Visitor visa to work visa question

Legal Visa & Residency
1

Sorry about this post but I’ve read conflicting events from people here.

I’ll give a short background before asking my question:

I recently changed jobs, but I did it near the end of my last contract because I was holding out to get a better location (closer to my frens in Fang-liao in Pingtung county). Anyway, I got it and my boss started doing the paperwork for me, although I told him I’d prefer to do it all myself since I’ve done all the paperwork for my visa’s and ARC’s from my first and second jobs.

Anyway, he insisted that he “help” me and let me relax. Well, that relaxing turned to anxiety as 10/3 came closer (the day the NIA told me I had to GTFO). Come to find out, he just started to apply for my work permit last Friday.

So, after much discussing with the Pingtung Branch of the NIA (one of the few open today…), he finds out that I need to leave the country because my old permit and ARC were canceled before he finished anything. Also, my work permit won’t be finished being processed until next Monday, or so, which is after the 10/3 deadline of leaving the country.

Now the part I’m curious about is about changing a visitor visa to a work visa. I’ve done that before, I used my old student visa (multiple entries) to get into Taiwan 2.5 years ago and that was changed to a resident work visa.

Anyway, I’ve read about some people having to leave the country to change a visitor to a resident visa b/c of some new legislation. I’ve also read about people not having to do that. So which one is really the case now? Or is it just a matter of how Taiwanese law seems to only apply depending on the clerk’s mood.

If its not possible, would it just be wiser to just get on a plane, come back and get a landing visa and then go back out of the country and apply for my resident permit when my work permit is done being processed, like by next Monday?

Anyway, I’m not up for overstaying either, I’m trying to keep my record clean since I do plan on applying for citizenship eventually.

2

If your boss has actually submitted any paperwork for you, it should be easy to get the NIA to grant you an extension while it gets processed. I’ve done it a couple of times. It rather sounds like he hasn’t done anything.

I changed a visitor visa to a resident visa in-country a few months back, but perhaps that’s too long ago to be relevant.

Another option would be to leave to somewhere cheap (Bangkok?) for a couple weeks while your work permit gets processed, and then apply directly for a resident visa there. You’d save some application fees that way too.

At any rate, ask your boss for copies of whatever paperwork he has (receipts, etc) and go talk to the NIA yourself, in person, without him.

3

Well, I’ve looked over the documents he had, and there wasn’t the reciept but the CLA told me that he had applied for my work permit; I called them myself.

The problem with the NIA is that they said my previous school canceled my permit and arc BEFORE he applied for my new work permit. Anyway, thats what they were saying at the Pingtung branch.

I’ll give taipei a call tomorrow and go to the office in Taichung (I’m going back “home” to get some paperwork from the tax office). I’m familiar with one of the guys there, so I’ll ask him what he thinks.

Anyway, I’ve done the visitor -> resident visa before in the country, but that was 2 years ago. I’ve just noticed a few stories on here of where people had to leave to change them.