Getting the Right Kind of Visa to Work or Study in Taiwan

by John Fotheringham

To legally work or study in Taiwan, you must get the right kind of visa.

If you are smart (i.e. you are not like me), you will come into Taiwan on a 60-day tourist visa. This is the ONLY visa type that can be later changed into a resident visa.

But if you come in on a landing visa like the aforementioned idiot, you will have to leave the country again and obtain a tourist visa at one of Taiwan’s 122 TECOs (Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices).

First of all, here is some visa related Mandarin to help you:

The following instructions apply to someone planning to find a job or school after arriving. If you already have landed a job or been accepted at a local Mandarin school, your employer or school will (or rather, “should”) help you through the process and you won’t have to “do the dance” as described below.

Apparently work is being done to simplify and streamline the process (especially for Americans), but for now, this book provides the step-by-step instructions you’ll need to jump through the Taiwanese visa hoops.

Step 1: Book a flight leaving Taiwan within 2 months

I know, I know, this sounds counterintuitive. Why are you going to all this trouble to come into the country, only to have to buy a ticket leaving the place? Well, even if you plan to work here, don’t forget that you are coming in on a tourist visa. You have to play the part of a tourist, and make it appear that you plan to leave the country before the end of your 2-month tourist visa (Again, this is if you are planning to find a job or Mandarin school after you arrive). But not to worry, once you are hired by a school or pay your tuition at a Mandarin training institute, they will convert your tourist visa into a resident visa and you will be able to stay in the country as many years as you are employed or continue paying tuition at a Mandarin school.

Keep in mind that it is not necessary to purchase an actual ticket. Most travel agencies can just give you an e-ticket printout that will be automatically cancelled unless confirmed in the following few days.

Step 2: Print out a bank statement

You need to prove that you have access to enough funds to afford living in Taiwan for the duration of your 2-month tourist visa (preferably $2,000 USD or more.)

You can either bring a big wad of cash, or more preferably, a bank statement or passbook. If you don’t have an original statement, go to your online banking page and print one out.

And although it is preferable to have a bank statement in your own name, it is usually possible to get by with a statement from your parents or even a friend. All they want to see is that you have access to funds and won’t starve to death or resort to less than legal means to survive.

Step 3: Complete a visa application form

You can download the form here or pick them up at any TECO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices).

If you download and print the form, note that it doesn’t seem to render the Chinese characters correctly in Preview application on Macs. Open it in Adobe Reader instead.

Step 4: Gather the required documents

In addition to the visa application form, bank statement and return ticket, you will need to bring:

• Your passport (with at least 6 months of remaining validity and a few blank pages available).

• An additional piece of photo ID (home country driver’s license, a photo copy of your passport, etc.) This allows you to get back into the TECO office to pick up your passport.

• 2 color passport sized photos taken in the last 6 months.

• A travel itinerary. Although they rarely ask for this, it is technically required. Just grab a Lonely Planet and be creative.

Step 5: Apply in person at any TECO

Go here for a complete list of all 122 TECO offices across the globe. The upcoming book will include exclusive, step-by-step instructions for applying at the Bangkok, Hong Kong, Macau and Tokyo TECOs, the closest office locations to Taipei and excellent vation spots in their own right.