HI - ive left now
I overstayed my visa for about a month and a half once. It was all a bit of a mix up because I was waiting for my ARC and work permit to come through. I had asked the foreign affairs police if I had to renew my visa or just wait to change it over even though it would expire. They told me to wait so I thought that it didnt matter if my visa expired(kinda stupid). Anyway, when I went to apply for my ARC they said I had overstayed and called the cops to take me away. The cops were quite nice about the whole deal and said they had to kick me out of the country but that I could just go to Hong Kong and get another visa to come back. They put an overstay stamp in my passport but they didnt put the “you can’t come back stamp” in it. I went to Hong Kong and then just came back on a landing visa. No problem.
Eight months???
That’s nothing, I know a guy who has overstayed 8 years.
A friend just was over by like eight months and left this past month. When he was erady to go, he went down to the police station to figure out what he needed (I think). Well, I don’t really know how exactly he did everything, but he only paid a 10,000NT fine and left (no problems).
[quote=“Mr He”]Eight months???
That’s nothing, I know a guy who has overstayed 8 years.[/quote]
Was it you? Was it me? Wait a minute, it couldn’t have been me… 
[quote=“Satellite TV”]Was it you? Was it me? Wait a minute, it couldn’t have been me… [/quote]Are you sure ? When did you last renew your visa ? 
[quote=“Satellite TV”][quote=“Mr He”]Eight months???
That’s nothing, I know a guy who has overstayed 8 years.[/quote]
Was it you? Was it me? Wait a minute, it couldn’t have been me… [/quote]
I have not been here for 8 years this time around, merely for 5 years.
No, it’s a barfly in Zhongli.
Just a quick question that seems related to this topic- I will be overstaying my permit for about 5 months, at which point I will probably be going back to the states for a visit. I asked the police about doing this, particularly if there would be any consequences, and they told me as long as I left before overstaying 6 months, I could just pay the 10,000 NT fee and be done with it. A friend told me this is not the case. He said my passport does get stamped and it’s a real hassle in the future when I have to go to the police station to extend my visa. Can someone please clarify what will happen? Will my passport be marked for the police to scrutinize, or can I just pay the fee and be done with it? Thanks.
The real question is … why do you overstay and than question people about what will happen … you should think about the consequences before you overstay so it will be clear to you what will happen … I really don’t get it … I started visiting Taiwan in 1992, I got married in 1997 and resided in Taiwan on a visitor visa until 2002 because out of principle I refused to get a resident visa hence ARC … but I never ever overstayed … they screwed me bigtime in the TECO HK a couple of times, but never overstayed … so I never was concerned about what if … I had several passports full of stamps and visa …
In general, breaking rules knowingly is pretty bad form - and overstaying 6 months in the full knowledge of what you are doing is wrong - also, if you plan to come back here, most likely not the smartest thing to do. You may well risk that they won’t let you back in for the next 6 months.
If you have a 3 day overstay due to a missed connection, then it’s one thing, but 6 months?
a friend of mine waited until too late to apply for his wife’s ARC, for the second time. How he managed to do it twice is beyond me, but anyway the FAP guy said “just overstay your visa, and when you leave you’ll have to pay between 10,000-15,000.”
I am truly amazed that a FAP guy would say this. This is a fine example of how the system is screwed up. The FAP guy isn’t talking for the other agencies who would scrutinize your passport and ask you why you overstayed. That FAP guy isn’t the guy who is going to be stamping your passport with whatever remarks and doling out punishment they seem fit when you do that. This is the height of irresponsibility and stupidity by a civil servant.
I am truly angry :fume:
Keep this information coming. Our office can use these anecdotes to explain the situation to the authorities. They don’t know what it’s like on the ground from the foreigner perspective.
I agree with ML McLean.
It is annoying when there are inconsistencies in the information given by some government staff, but more of a concern is the lack of accountability of these people.
Is that really what the FAP guy said? Did he really recommend that the person overstay? The NTD10,000 fine would only apply to a lengthy overstay (an overstay of a couple of days is a fine of NTD1,000 and up from there), so for the guy to receive a fine of NTD10,000 he would need to overstay for around a month. There is no fine higher than NTD10,000 and surely the FAP guy should have known this. He is either completely incompetant, or we aren’t hearing the full story.
Is it possible that the FAP guy said ‘If you overstay then you will have to pay a fine?’ rather than actually encouraging the guy to overstay?
Probably because it’s a different situation. They seem to give overstayers who are not married to a Taiwanese a harder time because they are most likely working or never had a work visa. Then the issue of “what were you doing” comes up. Not that I agree with the FAP guy.
The fines should really be stiffer. I mean, over 90 days is a 10,000 NT fine. That’s nothing. Doesn’t give anyone the incentive to take care of their situation like, “Oh well, 90 days or 9 years. Same fine.” They should really increase the fines so people will get their acts together and report their overstays.
In the situation with married couples, I just can’t understand why someone would forget or leave it until the 10,000 NT fine situation. There’s no pressure or stress there as it is for people who are working illegally. Believe me. I know. I overstayed my visitor visa 2 years.
They took my ARC away years ago and cancelled it. The FAP wrote some really nasty words ( 2 sentences ) on the back in Chinese and put a big red C stamp on it. Bastards 
Twas a weird feeling the day they did that. I’ve never renewed a visa since 
Damn, your principles are only good for 5 years then.
Damn, your principles are only good for 5 years then. [/quote]
Well … sometimes things have to give … in my case it wasn’t so much the principle … it was my wallet and precious time … :uhhuh:
My work permit expires Dec. 1, and my re-entry visa also expires on Dec. 1, so do I have to leave the country on that day or can I stay a few extra days to pack?
The Taipei police station told me that I MUST leave the country on December 1 (unless I get another work permit or a landing visa).
I am going back to the states anyway, but my ticket from Taipei to the US was December 6.
Can I stay in Taiwan until Dec. 6 and then be able to leave without any problems, or will I be fined?
(I’m asking b/c my boss believes that I can stay in Taiwan until she send the work permit back and cancels it herself, which I don’t understand.)
Thanks
[quote=“User222”]My work permit expires Dec. 1, and my re-entry visa also expires on Dec. 1, so do I have to leave the country on that day or can I stay a few extra days to pack?
The Taipei police station told me that I must leave the country on December 1 (unless I get another work permit or a landing visa).
I am going back to the states anyway, but my ticket from Taipei to the US was December 6.
Can I stay in Taiwan until Dec. 6 and then be able to leave without any problems, or will I be fined?
(I’m asking b/c my boss believes that I can stay in Taiwan until she send the work permit back and cancels it herself, which I don’t understand.)
Thanks[/quote]
THis is a good post.
The date on your ARC should be the same as your re-entry permit. That is the last date in which you can stay in Taiwan legally. So in this case, Dec 1st, you better be on a plane out of Taiwan because come Dec 2nd, you’ll be paying a fine for overstaying.
Thus, your boss is wrong. This concept of a “grace period” only applies to cancelled work permit/ARC cases by the employer. Your case is not one of cancelled work permit by employer case but an expired ARC case. We hear people make this mistake all the time. After this post, hopefully no one will.
If you do not move your ticket up, you’ll pay the fine for a 5-day overstay.
Good luck.
Thanks for clearing it up.