Please excuse me if these questions have been answered before. I wasn’t able to find them. I have three questions.
If a married couple (one Taiwanese/one foreigner) are coming to Taiwan to live, does the foreigner still need an outbound plane ticket?
I was told in no uncertain terms that an ARC holder cannot get a drivers lisence for a scooter in their first year in Taiwan. They have to wait until they’ve had an ARC for more than 1 year to apply for a drivers lisence. Is the rule the same for JFRV holders?
I read before on the site that a person with a JFRV visa can legally sell sausages in the street. I would imagine that sausage salesmen need a lisence to sell street sausages, right? I would also imagine that most of those people you see selling sausages, etc… in Ximen do not have a lisence. Why else would they run away like maniacs when the police come? My question is; what kind of fine do you think those people get? Also, have you guys ever seen that Middle Eastern guy selling shawarmas in Ximen? He’s been doing it for years, and runs away like everyone else when the police come, so I’m assuming that he doesn’t have a lisence either. I’ve heard from a friend that he is married to a Taiwanese girl and lives in Ximen. I’m assuming he’s on a JFRV or an APRC. So, I guess my real question is; what happens when the police catch a foreigner on a JFRV or APRC selling illegal street sausages? The reason I want to know is because I’m interested in doing so and want to know the ramifications of being caught by the fuzz.
The statement that someone with a JFRV can legally sell sausages in the street is more of a metaphor, meaning that you can do any work that Taiwanese citizens can legally do.
People often sell stuff on the street without a permit, and they pack up their stuff and scarper when the assigned lookouts inform them that the cops are coming. The punishment is a fine.
Chris: Do you have any idea how big the fine is, and if it gets incrementally larger over time (i.e.) if you get caught more than once?
Zebigbos22: So I guess those are the only two options right? Resident visa and tourist visa? I thought maybe there was some kind of married to a Taiwanese and moving to Taiwan kind of visa. It seems silly to have to fake a exit from the country when the two people plan to stay. And I’m sure the Taiwanese government doesn’t care if you’re staying or not. I thought maybe there was some kind of, “Okay, you’re moving to the country so there’s no need for an outbound plane ticket” kind of visa. No eh?
Chris: Do you have any idea how big the fine is, and if it gets incrementally larger over time (i.e.) if you get caught more than once?
Zebigbos22: So I guess those are the only two options right? Resident visa and tourist visa? I thought maybe there was some kind of married to a Taiwanese and moving to Taiwan kind of visa. It seems silly to have to fake a exit from the country when the two people plan to stay. And I’m sure the Taiwanese government doesn’t care if you’re staying or not. I thought maybe there was some kind of, “Okay, you’re moving to the country so there’s no need for an outbound plane ticket” kind of visa. No eh?
Thanks again.[/quote]
I assume you are outside the country? If so just call the nearest TECO and they can give you the correct information. Altenatively you can contact the national immigration agency in TW.
If you are already married, you can get a tourist visa then transform it in Taiwan into resident visa, it would be easier and cheaper than getting your resident visa in your country of origin.
if you are not yet married, only solution is tourist visa.
ZeBigBos22: So I guess it’s really no different than getting an ARC. You get a tourist visa in your home country and then get it transferred into an ARC when you arrive in Taiwan and find work. The only difference being that when I get to Taiwan I will be applying for a JFRV instead of an ARC and I won’t need a school to sponsor my visa. Correct?
If you have valid reasons of residency (work, long term studies, taiwanese spouse…), you will be granted a resident visa. When you get your resident visa, you have to apply for an ARC.
Applying for resident visa can be done outside of Taiwan, but this would be more time consumming and more expensive than doing it in Taiwan (for example for the health exam). So I recommend doing it in Taiwan. But to do so, you will have to enter in Taiwan with a visa, so to apply for a tourist visa, first outside of Taiwan, then enter Taiwan, then change to resident visa, then apply for the ARC.
With an JFRV ARC, you can do almost any jobs (without the ones forbidden for foreigner to do), and your employer don’t need to apply for a working permit for you.
There is no resident visa any more. Your arc is your visa, re entry permit and visa in one.
Therefore you apply for your arc directly. You do not change your tourist visa into a resident visa. You apply with the relevant documents and you passport with the tourist visa.
[quote=“bigduke6”]Another correction.
There is no resident visa any more.[/quote]
Since when? And where in Taiwan?
Quite recently i had to apply for a resident visa at the office on the 6th floor (ministry of the exterior/ ministry of foreign affairs) which took 10 days, and THEN i had to go to the office on the 5th floor (immigration) to apply for the ARC - this was in Hualien; is Taipei perhaps different?
Can you point us to a government website where the new procedure you mention has been written up?
:thanks:
Went through the procedure as described in Kaohsiung. This was last year.
Just took the relevant documents and passport to immigration. They took a photocopy of my passport and i left with it. Three weeks later arc arrived in the post.
Been out of the country and back a few times no issues.
Are you married to a local?