Ok, I am getting mixed answers in all these forums. I am trying to do this the correct way…
I want to apply to a NON-University language school to study mandarin. I do really want to study mandarin but dont want to pay the high university fees. I am in the US right now and wont come until late April.
Can I apply from afar to a school like CLD, Pioneer, or TLI and get an extendable 60 day multiple entry visitor visa? Once in Taiwan, can i then apply for an extension before the 60th day so that i can continue to study for 2 more months and then get an ARC?
I have seen recent posts that NON-University language schools can no longer qualify for ARC’s and can no longer qualify for Visitor Visa’s. Is this true? All the school websites still advertize that you can still get these visas through them. Are they lying?
(I have seen a lot of responses from people like “I have been here fro 5 years…dont really know…but this is my idea on the matter…etc etc.” Please dont respond if you dont know. I need REAL informative FACTUAL information here) Sorry if i sound a bit annoyed…but this whole visa thing is making my head spin :loco: . I really dont want to leave every month.
As far as I know it has never been possible to get an ARC on the grounds of studying at a non-university language school - only an extendable visitor visa.
Ok, so no ARC, thats ok. I can live with a 60 day extendable Visa…but…are the rumors true? I hope they are not.
Some people go as far as to say they believe after chinese new year, all the excitment over this policy change will die down and things will go back to as they were before: being able to get and renew a visitor visa through a non-uni language school.
Are there any sites, legitamate taiwanese government sites, that list the rules and such? Thanks!
I stayed up late last night and called some schools in Taipei to ask first hand what is currently happening with visitor visas for students. Here are my results
[quote]Call #1: Confused
CDL (non-university Mandarin school)
The girl that answered was very polite, patient, and spoke broken English but still understandable. She told me that I was partially correct about the new law, and that it starts April 2006. She stated that, although the law prohibits them from renewing visas (extending), CDL can still issue the initial visa if applied for from overseas. I asked her how to renew it once the initial one expires. She said that they are part of a university near by that would renew the visa. I asked her the name of the university and she could not tell me. That was about the extent of the conversation.[/quote]
That sounds about correct for CLD. I used to study there, though I never needed a visa extension through them as I had ARC through my job. Their counter girls suck at English. They would rather speak Chinese to you and they will as soon as you know any amount of the language. I see this as a huge plus for the place actually. I remember when they formed this association with the uni. Their tuitions went up a little and a lsmall framed certificate witht he name of a university in Chinese appeared on their wall. I asked about it and they told me that some students would now be able to get an ARC as a student now through them. Perhaps they caught wind of the changes in store for the future of their business. Not sure why they didn’t tell you the name. Perhaps they couldn’t translate it into English? CLD was actually a decent laguage center when I went there. Attendence was mandatory for those who had visas through them and teaching quality in the classes I went to was decent.
That was good confirmation of what is actually happening. I am anxious to see what schools are taken off the list of legitamate language centers.
Funny thing too, i noticed that the cost of tuition and fees for some universities is increasing this May. Interesting timing dont ya think! Hmmmm, wonder why? :fume: supply and demand…supply and demand.
The Taipei Times has an excellent editorial on this subject today. If the editorial is correct then the government departments have come to their senses and reversed the policy.
[quote]Perhaps out of panic, yesterday a senior Ministry of Education official announced a plan allowing indefinite extensions of visitor visas for bona fide students of Mandarin, including students at private schools. Encouraging news, indeed. But there’s more to this than meets the bureaucrat’s eye.
The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior are negotiating the details. But even if they agree on terms, it seems unlikely that they will take the intelligent step of allowing all bona fide students to support themselves while studying.[/quote]
[quote=“wix”]The Taipei Times has an excellent editorial on this subject today. If the editorial is correct then the government departments have come to their senses and reversed the policy.
[quote]Perhaps out of panic, yesterday a senior Ministry of Education official announced a plan allowing indefinite extensions of visitor visas for bona fide students of Mandarin, including students at private schools. Encouraging news, indeed. But there’s more to this than meets the bureaucrat’s eye.
The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior are negotiating the details. But even if they agree on terms, it seems unlikely that they will take the intelligent step of allowing all bona fide students to support themselves while studying.[/quote][/quote]
Stands (takes a sigh of relief) and does a touch down victory dance
This is good news indeed! Thank you for sharing! :bravo: :yay:
According to the MOE, language students CAN obtain an ARC: (This was taken directly from a site buxiban.com that the MOE linked to for ARC information for students) Please note that it is MANDATORY to apply for an ARC within 15 days of receiving your Resident Visa.
“K2. What documents are needed to apply for resident visas to study Chinese? A full-time student of Chinese language school who entered Taiwan on a visitor visa may apply to change the visitor visa to a resident visa by submitting the following documents:
A set of required documents. A certificate of enrollment issued by a Chinese language school affiliated to any of the universities accredited by the Ministry of Education or Chien Tan Overseas Chinese Youth Language Study Center (applicable for foreign students of Chinese ancestry only);
A certificate issued by any of the above mentioned accredited Chinese language schools certifying the applicant’s completion of four months of study;
A registration proof for the next term which must last for at least three months;
A record of attendance certifying that the applicant is a full-time student with minimum two hours of class a day from Monday to Friday;
A proof of sufficient funds to support the applicant’s tuition and living expenses during the period of the applicant’s intended study in Taiwan.
A health certificate…”
In reference to applying to a language school that is affiliated to an “accredited university”: TLI is making necessary steps to become affiliated to a University and, according to CLD, CLD is already affilited to a University and therefore qualify as a school worthy of visa extension and ARC approvals.
The only catch is, Resident Visas can only be applied for from overseas (for study purposes) if you have obtained a scholarship from the Taiwanese Government. Otherwise, you may only apply within Taiwan to change your Extendable Visitor Visa to a Resident Visa. The Visitor Visa must be extendable because it is required that you study for 4 months full time consecutively. Theoreticaly it would be possible to still apply for a Resident Visa on a Non-Extendable Visitor Visa by doing a very fast visa run after your 60 or 90 expiration, allowing for minimal attendence loss.
You would ONLY be required to leave Taiwan to apply for a Resident Visa (for study purposes) if you had a Non-Extendable 30 day Visitor Visa. This means you would be doing visa runs every 30 days. This would not be the ideal situation, and I would highly advise getting an extendable visitor visa before coming.
[color=red]All of this information was confirmed over the phone by the Seattle TECO office in Washington State, USA on 1/6/06[/color]
I hope they are not.
