So they gave me a 60 day non-extendable visa in LA and now my visa is due to expire in a week. I am currently a student at NTNU and have gotten a letter from them saying so, I should be able to get a student visa without any problems (I hope). Various people have told me that it doesn’t matter that the visa is non-extendible I can still get it extended, the police and the bureau of foreign affair also seem to disagree on what I need to do. One told me I could get it renewed by just changing my visa type, the other said I had to go to HK.
I have made a flight reservation for wedensday leaving Taipei at 7:40am and coming back around 10pm. Is that enough time to get a student visa ? Could someone give me a link on what I need beside passport pictures and the letter from the university ? Sorry if I am asking things that have been asked before, I am just feeling a bit stressed with having to make this trip.
Lastly where the heck is
Kwang Hwa Information and Culture Center in Hong Kong
40th Floor, One Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong.
is it easy to get to from the airport ?
thanks in advance for help.
The first place you should have asked was the school office.
The police can’t extend an unextendable visa. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can replace an unextendable visa with an extendable one. If they won’t do it, you have to go abroad for a new visa. If you have not yet gone in person to the MOFA Bureau of Consular Affairs, do so straight away - it could save you the trip to Hong Kong.
There is no such thing as a student visa. You can get a visitor visa for the purpose of study.
You can get to the Chung Hwa Travel Service (40th Floor, Tower One, Lippo Centre, No. 89 Queensway, Hong Kong) easily from the airport. Take the train (fast and expensive) to Central or the bus (slower and a lot cheaper) to the Lippo Building or Pacific Centre.
You will need proof that you have enough money in your bank account to maintain yourself without working.
If I were you I would give myself 2 or 3 days in Hong Kong instead of trying to do it in one day. There is lots of advice on Forumosa about where to stay - try searching for “Hong Kong cheap hotel”, “Hong Kong hostel” etc.
[quote=“Juba”]1. Leaving it to the last week was not clever.
well there’s a long story about that, I asked the school my first week here nad they said wait until you have only 10 days left because otherwise they will probably not re-new it.
The first place you should have asked was the school office.
I will check with them again, their past advice was a bit of hit and miss.
The police can’t extend an unextendable visa. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can replace an unextendable visa with an extendable one. If they won’t do it, you have to go abroad for a new visa. If you have not yet gone in person to the MOFA Bureau of Consular Affairs, do so straight away - it could save you the trip to Hong Kong.
yeah that’s worth another try, I went there and they said there was nothing they could do, I guess it depends on who you talk to.
There is no such thing as a student visa. You can get a visitor visa for the purpose of study.
ahh thanks for the clarification that makes things a bit easier.
[quote]Lastly where the heck is
Kwang Hwa Information and Culture Center in Hong Kong
40th Floor, One Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong. [/quote]
It’s on HK island, just up from Central. The MRT station is Admiralty. One Pacific Place is behind Two Pacific Place. It also houses the Shangrila Hotel. To get there from the airport, you can take the Aiport express train into Central (around halof an hour) and hop on an MRT to Admiralty (5 minutes). From the Admitrralty MRT it’s around a 5-10 minute walk.
If you can’t see the signs, ask someone.
So they’ve moved out of Changhwa tarvel and that godawful Lippo centre? Good, hope the service has improved.
(EDIT: Are you sure about that? Looks to me like the GIO office).
For visas you usually need to go here:
Chung Hwa Travel Service
4/F Tower One Lippo Centre
89 Queensway
Hong Kong
Enquiry Hotline: (852) 2525 8316
It’s likewise a skip from Admiralty MRT.
Most importantly, don’t sweat it. You are a legit student, no need to worry. Do bring every paper imaginable - proof of insurance, ticket out of Taiwan, attendance record, enrolment, etc.
It usually takes one day, but you may want to have the option to change your flight if there is a bureacratic glitch - not unheard of, of course.