I’m going to try and write this post in the most delicate way possible.
Dan and I are heading off to Taiwan in a couple of weeks. We are going to see my aging grandparents and also attend some family weddings. The flight that we booked has a ~20 hour layover on the way there and back in Beijing. Naturally, being children of wanderlust, we decided to take advantage of those 20 hours outside of the airport which requires visas.
In our research, we found that we could apply for several types of tourist visas, from the minimum 1 entry in 6 months to the maximum multiple entries in 24 months, all for the same price since we are Americans. We could qualify for the maximum visa because I was born in Taiwan, have relatives in the mainland, and Dan is my spouse. Might as well apply for the maximum then, right? Even though we were US citizens living in the UK, we were allowed to process our application through the embassy in England instead of going through the US, so that’s a relief. After making sure every last bit of our visa application was perfect, we sent it into a visa processing center who would take it to the embassy for us. The next day I got a call and after several back and forths, it turns out that there were some problems with our visa application.
- We could only apply for the maximum visa if we can prove a direct relationship with a relative living there (father, mother, sibling) which is proven via birth certificates. Okay, I don’t have that, so I asked to go with the second best option, multiple entries in 12 months.
- The multiple entries in 12 months visa is not available to Brits (unless they can prove a direct relationship with a relative, etc.). It is, however, available to Americans. When I tried to tell the visa service center this discrepancy, they refused to treat us as Americans saying that we had to follow British policies even though we were not British.
- On the application form, it asks for place of birth, and they double-check this information against what is written on your passport. Taiwan, R.O.C. is what I wrote and what I have always written as my place of birth. The service center objected to this nomenclature and insisted that I submit an entirely new application with a correction. “We don’t recognize Taiwan, R.O.C. only Taiwan, China.” Well then. If that were really true, why am I applying for a visa anyway? I should just be allowed to go!
After much harangueing, I gritted my teeth and just did what they said. I certainly felt under the thumb and slightly less interested in going, full stop. We finally got our visas in the mail early last week. All I can say is, I’m excited to see my family and eat all the good food!
I can understand your frustration in the process. The outcome though is great! Congratulations on the result of perseverance. I think the I Ching said something about that.
Have a great time in Taiwan! I spent the summer of 1990 there and loved the food, esp street food like beef noodle etc. Also great seafood.