sorry, this is double posted, but I wasn’t sure which forum to put it in.
:s Hi all. I’ll start by saying that I’ve now spent about 4 hours searching, reading and browsing this site and cannot find up to date information on overstay punishments. Things change quickly here, so I was hoping to find something recent. Now, before you give me flak about being stupid (which I am) and irresponsible (which I also am) let me make it plain that I wholeheartedly accept all these labels, but I’m still seeking good up to date information.
Here's the situation. I have now overstayed by over 2 years (I know, I know) and am looking at voluntarily leaving. I love living here, which is why I'm still here, and wish to come back. I arrived from Canada on a visitors visa, and just have never left. I did not work for a long period of time, (I came with my common law partner of 8 years who is more than happy to support me), but I am now teaching, strangely enough, at 3 different jobs (one being a senior high school). My 'husband', our friend (a Texan married to a Taiwanese) and myself want to open our own school, and we wish to have everything aboveboard. Which means I need to sort out my small problem. Now I realize that I will pay a fine (no problem), be able to buy a ticket home (also no problem) and will probably receive some type of ban or similar punishment (which is good, gives me time to visit my family) but I'd really like to have it planned out ahead of time.
I'm ready to go home, start proceedings for a legal name change, get all the paperwork sorted out, and my 'company' will be able to provide documents stating that I'll have a legal job with an ARC to come back to. I want to know the process for leaving, where I have to go, what I have to do etc. I have consulted an immigration lawyer in Taipei, who strangely told me I might as well wait to get caught...(????) because I'll be banned either way, but I don't wish to do this. I need not say that I've been working illegally, as my 'husband' can come to the FAP with me and state that he has been supporting me the entire time. Someone out there must be familiar with a similar situation and be able to give me some recommendations or opinions. Sorry for being long-winded, but I thought I'd give all of the information on the first go-around. Thanks anyone in advance. :slight_smile:
You’re going to get a ban of a year or a period equalling your overstay.
They will have you on record, at all their offices, and at the airport.
I applied for a new visa, having overstayed for a year. They have me serving out a year ban before I can apply for a new visa. I suspect even then I might have difficulty getting the visa.
I pulled as many strings as I could, but to no avail.
I didn’t change my name, just my passport - changing your name might work. Do you really want to change your name though?
It’s not the best idea to overstay. In hindsight I definitely shouldn’t have. On a lighter note, I got a six month visa for China, and a reasonably good job in Quanzhou (east coast of China, opposite Taiwan).
Btw, I left end-January, and paid a NT$10000 fine. The tax office was going to nail me for another NT$60000, but I had kept bank statements to show my mom had been sending me money for every month I had overstayed. The tax office wants to nail you - beware!
It belongs here, as it is a Visa issue. For future reference, if you’re not sure where to post, just pick one location, and if the mods feel it’s not the right one, they’ll help by moving it.
Cheers!
I recently got an newsletter from the British Trade Office, and it included this, I hope they don’t mind me reprinting it
Dear BASS, I am making a query regarding a friend of mine who is currently living in Taiwan.
My friend has been living illegally in the country after overstaying a study visa for almost 2 and a half years. She is a British national and is planning to leave Taiwan to return to the UK. She wants to know when she leaves the Taiwan, will her passport be confiscated? Will she have any difficulty leaving Taiwan?
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
A
Dear A,
Your friend will be facing the following problems when she leaves Taiwan.
Tax:
As she has overstayed in Taiwan for 2.5 years, the Taiwanese government will consider that she’s been working illegally and will require here either to pay the tax she owes (according to the Taipei Tax Office)or to provide satisfactory evidence that she has not been working. She must get a tax certificate before departure; otherwise, the Immigration Bureau or Police Dept will not be able to grant her the permission to leave Taiwan. She will only be issued with a certificate once she has either paid the tax owing or proved to the Tax Office’s satisfaction that she has not been working. She can contact Taipei Tax Office for information. www.ntat.gov.tw
02 2311 3711 x 1116 or 1118
Fine:
After she gets a Tax Certificate, she must pay a fine of NT$10,000 based on the fact that she overstayed for more than 91 days (overstay fines range from NT$1000 for under 10 days overstay, NT$3000 for 11-30 days, NT$5000 for 31-90 days and NT$10,000 for over 90 days). She will have to visit the Foreign Affairs Police Dept to make a statement explaining why she overstayed. She will need to provide her ticket (or confirmed booking), passport, and the Tax Certificate. Also, she will not be allowed to re-enter Taiwan for 2.5 years after she leaves. A restriction note will be stamped on her passport and recorded in the Taiwanese immigration database.
As per her passport, no one is going to take her passport away because it is her travel document.
I hope the above is of some help to your friend.
BASS
Wow! I was going to post a reply but I wasn’t sure. Turns out from BFM I was right! Except for the length of the ban – I thought it would be 5 years but it looks like it corresponds to the legth of overstay, for the OP it will be a 2-year family visit.
One thing, though, is that the Taiwan government doesn’t recognize the concept of “common law,” so to them, your “husband” will be no more than “a friend” who is claiming to have supported you. Unless he can provide very convincing proof of this, it won’t wash and they will assume you have been working illegally.
Since you’re already leaving, they won’t prosecute you for this or anything like that, but the tax office WILL determine how much tax you should pay, based on earnings over 2 years, so you should prepare cash to cover this – probably around 2 or 3 thousand per month for 2 years – in addition to the fine.
Edit: After seeing that the poster in the other thread faced a NT$60,000 tax bill for a one-year overstay, you’d be best to get double that together, just in case.
hmm. Thanks you guys. I wonder what they consider convincing proof of support? Hell, if I gotta pay, I gotta pay. If anyone elso has some info, I’d really appreciate it. Again, thanks in advance.
You’ll need a complete name change - surname and all. Make sure there’s no record of your old name on the passport or any docs the government might see. Don’t forget to change your degree cert, marriage cert, firearms certificate, etc…
This you can find out from the tax office. Yes, they WILL BE looking to nail you, but they’re also pretty helpful, as a rule. There’ll be someone at the tax office who’ll be able to tell you what they’ll accept as proof of your having been supported.
Even though you may change your name you will need evidence of your education and other records. The names for these records will not be changed and so you will still have to show your original name to the authorities along with your name change by deed if thats the mechanism you use to change it. imho
When you apply for a visa to return here you’ll need to fill out the form honestly. Lying on the form can have you landed in trouble if you’re caught up with later on. These things do happen.
Maybe you should contact the tax office first to work out your tax finances and then contact the FAP with your taxes paid and your ticket in hand. maybe you’ll get lucky and be let out with a small fine.
But the times, they are a changing and the authorities here are not looking so kindly on long term overstayers.
