Is there one ? Where is it ? I need a new passport and some other stuff done. TIA.
All I could find was the ITI Ireland (Institute for Trade & Investment of Ireland) Rm. 7B-09 TWTC Bldg. 5 Hsinyi Road Sec. 5 725-1691, but I think this is for Northern Ireland, not the republic. They could probably point you in the right direction though.
The ITI is indeed Ireland, I expect the BTCO covers N.I.
idaireland.com/theida/offices_asia.asp
Contact: Corina Tsai
Email: idaireland@ida.ie
Or there’s always Carnegies! ;0
[quote]The ITI is indeed Ireland, I expect the BTCO covers N.I.
[/quote]
Well duh! Where’s an embarrassed emoticon when I need one!
If you need an Irish passport, you need to apply through the Chinese embasy in Beijing I believe, don’t think the trade office here can do that for you, should be able to point you in the right direction though. I think they can only issue you with a handwritten passport though, better check, as some countries may not accept that. If you’re not in a hurry, then apply in Ireland.
Can’t you just bribe’em with a bottle of whiskey? Isn’t that the traditional Irish way when you need things done?
I suspect that SuperS54 is right and you can’t get your new passport made here. I got my new passport (U.K.) through the BTCO but they still had to send all the documents off to Hong Kong to get it done.
A few addresses I came across;
Embassy of Ireland in Tokyo;
embassy-avenue.jp/ireland/index_eng.html
Embassy of Ireland in Beijing, China - No. 3, Ri Tan Dong Lu, Beijing, China. Tel: (86 10) 6532 2691/2914. Fax: (86 10) 6532 68 57. E-mail: beijing@iveagh.irlgov.ie
Honorary Consulate of Ireland in Hong Kong - 6 Floor, Chung Nam Building, 1 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2527 48 97. Fax: (852) 2520 1833.
I am puzzled as to why the Irish trade office doesn’t promote English learning in Ireland. They weren’t promoting it 10 years ago and they still aren’t now. Many Europeans choose Ireland over the UK as a great place to learn English. Aren’t the people at the Irish trade office aware of the great untapped market for Taiwanese English learners?
Last number I saw had 30,000 plus mainland Chinese in Ireland, mostly English students from what I remember. In developing strong links with China, Taiwan has inevitably suffered. I’m not sure what the visa restriction are for Taiwanese students, most of the mainlanders seemed to be working part time. Don’t know if encouraging student and tourist applications is part of the trade office’s mandate either.
Ireland has got its head up Beijing’s ass polishing it for trade and exchanges etc. It zero connections with Taiwan apart from the trade office. Shame on you Ireland, licking commy butt!!!
The Taiwan office might as well hire a head of cabbage and put the cabbage at its desk, with an answering machine saying, “The cabbage says phone beijing” ( Not really their fault in the trade office their hands are tied.)
On dealing with matters related to passports etc, they will not help you but direct you to the Bejing or Shanghai Consulates. Then the fun starts when you have to pay for the appication form, eventhough there is no methodlogy beyond sending money to pay for these.
Secondly the documents they send from China, proabily may get some strange looks and you may end up loads of questions since they are handwritten in ink and crayons
I rang the IDA (I think it was). Yeah, you’re supposed to send your application to Beijing. The government appears to be bending over backwards to suck Beijing’s cock. A lovely picture.
Has anyone actually renewed an Irish passport in Taiwan ? Am I actually going to have to suffer the indignity of admitting to my employers that my government is so desperate for a slice of mainland schlong that I’m going to have to leave the country to get a new passport ?! Surely to God…
I believe you can get a new passport from Beijing using the phone/fax/post, I don’t think you have to actually go to Beijing…to the best of my knowledge you can also send it back to Ireland and have them send a new one to you, just call either the passport office in Dublin or Beijing and they’ll tell you. As to the political aspects, what countries actually have full diplomatic ties here? Can you get an American or British passport in Taiwan?
The BTCO have to send a UK passport renewal off to Hong Kong (or wherever). Think it’s only Sao Tome & Principe passport holders that can can renew in Taiwan… ;0
In fact, it’s not a problem at all to get a new British passport through BTCO – I’ve had to do it twice during my 18 years here, most recently just a few months ago. It’s one of the few services they provide for British citizens, and they’re actually quite efficient about it. Because they have to send the application to Hong Kong, it takes a bit longer than if they could do it themselves on the spot, and one has to pay a modest fee for having it sent to and from HK, but it’s a very simple and straightforward process, and is no more troublesome for the applicant than if one were applying for it anywhere else.
I have a British passport, but I’d need to apply for a new work permit, and possibly the tax office may regard me as a new arrival and take the 20% witholding tax. The idea of sending my passport to the Irish Embassy in Beijing is just too risky - you are completely fucked if it gets lost, and adding Irish, Chinese, and Taiwanese bureacracy together is a scary thought.