I’m thinking of having a holiday abroad. Will there be any potential problem coming back into the country if I have ARC?
Is there a list online of the countries you can go to where they won’t ban you from coming back? Or one where they won’t impose quarantine on you?
No they shouldn’t. Nobody should be abusing the visa-free privileges to live here unofficially. If someone wants to live here, get the damn ARC. It’s not difficult.
Here is the Taiwan CDC website https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En
And Taiwan Ministry of Foreign affairs
https://www.mofa.gov.tw/en/theme.aspx?n=635352E3900FFF8E&s=8A33013523400F35&sms=BCDE19B435833080
fair enough
its true that getting an ARC is not difficult if you want to do one of two options. if not then you are shit out of luck. [post edited by mod]
If someone is on their 5th back to back visa-free stamp, they’re abusing the goodwill given by the Taiwanese and are making it difficult for the rest of us to build trust with the society here and hurts our position in other areas like building a case for Dual Citizenship. This is especially true when they’re working illegally. Multiple back to back stamps are abuse of the system full stop.
Keep it civil please, thanks.
if Taiwan doesn’t like it, its officers have a full right to stop them entering at their 6th attempt.
It would be great if we could convert visa exempt to a spousal visa without having to leave the country. My hubby got an arc a few years ago but decided he wanted to be in the US more so he let it expire. We had to mail our marriage license to TECO in the US, then fly to HK to get the visa. It was really confusing for us and it seemed confusing for the government workers too. Now, hubby has decided to spend more time in Taiwan. He’s retired and won’t be any burden on Taiwanese. Whenever I visit a government office in Taiwan, I never expect to be successful in jumping through all the hoops on the first visit. I have an aprc and pay more than my fair share of taxes here.
If they made it easier to do it the right way, people would do it.
One of my Filipina friends finished her university studies in Chinese and wanted to stay. She couldn’t because she needed to find a job that could support the work permit. Real shame as her Chinese was flawless.
I have to confess to having been one of these Visa Free people for about 10 years, a mixture of 30 days Visa Free, then 60 day Visitor Visa (multiple entries for 1 year) and then 90 days Visa free. That all ended with my last departure, as I returned on a Resident (JFR) Visa this time and will be collecting my ARC next week.
There was always the worry that Immigration might ask questions about my frequent visits (Passport has a heap of stamps, as I only got to use EGate about 12 months ago), but they never did.
Mind you, over the 10 years, I never did a Visa Run as such, and each trip was usually for a stay under 60 days in Taiwan, with trips to other places (Japan, Europe) mixed in. My total time in Taiwan was around 180 days per year, spread over about 5-6 visits.
that’s good to know, i was just about to about to ask if anyone else has been doing visa runs for the past few years. i guess many people have.
i’ve got my next one booked for okinawa early april.
the usual mild anxiety over immigration pulling me aside combined with the fresh corona virus hysteria is a real heady cocktail of worry for my little mind i can tell you. i’m thinking to maybe go to the NIA and see if i can get some kind of emergency extension. or run to the hills.
anyone had any dealings with the NIA recently?
didn’t tommy say he was doing that for over ten years? asked by his company aaand he is half taiwanese so if you think that counts as ‘abusing taiwanese goodwill’ fair enough, but i don’t see it myself…
Continuing the discussion from Visa runs during coronavirus period:
Taiwan government just raised all nearby countries to level 3 alert. That means you can’t get a visa exempt stamp if you arrive from those countries and will be denied entry. Has anyone tried to apply for an extension from NIA or BOCA. I tried at the start of March and they said no way. The country I normally live in is now on lockdown and I have nowhere to spend a 14 day quarantine period there. If I leave Taiwan I can’t come back and will be trapped in whatever place it is. Now I have no choice but to overstay. This is an impossible situation. NIA and BOCA phones are busy and I cannot contact them.
Any ideas?
Your situation is definitively force majeoure. Go to NIA/BOCA and do not leave without an extension stamp.
Did you contact to your country’s embassy handling people in Taiwan?
it can be arguable. There was enough time to leave Taiwan for most foreigners on visa exempt.
Thanks. I was thinking I will have to go to their offices today. I wasn’t sure what constitutes a force majeure. I will also contact the embassy.
Well, his side is locked and this side just locked up. No way of knowing when both could happen.
Remember: puppy eyes, be polite but firm.
With hindsight yes you could easily say that. I wish i got an earlier flight too. In reality this has escalated extremely rapidly.
isn’t it the same with a situation that a returning flight on the last day of a visa exempt stay is canceled due to a typhoon and you do overstay?
yes, it is rapid, but this can be anticipated, as many posters had been worried about their visa runs.
Dont they have some quarantine center where they can place you? Which country is this?
Guys, later in the day there will be more announcements. Stay tuned.