The EMS Nightmare

Introduction

EMS (Express Mail Service) is an international express postal service integrating the national postal systems of various countries. It provides a tracking number so you can check delivery progress online. Known as the fastest postal service, it is naturally quite a bit more expensive.

My first experience sending something via EMS was great—the online tracking was very prompt, and it arrived in Japan in just two days. This time, my company used EMS to send me my Certificate of Eligibility (COE). Just when I thought it would take about 2 to 3 days to arrive as well, disaster struck.

Today marked the eighth day, and the tracking status was still stuck right here.

Whether on Japan Post or Chunghwa Post, the tracking status showed the exact same thing. Inside that envelope was the crucial Certificate of Eligibility—without this single sheet of paper, getting my visa would be impossible. You can imagine just how important it was.

I had no idea what happened to make it get stuck like this. Even if it were held up in customs, it would typically show statuses like “in customs clearance.” But since it happened, there was nothing to do except suck it up and look for solutions.

After searching online, I couldn’t find any articles about a Certificate of Eligibility getting lost in transit (at least not in Chinese; there were a few in Japanese, which I’ll mention later).

I exhausted every method at my disposal. Here’s a breakdown of what I tried:

Checking Standard Delivery Times

Normally, delivery from Japan to Taiwan takes about 2 to 3 days, excluding customs inspection time.

Browsing Ptt Forums

There are quite a few posts about EMS delays on Ptt. Some were delayed by two weeks, some by several months. However, the vast majority were just delays—actual losses were extremely rare.

Checking Tracking on Both Origin and Destination Postal Websites

Sometimes the tracking updates between the two services aren’t synchronized, so it’s a good idea to check both sides.

Calling the Import Division

02-2703-7527

Calling this number was a pleasant experience; the staff was very polite, and you just need to give them your tracking number. However, the answer I received was pretty much the same as what was shown online: “It has not yet been imported into Taiwan.”

Inquiring at the Post Office in the Origin Country

Later, I asked my company to check with the post office in Japan. Japan Post’s response was that the mail item had already been exported; it might be undergoing customs inspection, or perhaps postal staff forgot to scan the barcode.

Filing an Inquiry Form (CN08)

If you find that an item hasn’t arrived well past standard delivery times, you can fill out a CN08 inquiry form and fax it, or go directly to the origin post office to process it. However, because this form must be filed by the sender, I emailed my company separately to ask for their help in opening an investigation.

Inquiring via Email

p-imp@mail.post.gov.tw

I sent an email to the Parcel Import Section of the Taipei Mail Processing Center. They replied very quickly, and this time, gave a somewhat different answer:

• Yesterday was the expected final date for this mail item to be imported, but it has not yet arrived in Taiwan. Our unit will issue a verification report today to notify Japan Post that this item is overdue.

I sent another follow-up email the next day, and the reply was even more alarming:

• Dispatch batch number 1139 has indeed not been imported yet. Our unit contacted the Airmail Processing Center and the airlines, and confirmed that this batch of mail was never received. We have issued a verification report to Japan Post notifying them of the non-receipt. Chunghwa Post and Japan Post are currently investigating this matter. Please wait patiently for the investigation results.

It turned out the entire dispatch batch never made it into the country—unbelievable! I read all kinds of articles online; typical reasons included being held for customs inspection, loaded onto the wrong flight, or accidentally sent via sea freight instead of air. But honestly, blind guessing only makes you more anxious. All I could do was wait for the results.

Chunghwa Post Customer Service Portal

https://www.post.gov.tw/post/internet/Customer_service/index.jsp?ID=1603

To keep better track of the investigation’s progress, I submitted an inquiry through the customer service portal form. They replied quickly as well. I just hoped to get an answer soon.

Still, just in case, I had to prepare for the worst-case scenario. The Certificate of Eligibility is only valid for three months; if you don’t enter Japan within that period, it expires. If it’s lost, there’s no way to apply for a replacement—you have to apply all over again from scratch.

Yes, you have to go through the entire process again.

Having to reapply because of a ridiculous mishap like this is extremely frustrating, but those are the current regulations. That said, you can reuse the documents submitted previously, and processing tends to be slightly faster than the first time (though I can’t say for certain).

Additionally, my company mentioned that if the lost Certificate of Eligibility suddenly turns up while a reapplication is in progress, it can no longer be used.

Since there are virtually no articles about this situation in Taiwan, I looked up a few Japanese articles for reference.

Kansai Airport Flooding: Portions of Mail Washed Away

The author shared a story about their Certificate of Eligibility (likely) being swept away by floodwaters. Last year, torrential rains caused severe flooding at Kansai Airport, washing away parts of the mail. Even though the author inquired through every possible channel, it was nowhere to be found. They had to submit a reapplication and received a new COE about 10 days later.

Even when lost due to natural disasters, reapplying is mandatory. The author noted that when reapplying, you can submit an explanatory statement (理由書) to help expedite the processing as much as possible.

The rest of the articles were Q&As from administrative scrivener firms, and the consensus was identical: if it’s lost, your only option is to reapply, though you can use your previous application materials. If you want to look it up, searching for 「在留資格証明書　紛失」 will yield plenty of articles.

Reapplying for a Certificate of Eligibility

Conclusion

If this unfortunate situation ever happens to you, I hope this post provides some guidance. I kept thinking how terrifying this system is: no one can guarantee documents will safely reach your hands, yet you can’t simply fly to Japan or apply directly for a duplicate. It would be so much better if they could review applications online and let you process them directly at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association.

Postscript

It turned out the letter had been loaded onto the wrong plane and flown to Ho Chi Minh City, then boarded another flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Taiwan—hence the massive delay. Fortunately, I finally received it in the end. Thank heavens!