Permanence

I'm getting all the stuff together to apply for a permanent residence certificate (APRC). One of the things I have to get is proof of residence, or 入出國日期證明書. So I went to the foreign affairs bureau, filled out the form with my current passport number and name, and gave it to the lady behind the counter. She keyed in the information, looked at the monitor, and said "You have entered Taiwan on three different passports".

I paused before answering, then admitted yes- I have entered Taiwan on three passports. I then told her that I was very surprised that she knew that. She just gave me a smug grin. I asked if she had records all the way back to my first entry in 1990. She said no, they have everything from 1991 forward in the database.

I think that's kind of interesting. I didn't think the Taiwan government was that competent back in 1991 as far as computers and databases and stuff. But the entry-exit data was getting stored somewhere.

Oh, and I've got 4767 days in country.