Is there really no way for me to stay longer in Taiwan

I would like to ask if there is really no way for me to stay longer in Taiwan? I’m the husband of a Taiwanese wife and have a Taiwanese daughter. As international flights in Thailand are starting on 1 July 2020 I won’t be able to extend my stay anymore. Of course Thai-based airlines don’t start flying internationally before 1 September 2020 but from tomorrow on it will be able to fly to Thailand on numerous non-Thai-based airlines. I’m planning to relocate to Thailand with my family so as Thailand allows family members of Thai citizens to fly to Thailand I could go to Thailand with my Taiwanese wife but for my daughter it would be difficult to prove that she’s our daughter unless she would have a Thai passport. Her Thai passport still takes several months to apply. Even if I could manage to bring my daughter to Thailand applying for a Thai passport for her within Thailand would be impossible so I would have to apply for her Thai passport in Taiwan anyway. The local NIA has refused to convert my visitor visa which is a visa label not just a visa-exempt stamp into a resident visa based on marriage as they don’t accept correctly legalized name change documents legalized by the Thai ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Taiwanese embassy (TECO) in Bangkok.

So in August I’m planning to go to Hawaii (or to Palau if flights are restarting until then) and apply for a resident visa at the TECO in Honolulu. My US visa is valid until 2028 so no problem going to Hawaii for me at all. Also unlike in Thailand there is no quarantine in Hawaii but there is still quarantine when going back to Taiwan. That’s why I want to go to Hawaii rather than going back to Thailand. I know that you can always apply for a resident visa based on marriage but they can say that they can’t issue a resident visa but they issue a visitor visa instead. However due to the current coronavirus pandemic I’m not sure if I could go back to Taiwan in order to finish my daughter’s Thai passport application as the TECO can decide if they let me go back to Taiwan or not. You know that staying together with my family is a human right and Taiwan has many visa options for people married to Taiwanese nationals so it seems that Taiwan is supporting this human right in general also. But in my case it seems that Taiwanese authorities don’t take this human right seriously.

So is there any way I could avoid to do a visa run and is there a chance that they won’t issue me a visa/special entry permit in order to go back to Taiwan? I’ve contacted several visa agencies in Taiwan already and they either wrote that they are not able to help or didn’t reply my emails at all. So maybe all visa agencies in Taiwan are useless. Or is there any visa agency much better than all others which I still didn’t contact yet? I’m only asking for help as I don’t want to be separated from my family and please don’t ask how I could register my marriage under my old name as it happened already and it’s digressing from the topic. The topic is how to avoid a visa run for me and and if a visa run is unavoidable if there is a chance that the TECO won’t issue me a new visa for going back to Taiwan.

Why haven’t you got a JFRV?

He said why.

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Hmm. Thats an interesting problem. Cant help much but I would strongly recomend not leaving Taiwan till things are settled with passports. At least your daughters.

Have you gone.in and rattled cages at immigration showing proof of your marriage and daughter etc?

Visa agencies are useless. Their purpose is for people too busy, too lazy or out of the area and cannot mail paperwork. They have no legal authority and have no interest in helping. Their job is to help you put things in a pile and go to the post office. You likely need a lawyer if yelling at immigration proves imposible.

best bet: raise hell in Bangkok TECO.
or certify your previous name legal document with TECO Bkk.

Raising hell in any TECO doesn’t work. They have carte Blanche on any individual visa application.

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the 180 day extension applies to people who are married does it not?

Only if there is no flight to home country.

@ben1983, is your marriage already registered in Thailand with your current name? If not yet, it might cause a problem to get your special and/or resident visa to come back to Taiwan.

You can apply for a 30 day special extension once you reach the 180 limit. You should apply 14 days before hand, and write your application in bullet form with your reasons why. You have to go to the NIA with a letter, with your evidence to backup your claims, and your passport one standard application form. This is a special rule during the pandemic, so take advantage while you can. You can keep applying once you are down to 14 days remaining, so long as the rule is active. It seems like they will continue this until general travel has been unrestrictedly opened to most countries.

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I don’t believe this is true. Hawaii is notably instituting quarantine for all visitors, angering some (stupid) American travelers from the mainland.

According to the tourism authority website, they recently lifted their quarantine for travelers moving around the HI islands, but it is still required for incoming travelers. This is set to expire Aug 1st, when they will allow a negative covid-19 test in lieu of quarantine.

https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/news/alerts/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/

Maybe I am wrong, but I wanted to warn you before you base your decisions on likely false information.

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Who are eligible for the special extension? If I have a work permit for a six-month work contract (July-Jan 2021) but I can’t “convert” my current visa (expires in mid-July) into a resident visa/ARC in Taiwan… can I apply for the special extension? So that I won’t have to return to my home country, quarantine for 14 days, apply for a visa, come back, and then quarantine for another 14 days?

Here is the announcement on the special visa. In Chinese, but google translate may do ok work.

https://www.moi.gov.tw/chi/chi_news/news_detail.aspx?src=news&sn=18060&type_code=01

The 1st is for anyone when there is no flight to their home country.

After some discussions with my wife again she told me that she is guaranteeing me that she knows how I can convert my visitor visa into a resident visa based on marriage. She claims that after my daughter got her Thai passport I could use her Thai passport as a proof of my name change and thus get a resident visa. We will apply for her Thai passport later this July in the Thailand Trade and Economic Office (TTEO) in Taipei. My wife is claiming that my daughter can get her Thai passport now due to the coronavirus pandemic even though the usual practice would be that they only issue you a Thai birth certificate in the TTEO and then you would have to go Thailand together with your child and apply for a Thai passport for your child within Thailand.

So all I can do is to see and wait if my wife is right or not otherwise I think that going to Hawaii in August would be the best option for me. By the way Hawaii is indeed reopening in August. http://simpleflying.com/hawaii-set-to-reopen

I made a scene in a Philippine TECO once due to their stupidity and they got the main consulate rep to speak with me personally and issue the visa. But that was 8 years ago.YMMV. :slight_smile: Likely won’t work in this situation

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Do you know if it’s possible to go to BOCA and apply for this? Or has it got to be NIA?

You have to go to the NIA. Don’t worry, they are quite helpful.

Got it. Is this the correct place?

No. 15, Guangzhou Street, Zhongzheng District

臺北市中正區廣州街15號

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Yea that’s it thanks. I’m gonna apply this week for an extension due to health reasons.

Do you have to apply 14 days before your visa expires? My visa expires on July 20th and I’m waiting for my work permit (it was delayed because my employer made a mistake on the application)…