I need your advice. I am a U.S. citizen who has been teaching at a cram school since June of last year. My ARC is valid until June 15 of 2017. There are things that have come up back home - and I hit a wall with teaching - so I left my teaching job on Monday. Yes - broke the contract. Please no judgements on that I’m simply trying to figure the best thing going forward.
I need to stay here until early May to wrap things up - finish out my lease - and do some final travels. In my haste I already booked a 2 day trip to Hong Kong next week. My plan was to show my passport on my way back in and get a 90 visa free visitor stamp and be good to go.
However I did further research and realize my ARC may not be cancelled by then and I’ve read that if that’s the case that I would not be allowed in on the 90 visa free entry but with the ARC so the trip to Hong Kong would be pointless. I have 24 hours to cancel it for a full refund.
I just called the National Immigration Agency and spoke to them. They said if I come in with my passport, ARC card and contract termination letter they will give me a 6 month ARC extension. They said I don’t even have to leave and this will help me wrap everything up over the next 2 months.
Does this sound right? Should I cancel the visa run and go to immigration tomorrow? What if I can’t get my contract cancellation letter by tomorrow? What if I go in and someone else tells me they won’t extend?
Foreign white collar professionals also now have up to six months of extended residency to seek new employment in Taiwan after a job ends. Regulations § 22. The foreign professional must apply for extension of residence to seek new employment before his or her ARC expires or is cancelled. During this period, the foreign professional cannot work until her new employer has obtained a work permit for her.
Visa Runs are required to extend your visitor/Tourist/landing Visas (the stage where you haven’t been able to obtain an ARC and your visa is expiring soon). If you already do have a valid ARC, then just rush to the nearest NIA office, give them a written statement mentioning why you need the extension (just a mere formality, no one’s gonna read) and you will get a new ARC , which will be valid for 6 month from the issuing date.
The only quirk here, This ARC even though is valid and lets you live freely in Taiwan, doesn’t allow you to work (you can, but would be illegal). If you do wanna work again, find a new employer, get your work permit made and then apply a new ARC using the work permit. The NIA will cancel your current temporary ARC and issue a new one.
Correct, but let’s try to remember a visa exempt entry is not a “landing visa”.
OP, I hope you quit your job on good terms with your employer. Make sure you have that contract termination letter from your employer when you go to the NIA.
If your employer refused to accept your resignation, but you have a valid reason for it (there are some threads on that), write a formal resignation letter if you haven’t already, and if that’s not good enough for the NIA, ask the labor department for help.
