Meow's Immigration Adventures

OH, Oh, OH, what a day I have had.

I went down to the Consulate in Houston. Found out:

  1. Passport photos are too big (specifically, I must, “shrink my head”)
  2. I need a criminal background check (side note: I’ve never even had a speeding ticket)
  3. Medical Check (still) not needed

Ok, let me be clear. I don’t have a job at all waiting for me in Taiwan. My husband does and the “funny” thing is that he really isn’t having to do anything. His company got his paperwork together, faxed it ahead of time just to make sure everything was straight and then got the go-ahead to forward everything to Taipei so they could put as much of a rush on his work permit as possible. No med check, no criminal stuff, nada. “Special Handler” to be attentive to the permit. You’d think some of that special treatment would flow my way.

Well, apparently, I am the bald-headed stepchild.

Visa Lady: “Uh, everything look OK. Except you need criminal paper.”
Me: “Huh?”
Visa Lady: “Piece of paper saying…”
Me: “Saying that I’m not a criminal?”
Visa Lady: “Right.”
Me: “OK. What’s the piece of paper called? Where do I go to get it?”
Visa Lady: “Anywhere. Police station. Anywhere.”
Me: (hopeless and knowing full well that this isn’t going to get any better but smiling the whole time: “OK. Thanks.”

Many hours, phone calls and rejections later, I am planning on going to Police Headquarters to stand in line WITH THE REST OF THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT, get fingerprinted and have them run the check. I think. At a local station today, I had some guy lick his lips at me. :raspberry: Somebody has GOT to be filming this.

On a high note: the “Visa Lady”, my new friend, “Jenny,” mentioned again that this no medical exam needed policy is “very new” but very true. Another woman, “Document Lady” (she was behind the window marked “Document”) ran over and said, “Taiwan is still telling you it is needed? That is strange. That is wrong.” So, still coming from the same source but reiterated.

Yeah, I’ve got to ask them about being able to apply for a multiple entry thingy. I checked it on the application but I suppose I shouldn’t put too much stock in that.

Any words of advice about going to Police Headquarters tomorrow? I already got a manicure to make sure my hands look good for the fingerprints, so don’t bother including that one. What kind of demeanor should I have when I’m standing in line with my fellow rebels? Should I wear leather? Should I lick my lips at someone else BEFORE they do it to me?

You don’t need a multiple entry resident visa. What happens is that you get a single entry resident visa. When you arrive in Taiwan it will be stamped ‘USED’. Within 15 days you go to the foreign affairs police to apply for your ARC. When your ARC is approved they will place a Re-Entry Permit in your passport. Once you have the Re-Entry permit you can come and go as a resident as often as you want.

Fingerprints are not necessarily needed. What you need is a paper from some law enforcement agency saying that you don’t have a criminal record. Every agency has different rules on what is required to get such a paper (sometimes there are various levels of checks available depending on what purpose the report is for). When I got mine from the Santa Clara City Police Department I just had to show an ID, and they returned a form letter to me a few minutes later saying that I had no known criminal record. Unless someone here has gone through this in the Houston area already, you’ll be the first one to post here what is required there.

Just spoke to someone at HPD. No fingerprints needed this time but did you know that if you’ve been arrested by the Sheriff’s Dept. it won’t show up on a criminal history report that comes out of the Police Dept.? Nice little loophole. Being the very square citizen that I am, I have no clue as to how it all works…but I’m learning

I did this in Houston a couple years ago. The thought it odd that I’d ask for it, as I didn’t live in Houston and they couldn’t understand what it might be for, but for a fee–I don’t remember how much, but it wasn’t much–I got a document that said I had no criminal record in Houston. That was fine.

See, it doesn’t make sense. It’s not suposed to. The Taiwanese just need a paper. They can’t help it. So, just get them their paper and don’t try to understand it. The trying to understand is what makes it hard.

You’re right. I got my piece of paper today for $9. I then faxed the info to the Consulate on exactly how to get the piece of paper so they could share it with future applicants and save them some time.This reminds me of going to school in Belgium yrs. ago. Same thing only I kept being told, “It’s not possible.” Nothing was possible there but everything was “necessary”. For Taiwan, I knew I’d have to run all over the place getting the pieces of paper, I just thought they’d be able to provide solid details of what was needed and how to get it all as opposed to the misinformation and no clue as to the best way to assemble it. I have to pay 15 to "authenticate" my already authenticated marriage license and all of my kids' birth certificates. They told me I had to get it from the state of issue with the raised seal and all of that so that it would be authentic. They are now charging me more to call someone to “authenticate” my already authentic documents. Must have something to do with maintaining “full employment” and good ol’ generation of funds…

I had my Mariage license authenticated in Houston, too. I was married in Arkansas. That didn’t matter. Besides that, I was already marreid in Taiwan, which also didn’t matter, but never mind. Some guy at the Houston TECO office, who’d never been to either ceramony, did the authentication, and on more than one occasion. That is, they once again authenticated the same marriage license that they’d previously authenticated. They just can’t help it. Don’t try to understand.

