If you’re the victim of a traffic accident and unlicensed* you should receive damages and if you caused the accident, you will pay.
Actual experience. I was the victim. I got tickets for having the wrong license. I got damages plus a 4k fine for having the wrong license (car+ 50cc motorcycle license).
The kid who hit me was unlicensed, motorcycle insured, paid the damages, got a really large fine and was sentenced to drivers Ed.
After I recovered from my injuries 6 months later, I “illegally” drove until I got my passed the test two months later (failed once).
I would never considered driving a car unlicensed, mainly due to liability…
The test itself, at least when I took it, didn’t prepare me for Taiwanese Driving.
Maybe, it better now…
