This morning I got an email from my lovely niece, Alejandrina who was born in Guadalajara but now lives with her husband, Eric, in Texas.
Hi Jen,
I have a really quick question I think you may know the answer to. We have a trip coming up to Taiwan for Thanksgiving and it appears that I have to get a visa to enter Taiwan since I have a Mexican passport (I am working on getting my American citizenship, but there a couple of requirements I have not yet met). Do you know of a reliable website that I can go to or if I have to contact the Taiwanese embassy directly? what would you be your first step ? Have you done any of this for other countries? What better person to ask that the traveling expert?
Love,
Ale
Hola Ale-
Congratulations on working towards your American citizenship! I am not sure what the requirements are for Mexicans, but for all my visa needs I use CIBT. They have several offices all over the United States and a good interface where you can enter what sort of passport you hold and offices all over the country (sometimes you need to have the visa issued in from the office or consulate closest to you, other times you have to send it to the Washington DC office). You will be able to find out all this information from their website and if not, give them a call, their number is listed on the website. Sometimes, depending on where you live, you need to send your passport and materials to the office closest to your state of residence. Always make a copy of your passport prior to sending it (also make sure your traveling companion has a copy of your passport in case yours gets lost or stolen). When I have to ship my passport, I always ship it with a tracking number via FedEx or US Express mail. CIBT charges a fee, but they have always been very reliable and save a lot of time and hassle.
Have a great trip. I can’t wait to hear all about it.
Best,
Jen
