Visa worries

Hi,
I’m coming to Taiwan in less than three weeks and have been given a 2 month non-extendable visa. I plan to study chinese and apply for a student visa. However, I’ve heard that some schools require that you apply 3 months before the term is due to begin. If this is true, am I buggered? How can I stay in Taiwan until my student visa is (hopefully) granted. Does anyone know which school in Taipei is best for dealing with visas?
thanks !

One way is to get a work visa first; just sign on with a bushiban that will give you mimimal hours (some only need you to work 12 or so per week) and then work on getting the student visa. Though Hartzell is probably the person to ask…

Romani eunt dormus, er, no Romani eunt dormis. No, no Romanus oh bugg

To get a student visa you’ll need to attend a university which requires applying before their stated deadline for the session you plan to attend. You’ve already missed the deadline for Fall quarter admission. Perhaps you could work, get a work visa and study for the meantime at a language school. You can get into the next session at a university. With the 2 month non-extendable you could have a job secured and new visa in your hands before the current one expires and avoid having to leave the island. Just a thought. :wink:

A lot of people don’t realise there’s no such thing as a ‘student visa’.

People are usually referring to one of two things:

1)They have a 60 day visitor visa, which they got by ticking the ‘study’ box for purpose of visit, and which they extend for a month at a time, up to a mx of 6 months at the police station, by showing enrolment papers and attendance record from their Chinese school. After 6 months they go to Hong Kong with papers from their school and do it again. Lots of schools like CLD, TLI etc can give you these papers, and you can start anytime. No need to apply in advance, but a couple of weeks is good, so that you can get placed in the right class.

2)They have an ARC (Alien Residents Certificate) which gives them residency rights in Taiwan. They get this becuase they are studying in a university. Only universities can issue this, and I understand you have to wait 6 months (maybe 4?) on a visitors visa before you can get one. You have to apply in advance and start at the start of a semester (not sure iof quarterly or twice a year). The workload is much heavier and you need a near perfect attendance record. You are also not able to choose whether you get assigned morning or afternoon classes.

Brian

Thanks for clarifying that, Sir Donald. I’m still in the habit of calling it a student visa but do recall hearing such (them being non-existent). I have a friend studying at Tai-Da and come to think of it he has an ARC and got it after 4 months of studying there. Since he was studying he only needed to go to the Foreign Affairs Police and get a couple of extensions before receiving his ARC.

For the person who started this post, you might want to consider working here for starters and studying on the side. You can do so legally and later start your studies at the university the next session. They start quarterly. The websites for the universtities will have all the registration info in English and you can begin the process at any time. You should check it out as there are a few things you’ll need before submitting your application (physical, HIV test, proof of income, etc.).

this leaves me a bit stuck. I thought you couldn’t work unless you have a degree (i haven’t). I could get “work” with my girlfriend’s family business, but again, can you employ a foreigner without a degree?
I actually wanted to do my degree in Taiwan (Mandarin as a foreign language).

…but again, can you employ a foreigner without a degree?

Define “degree”.

But do Filipina maids need degrees nowadays - that’s new to me. :wink:

Where there is a will there is a way …

You’ve probably already arrived here… and, if so, welcome to Taiwan!

If the problem is the time lag between getting here and starting studying. So that you really need to start sooner than next quarter, you could try Chinese Culture University. Their language centre is on the corner of Jianguo South Road and Heping East Road. It’s a good school. They process admissions applications quickly. Best of all they have a start date available (new term) every two weeks or so!

Hope everything works out!

Supposedly if you have ten years of experience in your field and this is aaplicable to the job you will be doing in Taiwan… the MOEA willwaiver this degree requirement…( this is for a non teaching job)

If teaching is what you want to do… I guess though you need a degree

Here’s another predicament:
I’m going to Canada and the US for almost four months (leaving tomorrow) and because my boss doesn’t believe in planning ahead, my ARC will have expired by the time I return. Naturally I will have to get another visitor visa, but will they believe I’m only visiting? Or can I get a letter of invitation for a work visa? Trouble is, I have over 2 years worth of Taiwanese paperwork in my passport already. If they know the purpose of the trip, will they deny the visa? The good news is that I’ll have lots of time to get the thing…

Thanks for any help you can give…

Fedex DHl your passport and ARC over here to your company a couple of weeks before it expires while you are in the US or Canada. I believe it says nowhere that you can’t renew your ARC while not in Taiwan. The get it sent back by you company to where you are in the US or Canada

mjnemesis… don’t worry too much…

Just get a letter offering you a job or a contract of employment to show them. Technically you can get a resident visa outside taiwan but usually it’s just too much trouble and they hate processing them.

So most Taiwan offices overseas are, as far as I know, used to issuing Visitor Visas to people coming back to work.

A month ago I was in a similar situation. My firm didn’t get things organised in time to renew my ARC and Re-entry Permit before I left Taiwan. When it was time to come back I just went to the Taipei office in London with my employment contract and (Irish) passport and got a Visitors Visa (Duration of Stay 60 days, no extension permitted). I’ve got a few years Taiwan paperwork in my passport too and nobody said anything. Talking Mandarin or Taiwanese to the person behind the counter will probably help. You’re 100 percent legit… so don’t worry…

When you come in on a Visitors Visa you then switch that to a Resident Visa (no need to leave Taiwan) then get your ARC from the Police within 15 days.

Of course, there is always room for trouble from officials issuing visas but I can’t see that you will have any in your case.

Others, I’m sure, will have tales of horror to tell but when I was in the same situation as you I had no problem…

On the other hand you could also DHL your passport back here as TNT suggested. If it went smoothly, it would save you the cost of a Visitors Visa and a new Resident Visa. But that’s probably the same as the cost of shipping DHL.

Pay your money and make your choice! :smiley:

Good luck!

I read somewhere once that you’re not supposed to send passports accross international borders. I don’t know if DHL would accept it if you told them it was a passport. Of course, I could be wrong… :laughing: