In a previous thread I mentioned how easy it had been for me to get my 60 day extendible visitor visa extended in Chiayi. There were some of you out there who said, “AHA! I knew it was easier to get an extension down south.”
Well, it appears I celebrated a little too early. You see, unbeknownst to me, the FAP in Chiayi extended the visa in contravention of the law. How was I to know the very people who are supposed to uphold the law were breaking it, and leaving me in a position of technically being in the country illegally?
This has caused delays with the processing of my ARC application. I have recently moved to Cin Shuei in Taichung County. With only a week left on my visa, and the paper work not yet returned from Taipei, my new employer and I went to the FAP for Taichung County to get the second extension.
The transaction took place entirely in Chinese, so I couldn’t understand anything that was being said, but I could tell by his voice the FAP was very irritated. And he repeatedly pointed his finger to the visa extension stamp in my passport. After we left my employer told me that I shouldn’t have been given the first extension by the Chiayi FAP, and the Taichung FAP said he should arrest me.
Fortunately, the FAP, for whatever reason, decided not to arrest me, but instead said I must get a ticket out of the country and bring it in. If the flight happens to be after 01/22 then he will extend my visa until the date of the flight.
I hope my ARC will be processed by then, otherwise it looks like another trip to Macau for me.