Taiwan
Visa Basics
Getting a visa to come to Taiwan is fairly straightforward. The
easiest way is to simply buy a plane ticket from your home country
(return/roundtrip) and you will be given a ‘Visa Exempt Entry’
or 'Visa Free' entry upon arrival at the airport in Taiwan which
allows you entry for up to 2 weeks, or for a small fee you can receive
a 30 day ‘Landing Visa’ (depending on your country of
origin, but most people qualify...)
HOWEVER,
these are not the smartest ways to enter as they are a waste of
time and money if you plan to do more than a quick sightseeing tour
of Taiwan as neither visa is extendable and you will need to leave
again in 2 weeks or 30 days since it is illegal to overstay a visa,
thus forcing you to fly to a nearby country (otherwise known as
a ‘Visa Run’ - Japan, Hong Kong or Thailand are most
popular) and then return in order to replace your old visa with
a new one. You may have to visit the Taiwan consulate in these countries
and take a whole day off of work (some offices aren’t open
on weekends) to apply for a longer visa (plus pay a fee and the
expense of travel, plane ticket to the country, etc...)
As
a prospective teacher, it is highly recommended that you apply for
a ‘Visitor Visa’ in your home country
before you come to Taiwan because you will usually get a longer
term visa of (from 30 days up to 6 months depending on the country
of origin) which will be extendable (allow you to stay in Taiwan
without leaving for a period of time simply by visiting the local
police station in Taiwan and receiving a stamp on your passport
extending your original visa) and you won’t have to worry
about spending a lot of time and money coming and going. Plus, if
you want to be legal and/or reside in Taiwan for a period of a year
or more and are employed in Taiwan (or marry a local) you can apply
for a work visa/resident visa from within Taiwan if you have a visitor
visa and won't have to return to your home country, although you
may have to take a brief 'visa run' to a nearby country and back
(or try a cruise to international waters!...) to satisfy the requirements
for application.
Another
route is to study at a Chinese language school, which will provide
you with an extendable 2 month visa (one ‘illegal’ school
doesn’t even require you to even attend any classes - more
on this later) up to a one year resident visa and you will still
be able to work (illegally) on the side although this is a better
idea only if you actually want to study Chinese as you will be required
to pay for the schooling and attend on a regular basis.
You
are not LEGALLY permitted to work in Taiwan without a WORK PERMIT
(This includes ‘busking’ on the street corners, or other
forms of moneymaking). Furthermore, overstaying a visa (even one
day) will force you to stay in the country until you’ve cleared
up the situation by paying A FEE at the airport or possibly facing
deportation without permission to re-enter EVER for overstays of
longer than 30 days. Of course, if you miss a flight or are hospitalized
or have some other valid and documented excuse then you probably
won’t get into any serious trouble. If any of this happens
to you, report it as soon as possible to the Foreign Affairs Police
at the main police station in any city. Fines are around NT$600
(for up to 30 days’ overstay), and your name is recorded at
the airport. First time offenders you will not be allowed to enter
without a visa and could affect your chances of getting one if you
apply again.
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