Originally Posted by
tauphi
AFAIK you do not need a Mainland Resident Taiwan Travel Permit if you hold a permanent visa from a third country. If you're still unsure, I suggest that you contact the Border Security people from the port where you will exit China. They should be able to set you straight.
OK I was wrong. The only situation where you can fly direct to Taiwan without a permit is if you have an onward ticket to your country of residence. If you're transiting from Taiwan to a third country or if you're returning to China from Taiwan then you must have a Mainland Resident Taiwan Travel Permit, which as you said cannot be obtained in your case.
The only alternative for visiting Taiwan from China is to travel via a third country, and most people would choose Hong Kong when starting from China.
Thanks for the reply. Do you happen to know where you read that transit via TPE without 往來臺灣通行證 is allowed to the country of residence? At least this would open up BR to us when we are traveling together to/from mainland China.
From what I remember, traveling to HKG also requires a a similar permit for PRC passport holders (Two Way Permit, or 雙程證) unless you are in transit. We've used the transit provision without issues traveling onwards to NRT, but I wonder if either mainland or HKG immigration would object to Taiwan as the third country considering the cross-strait situation?