Visitor(student) then get a JFRV without leaving the country

[andres_se]

Hi every one, I have been reading many posts and think I have fixed a plan to live with my Taiwanese girlfriend, but I have still some doubts and I would like some advice. thanks in advance.

I have lived with my Taiwanese girlfriend for almost one and a half year, our plans are to live in Taiwan .

I think the most convenient way for me is to go first to Taiwan and once there get married, then apply to a JFRV and then get the work permit.

If I enter Taiwan with a visitors visa(as a student) can I change it then to a resident permit based on marriage? is there any way to do it?

if not I think I can marry in Taiwan and then go to Hong Kong to apply for a resident visa, is this possible?

is possible to do what I am thinking or there is another way to do it with out going back to my home country?

[MoTi]

Welcome Andres,
I went through this process in more or less the same situation like you, so I think my answeres might help you.

First:
There are officially no student visa in Taiwan. Just Visitor-Visas, although different ones. You have visitors-visa
for the purpose of a private stay. They are issued for most countries for 60 days and have two different kinds.
Non-extendable and extendable. The extendable ones are 2 times extendable for each another 60 days.
I don’t know if Taiwan give columbian people the extendable ones. Anyway, to extend a 60 day Visa, you need
a very good reason, organizing your wedding maybe would be one …
Be careful what kind of visitor-visa they will give you !!! On this kind of (private purpose with no working intentions)
Visitor-Visa you MUST leave Taiwan on time (60,120 or at most 180 days), otherwise you may get trouble to arrange
your JFRVisa.

If you can manage to organize all your paperworks within the first 60 days it is possible to change your visitor-visa
into a JFRVisa without leaving Taiwan. Maybe Taiwan give you 1 extension, so you would have 120 days, a second
extension is however highly unlikely.
But that needs a lot of preparations beforehand. On a shortlist: Marry in Taiwan, send the papers back to your
homecountry for regristration. Bring the home regristration back to Taiwan. All authenticated and partly notarized.
Organize your crime-free and health-check !! Not easy, time consuming. Expensive as well, I pay 10.000 NT$ plus
just alone for postage and fees …

The second way is to apply for a visitor-visa for the purpose of studying chinese at a goverment approved school.
This you prepare in Sweden. Just apply and pay the tuiton, pretty easy. Required health-check can be done here in TW.
From September you must enroll 15 hours per week (now it is 12), and more or less you have to attend the classes.
You have to keep studying all the time, if you quitt, your student status immediate ends and you should leave Taiwan.
Do not do that, because you plan to marry and this maybe causes you a big headache …
After 180 days the law then says, you must change your visitor visa to a resident-visa (purpose of studying). If you
don’t do this, same rules apply as above, you must leave.
Here is the point:
As long as you have your visitor-visa (max of 180 days), you can change to a resident Visa (fee for that 3.000 NT$).
If your wedding-date is AFTER (!!!) you apply for your student-resident-Visa, you must leave Taiwan !!
Silly, I know, but just accept it like that …

The third way:
Apply for a visitor visa and during the valid time get a work-permit. After 6 months get a resident-visa with work-permit.
If you do it this way, you can change your work-based resident visa to a JFRVisa. Ypur wedding-date is in this case not
important …

I still don’t understand why there is a big difference between way 2 and 3. The officer told me, that as a student I am
not allowed to work and with a JFRVisa I of course can do that. This change (work restriction) would not apply if you
already have a official work permit … Silly !!!

Hope this has helped you, good luck here in Taiwan

[andres_se]

Thanks MoTi for your information I think it definitively will help me

I got some questions about your post:

I looked at BOCCA website and I could not find the visa you recommend in the first solution “private purpose with no working intentions” I only found theses types:

* Visitor Visa for Tourism Purpose
* Visitor Visa for Visiting Relatives
* Visitor Visa for Visiting Purpose ([b]I guess could be this one but they ask for an Invitation Letter                                                                Provided by inviting organization?[/b])   
* Visitor visa for Business Purpose
* Visitor Visa for Entertaining Performance Purpose
* Visitor Visa for Attending Training Courses
* Visitor Visa for Attending Conference/Exhibition
* Visitor Visa for Intership Purpose
* Visitor Visa for Employment Purpose
* Visitor VIisa for Medical Treatment Purpose

which one do you refer to?

I think applying for a visitors visa(student purpose) is the solution for me. as I understood the process is like that: once I arrive in Taiwan I get married and immediately I can apply for JRFV without leaving the country isn’t (off course with the intermediate problems)? . the visa for this must be extendable? do I have to state that I want a extendable one or BOCA decides this?. what happen if it is not extendable? in the case it is a non-extendable visa can I still change it in to a JFRV ?

Thanks a lot!!

[MoTi]

i suggest you just call the office in sweden and explain honestly your situation.

My nationality is switzerland, i applied often for a visitor-visa and always got a 60 day non-extendable one.
Doubt chances are higher for columbian passport-holders.
Tell them your situation, maybe get proof (email of explanation from your taiwanese girlfriend), and they
may issue you an extendable visa.
Your question if you can change a non extendable 60 day visa in Taiwan to a JFRVisa without leaving
the country, I DON"T KNOW.
If you wanna learn the language anyway, do the simple way and apply for a (student) Visitor-Visa, so you
have up to 180 days time to change it into your desired JFRVisa.
Besides a flight to Hongkong isn’t that expensive. The whole paperwork is a pain in the ass, it took me
10 months to go through, but i partly blame that on me on the swiss size - not taiwans mistake …

To your question: if you go for way 1, just apply for tourism or family (write you intend to marry)