But be sure to hand them a copy of the license, or birth certificates, so that they can stamp that, and not the origional, as my husband just handed the original over and now it has a nice BIG authentication stamp on it.

Get this…just got an email from our Taiwan “contact” that the marriage license and birth certificates have to be authenticated in Taiwan even if they have already been authenticated at the Consulate Office in Houston. I am trying not to “have to understand” but my first thought was, “If I have a resident visa already approved when I land in Taiwan, I couldn’t have gotten the damned thing without having my already authentic licenses ‘authenticated’ again so WHY on earth does the Consulate in Taipei need to ‘authenticate’ twice authenticated documents from someone who already has a resident visa!!!” I couldn’t help myself but you’re right, I have to stop trying to make sense of it all.

ALSO, finally, the guy wrote me back and said that if we are U.S. citizens and my husband is a working professional with a permit, we don’t have to have a medical exam just like my husband isn’t required to have one BUT they reserve the right to ask us to have one if they want but we don’t need one. I have been trying to tell him this for weeks and it took every ounce of restraint I have left-which is very, very little at this point-not to holler, “I told you so!”

You mean they actually stamp your official licenses with a stamp that says, “authenticated” and then give it back to you? Somebody tell me, who do they call to do this phantom authentication? Do they hold it up to the light?

the guy wrote me back and said that if we are U.S. citizens and my husband is a working professional with a permit, we don’t have to have a medical exam

Not sure how important the US citizen bit is. I didn’t need one as a “UK” working professional.

It seems to me they regard the medical risk as being more related to the category of job the permit’s issued for rather than where you come from.

English teachers are “labor” (never “labour”). That equals “potential carriers of infectious disease”. Then your US citizenship won’t be worth a brass farthing (about US$0.002) in avoiding a medical - though policy can “turn on a dime”. (All farthings, dimes and NT$1000 bills to be held up to the light.)

But I’m trying to understand too much…Sorry, can’t really answer your substantive points.

yes. So, show the original, but let them stamp a copy.

Also, by now I don’t know why it comes as a surprize that they need to re-authenticate inside Taiwan that which was authenticated by Taiwanese outside Taiwan, considering that the people inside Taiwan had not a clue about the health exam info that the people outside Taiwan already knew. And it’s been my experience, by the way, that those in the TECO office ALWAYS have better and more accurate info than those in Taiwan. Which ALWAYS means that the right hand has no clue what the left hand is doing, and wants to do it all again, but with different rules.

Welcome to Taiwan.

Sorry, the Taiwanese absolutely love paperwork.

Once you have finished dealing with all this stuff you can start enjoying Taiwan!

Well, London Boy, if there is ANYTHING that both the Houston TECO office and Taiwanese office have in commmon is that they keep mentioning U.S. citizenship as being an important part of getting a pass on anything. I was asked at least three times in my conversation with the Houston office whether I was a U.S. citizen. Remember, I am standing there with a handful of U.S. passports for my family and yet the question of citizenship continued to be posed. That doesn’t mean teachers aren’t being hosed, of course. Oh, important info: when the Houston office told me that medical checks were no longer needed for U.S. citizens (they didn’t mention having to be a professional), they also said it included Western Europe. This is the “very new policy” as of December 1, 2006.

Funny, I have a strong need to verify and verify again and again but have very little faith in the answers I am getting which feeds the need to verify AGAIN.

Once I have that ARC I’m home free, right?

[quote=“jlick”]

Fingerprints are not necessarily needed. What you need is a paper from some law enforcement agency saying that you don’t have a criminal record. Every agency has different rules on what is required to get such a paper (sometimes there are various levels of checks available depending on what purpose the report is for). When I got mine from the Santa Clara City Police Department I just had to show an ID, and they returned a form letter to me a few minutes later saying that I had no known criminal record. Unless someone here has gone through this in the Houston area already, you’ll be the first one to post here what is required there.[/quote]

Oh man, you guys have no idea how lucky you are. This thing takes WEEKS in the UK. I ended up only getting my visa the day before we flew out because of this nonsense.

[quote=“Feiren”]
Once you have finished dealing with all this stuff you can start enjoying Taiwan![/quote]

I think her trip has already begun…It’s like all the stuff she going thru is a “pre-boarding” situation… :laughing:

Once I have that ARC I’m home free, right?

I think so!

This thing takes WEEKS in the UK. I ended up only getting my visa the day before we flew out because of this nonsense.

My experience of London in getting a resident’s visa (end of 2004) was brilliant.

  1. Employer successfully applied for permit whilst I was in Taiwan on a landing visa. Took about 10 days. Gave me the original…

  2. Returned to London. Went into the London office. Gave them my passport, work permit, application form and fee. No queue. Was told it would be ready the next day.

  3. The next day I was busy. I returned the following day and collected passport with Resident Visa. No queue. It gave me about 3 months to enter Taiwan. They returned the original copy of the work permit (as I requested).

  4. Entered Taiwan.

  5. Went to Banciao police station. Filled in the simple form and handed it over with the fee and passport.

  6. They gave me the “re-entry” permit in my passport while I waited.

  7. They posted the 3-year ARC to follow. Took about a week.

A few further points:

  1. They commented I was the first person in a long time who’d given them an original work permit. They said they had a “problem” working with copies of stuff. They said having the original made it a lot easier and that they could “do it right away”.

  2. Mine was a straightforward “professional” work permit thing. No “family stuff” etc

  3. The same office was quite rude more recently to a mainland Chinese friend (based in London) who needs to go to Taiwan on business. Now that IS complicated!

  4. As of a few weeks ago, there is a security guard there (a black guy). These guys usually work for private companies and aren’t always “well educated” - its poor money. But this guy knows his Chinese history and has a wry sense of humour… He’s great for a laugh if you’re stuck there… I did wonder if he might be a spy for the other China… he knows too much… But don’t expect him to say anything unprofessional in front of the staff.

I did ask them about “medicals” and they said they weren’t necessary, which proved to be correct.

[quote=“london-boy”]Once I have that ARC I’m home free, right?

I think so!

This thing takes WEEKS in the UK. I ended up only getting my visa the day before we flew out because of this nonsense.

My experience of London in getting a resident’s visa (end of 2004) was brilliant.[/quote]

Actually, I was referring specifically to the criminal record check, which itself took several weeks to arrive. You don’t seem to mention that at all. Didn’t you need one?

No… that never came into it.

The form I used to get the Resident Visa in London was the pretty generic one for all kinds of visas. There was a question on the back as to whether I have any criminal record - I ticked the “no” box.

Isn’t the police check just required for permanent ARCs or if you getting your ARC on the grounds of marrying a Taiwanese? I’m not sure about this… but seem to recall this is where it comes in…

No… that never came into it.

The form I used to get the Resident Visa in London was the pretty generic one for all kinds of visas. There was a question on the back as to whether I have any criminal record - I ticked the “no” box.

Isn’t the police check just required for permanent ARCs or if you getting your ARC on the grounds of marrying a Taiwanese? I’m not sure about this… but seem to recall this is where it comes in…[/quote]

Could well be. Mine was certainly a marriage-based one.

My “criminal” check finally came down to just showing up at Houston Police Dept. HEADQUARTERS, filling out a sheet of paper, handing over my driver’s license which had to show my current address and then waiting about 20 minutes. I got a sheet of paper that said they checked their records and I was clean.

There was another door through which a few characters were going and all of the people behind that door were wearing latex gloves. I’m going to assume the gloves were for nothing more personal than taking fingerprints. I was happy that I didn’t have to go through “the door”.

Now, where is it exactly that I go once I get to Taipei in order to get the ARC? Is it a proper police station? Do they speak English there? Does anybody know whether I have to bring all of the kids with me?

Oh, by the by, I spent several minutes scanning 19 pages to fax to the office here in Houston for a “pre-view” and 18 out of 19 pages failed to go through. The beauty of this small incident is that I half expected it to happen for some totally unknown reason and I just had a good chuckle and got on with my weekend…I am slowly being tamed…

96 Yenping South Road. It’s the foreign affairs police station in Taipei City and most everyone speaks English. Not sure about the kids.

You have to go to the department that handles “foreigners”. They seem to speak English there, though not a bad thing to have a Taiwanese with you.

jlick has given the address already which I’m sure is correct if you will be in Taipei City. I lived in Taipei County (Chungho) so had to go to the station in Banciao. They had recently introduced a “late night” special for foreigners working during the day. Think it was Wednesdays. I went there at about 8pm and it was almost deserted.