Full Year Scholarships -- be careful

My French friend got a full year scholarship to study Chinese in Taiwan from the Ministry of Education. He applied in France and this is his first overseas experience … and his first experience with R.O.C. visa excrement.

So of course he doesn’t get his ARC right away, but there’s a special stamp on his visa that says he’s waiting for a full year ARC.

OOPS! young and naive … he overstayed his temporary special visa with the special stamp. The police station said he has to do a visa run to Hong Kong.

But my French friend is the kind of person who argues with police. He got the director of the Chinese language center at NCKU to come argue with him and in the end he only [only?] has to pay a 6,000 NT fine …

Therefore … I conclude…

If you don’t apply for a visa beforehand and simply arrive at the airport, you can apply for a 2 week visitor’s visa.

My Japanese friend got a full year scholarship from an organization in Japan. His visa was already sorted out and he should have gotten the 60 visitor’s visa.

But the customs officials were stoned or something (hmmm…) and gave him a 2 week visa.

So he was a bit surprised when the at the foreign affairs office in Kaohsiung told him he overstayed his visa and had to return to Japan. Also, the was very rude, which is why she is a .

So my Japanese friend also decided to fight for his right, got the people from the language school to come down and fight for him. In the end, the office admitted it was a mistake and he could still apply for an ARC.

But anyway, he only wants to stay for six more months anyway - so he decided to just go back to Japan anyway and get a 60 day visa and extend it for six months. He says he’d rather do that than go back and deal with that and all the s at the foreign affairs office in Kaohsiung.

I have a six month scholarship, but maybe I’ll get another one, so here goes the bitchin’:

Why is it so easy to get an ARC and multiple entry visa through a private cram school, yet so difficult to get the same through an accredited national university?

After being a full time student for 8 months, I finally got my student ARC visa and all… AFTER already having been a student FOR 8 MONTHS…

The police officer checked “applying for multiple entry”. So I figured I could go home for Christmas. But the office in Kaohsiung didn’t give me the multiple entry… so when I get back to Taiwan, where I feel so welcome… I have to start all over again from scratch.

It is very interesting that when I used to work at an English cram school, I got a multiple entry visa and ARC IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. But on the other hand as a student at a government approved university Chinese language center who recently recieved a six month scholarship from the R.O.C. Ministry of Education, I have to check in at the police station every two months.

Earlier I had a few temper tantrums at Oriented because of visa difficulties but they were erased because I was a bit excessive, I guess. I’m now used to the visa alien treatment, though, and now I only vehemently loathe Taiwan for about thirty minutes.

Therefore, I conclude…