Visa sorted :)

Legal Visa & Residency
1

Well, went to the TRO here in London today and sorted out my visa and they said no problems, come pick it all up tomorrow, that’ll be £25 and once in Taipei, get your work permit and change the visa in to an ARC ASAP. That was it…
So it seems you can still change a visa into an ARC as long as you have a work permit :slight_smile:

2

The issue is whether it is still possible to change from a visitor visa to a resident visa. I.e. there used to be two ways of doing things without having to leave the country again:

  1. Get an extendable visitor visa at an overseas representative office. Once in Taiwan find a job, get a work permit and then apply at BOCA for a resident visa. After receiving the resident visa go to the police to get an ARC. Some posters here have said that they were no longer allowed to exchange a visitor visa to a resident visa.

  2. Get your job and work permit before entering the country, then apply for a resident visa at a representative office. After entering Taiwan on a resident visa go to the police to get an ARC.

So did you apply for a resident or visitor visa? That makes a huge difference. (An ARC is not a visa.)

3

I’m still waiting for my new teacher’s work permit to be processed, so I still cannot say for sure that it can be changed in Taiwan. However, I got my secretary to call the BOCA office in Kaohsiung again (yesterday), and the official there said yes, it can be changed here, as long as the person has a 60-day visitor visa and all the proper paperwork. Any other visa, or visa-exempt entry, is not allowable and means a trip out of the country.

These are the official’s words, not mine.

4

I sent off my application for 60 day visitor visa yesterday to the Taiwan Cultural and Economic Office (or something… ) here in my local city. Apparently it takes 3 days to process… Fingers crossed :slight_smile:

Also changed my ticket to a 90 day instead of 30 day in case I am fortunate enough to find a job or Chinese course there

So damn excited!

Good luck lostswede :slight_smile: Might catch up with you some time over there :slight_smile:

5

Well, I got a 60-day visa and the lady said I need to make sure I get my work permit as soon as I’m in Taipei and have the visa changed to a permanent one and then sort out the ARC asap. So I guess it’s still possible…