I’m planning on going back to Taiwan next summer to the Kaohsiung area. I want to stay for the whole summer, 3 months, and I am wondering what the costs would be. Would I be able to rent a place for only 3 months? How much would it be for one in a smaller city outside of Kaohsiung? I remember hearing last summer that there are places that you can rent for 6000-10000NT a month but I don’t know if you have to rent for longer than 3 months and are there any hidden costs as well such as electricity, etc.
Also how can I get a visa so that I can leave only once to Hong Kong? I know that there is a multiple-entry visitors visa that’s 2 months per entry but how hard is it to get and what would I need to say to get it. I’m just planning on visiting friends and studying Chinese since one of my majors is Chinese. Also if I get the extendable multiple visa entry would I be able to extend it without leaving Taiwan? I should also say that when I was a little kid I lived in Taiwan for five years. Would that be helpful to say when I’m applying for the visa?
I think I will have about $3500 US saved up after I buy a round trip plane ticket and ticket to Hong Kong and back to Kaohsiung.
If you’re planning to learn Chinese, then you could apply for a summer program at one of the language centers in Kaohsiung (there are 4 different ones offered by local universities there). That would give you a 3 month visa to stay in Taiwan. There would be 15 hours of classes per week, which should give you plenty of time to visit friends the rest of the time. Most language centers also have dormitories or student housing nearby - you can get monthly rents for under $5000 if you’re willing to share with a roommate.
I’d recommend going through this list on my site - you can organize it by city. Take a look at the websites of the different schools to see what they are offering and whether you’re interested.
Good luck!
Well, I’m not really interested in having roommates and I’d like to live either in Gang Shan or right next to it, which is about 30-45 minutes away on scooter. But I have been thinking about a language school. I’m just trying to think of the cheapest overall deal. And a language school would be about 20000+ thousand. Which I would do if it could save me at least that much or more on plane tickets and other fees.
If you don’t sign up for a student visa through an approved language school, then you will need to apply for a tourist visa, which is usually valid for 60 days. Sometime before it expires you will need to leave Taiwan for Hong Kong (or any other country) to get a new visa. A return ticket from Taiwan to HK should be between $7000-$10000NT. It may be possible to leave Taiwan early in the morning and return the same day, but if the visa office in HK is busy you may have to stay overnight so you can add hotel costs to that.
The other advantage to registering with a school is that they will help you find housing which will be easier and cheaper than trying to do so on your own, since they will already have deals on their own dormitories or with nearby apartments. I’m sure you can choose to live on your own, but the rent will be more expensive (I would budget around $7000 monthly). However, you would be limited to areas near the school. It would be much harder to find an apartment for that price for only 3 months on your own.
So the bottom line is going with a school gives you a longer visa and they will help you find housing, but you will have to pay around $25000 for tuition.
Or you can come on a tourist visa, in which case you save $25000, but you will have to arrange housing on your own and work out your HK trip. You can decide which is a better deal for you.
I’d just get the 60-day multiple-entry tourist visa. I think it was like USD$100 and it can be extended. As long as you can show them a paid round-trip ticket TECO will issue you the visa without a problem.
Would the return ticket have to be within the first two months? Or could I get a round trip ticket with the return ticket three months from when I land. And is it hard to get a multiple entry visitors visa?
(and no, I was born America and I’m white)
Most apartments will want a two month deposit as well as being able to commit for at least six months. Usually you can get around that if you are willing to pay slightly more per month and they will just not charge you deposit. Also student dorms are cheap and I found one in Danshui for 2000nt a month and I didn’t have to pay any deposit. Be sure to have a local help you out though because sometimes (especially in the South) people will quote higher prices because you are a foreigner. Remember there’s a general assumption that all American/Europeans are rich, which is not necessarily true. The cheaper places will not look that good however and bathrooms will be shared. So it depends on how much you are willing to pay and what you are willing to put up with.
3000 USD is more than enough for three months in Taiwan but you also need to factor in the cost of a visa run should you need one, and that will run about 200 dollars US per try. You do not have to sleep in a hotel if you don’t want to should you need to spend the night in Hong Kong, you can sleep at the airport… I have a few friends who did that…
No, there’s a general assumption that young Americans/Europeans are dirt-poor economic migrants but also gullible and naive. 