Since Baba and I are approved for the Taiwan Gold Visa, we were given a resident authorization certificate.
Upon landing in Taiwan, we will need to go to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) with this certificate and get our official Gold Card and ARC, or Alien Resident Certificate.
Naively, we thought it would be an easy process to get C and O their visas now that both of us are approved. We filled out the dependent visa application online and went to the Taiwan consulate to submit it, along with the required documents: authenticated birth certificates, vaccination records and our marriage certificate. We thought we’d get the boys’ resident visas in a couple of weeks and off we go! Right?
Not quite. We got a call from the Taiwan consulate telling us that the boys’ resident visas will last only 3 months. And since we won’t land in Taiwan until August 1st, they will not approve the visas until early to mid May. We will then need to report to the NIA immediately after arriving in Taiwan to get ARCs for the boys, which requires a separate application. This process can take up to 2 weeks. We need their ARCs in order to register for school so this step is crucial.
We’re honestly still confused as to why we need the resident visa from the Taiwan consulate if it only lasts 3 months, and then have to apply separately for the boys’ ARCs in Taiwan. We thought getting approved for a resident visa = getting an ARC. Baba doesn’t think the Taiwan consulate would mislead us into getting a resident visa if we didn’t need one, so we’re just going along in good faith. Maybe there’s a good reason why people hire immigration lawyers for this stuff. 😅
Hongs Abroad 