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Getting Your Travel Visa - Part 2

Now we continue our look at how one goes about getting a Visa without going through an expensive agency, but directly at the embassy or consulate nearest your location. In the first part of: “Getting A Visa,” we looked over what was necessary for getting a visa and with little difficulty we found the list of items and what needed to do. The first step to take now is to gather all this paperwork together, then the second step is taking it to the embassy and the final, third step will be going back and picking it up from the embassy.

The Paperwork

(1)

A passport is the first item on the list. Making sure you get a passport as soon as possible is crucial because passports can take months to process (unless you’re willing to pay more $). Personally when I got my first passport it took 3 months from the time I submitted my last piece of paper to apply for it, to when it arrived at my door step. Your passport needs to be current, if it expires in 6 or less months you are better off getting a new one because a Visa will not be issued to you.

(2)

The next item is two 2’’ by 2’’ photos of yourself. This means standard passport photos. For this one there are two ways to get what is required, one is easier but costs more than the other. The easiest way to get the ideal sized photo that the embassy requires, is by going to your nearest drug store/pharmacy and stopping by their film development section. Ask for two passport photos and they will happily take them…a few minutes later you’re on your way.

The second method is to use your own digital camera (on a tripod) and to get a few good pictures of yourself and then just go get them developed. This will cost less and you’ll have to cut the pictures so that they fit the 2’’ by 2’’ size requirement, but honestly they are not very strict at the embassy.

(3)

$131. Plain and simple. This is how much the Visa will cost. They only take cash or cashiers check and I do recommend taking cash, it is just easier for everyone. They have change but if you bring the exact amount it, again, it is just easier for everyone.

(4)

The fourth requirement is a document that explains your purpose for visiting Taiwan. In my case I showed them my school’s acceptance letter that was mailed to me. Other acceptable items can be business related documents or hospital papers for emergencies. They are just looking for some official reason for your visit to Taiwan.

(5)

The last two documents required are your completed application form, which you can get off of their website, and a copy of your airline ticket or flight schedule. The application form can be tricky to fill out, so just leave the parts you are unsure about blank and you can fill them out when you get there.

The Embassy

With all the paperwork done & together in one place it’s time to finally go to the embassy. The one in Los Angles is actually called: “The Taipei Economic and Cultural office” (aka The Taiwanese Embassy/Consulate). It is located at:

3731 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 700
Los Angeles, CA 90010
U.S.A.
Tel.: 1 (213) 389-1215

The building where the embassy is, is very obvious and this is really helpful to anyone who has never been there before. There are two gigantic buildings next to each other, one is number 3701 the other 3731 and they are at least 10 stores high. Right across the street there is metered parking. I had just used up all my quarters at lunch and was fresh out so I took a gamble and parked with my fingers crossed.

The lobby of 3731 Wilshire was seemingly small and has a few stores around it. I asked the security guard where the embassy was because I had forgotten to write down the suite number and he kindly guided me to the elevators, took me to the 7th floor and pointed to the embassy doors. Inside the embassy was a security guard, a small waiting room with lots of chairs and a few stations for doing paperwork in the back. It was setup so that you take a number and wait until your number is called to go up to one of the four ladies there to help you. Everyone was speaking Chinese and it gave me an opportunity to try and listen in, however I can still only understand the most simplest of phrases.

Entrance To The Taiwanese Embassy

My number was called after about 10 minutes of waiting, there were only 5 other people in the room and only 2 of them were waiting to be helped. The lady behind the window, I didn’t catch her name, seemed a bit business-like but was very helpful. I told her I needed a “Visitor Visa” and started handing her each item on the checklist one-by-one. She asked me to correct a few things on the application which I did no questions asked and then finally, I had to pony up $131. After a bit more shuffling of papers and counting the money I had given her, she made sure I knew all the details regarding the visa (i.e. it only lasts 60 days) and gave me a receipt. The Visa would take one day to process and would be ready for me to pick up tomorrow after 3pm. With that, I put all my leftover paperwork back into a folder, thanked her and went back to my car with my fingers crossed, hoping I did not get a parking ticket (it turns out I did not get a ticket).

Returning To The Embassy

The next day I drove back to the embassy from my house (this time with quarters). I parked at the same spot, right across the street from 3731 Wilshire and went up to the embassy on the 7th floor. Since I was just picking up my passport I didn’t need to take a number, instead I just walked up to the information/pickup window and handed over the receipt I was given yesterday. After a few moments & shuffling through what looked like a pile of ready to be picked up passports, mine was found and handed to me. Naturally, the first thing I did was flip it open and look at the Visa. I think it looks pretty good (aside from the mug-shot picture of me), here’s a picture of the Visa:

It looks very different from my other visas, probably because of all the Chinese writing! So, after a few moments of being in awe, I took the elevators back down and walked across the street to my car, except now with a Taiwanese visa.

If you have any questions or remarks about getting a visa for travel or living abroad just leave a comment!