Where do I do immigration exit procedures when taking the CSF ferry from Taipei, Taiwan to Pingtan, China?

Question

I intend to take the CSF 海峡高速 (Haixia Gaosu) "Strait High-speed" ferry from Taipei, Taiwan to Pingtan, Fujian, China in a few days.

I found one blogger who has done the trip in the opposite direction and written abut it in English, though English doesn't seem to be his first language.

He writes "When it got to Bali, Taiwan, a shuttle bus took us to the customs/immigration office area."

This has me worried that the passport control I have to pass through before boarding the ferry might not actually be at the port. But maybe since the port looks like a large area it may have just taken them the short distance to somewhere within it which was tricky to navigate on foot with luggage?

Does somebody know where I must go to get my passport stamped to leave Taiwan? The ferry departs at 9am and I have to be there in advance, so things are getting quit early. Also I'll be on the last day of my visa and will get in trouble if I can't board the ferry for any reason.

Answer 1

While not a definitive response, here are resources which may help. A 2014 article in the Taipei Times confirms that the Taipei-Pingtan route runs on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Customs office at the port for the Keelung Port Border Affairs Team（Taipei Branch）is at No.123, Shanggang Rd., Bali Township, Taipei County 2F. Administration Building）02-86304169

The CSF ferry address is New Taipei City 24941 No. Bali Road commercial port area 123

CSF directions on how to get to Taipei Port:

• By car: Guandu Bridge—Longmi Road—Zhonghua Road—Shanggang Road—Taipei Harbor
• By bus: Bus 704 Beimen to Bali, or Bus 927 Sanchong to Bali; Bus 928 Wugu to Bali
• By high-speed rail: Get off at Guandu station, then transfer to Red Bus 22
• By boat: take boat to Balidu Pier, then transfer to Bus 704

The Taiwan Travel Service Center, Tourism Bureau in Taipei is open 08:00 ~ 19:00 daily, and is located at 1F-4F, No.240, Dunhua N. Rd., Songshan District, Taipei City 105 (Institute of Transportation Building).

Tourist Information Hotline : +886-2-2717-3737
24-Hour Toll-Free Travel Information Hotline : 0800-011765

Answer 2

The customs and passport control at Taipei Port is all in the same building in the port (which also houses the ticket office). We were there today, travelling with CSF.

You just turn up there (here's the plus code of the front door - 592R+55 Taipei, Taiwan), pick your tickets up if necessary and pass through security. A bus then shuttles you to the ferry door (like a bus taking you to the steps of an aeroplane from the terminal).

Took about 45mins to get from front door of office to stepping on the ferry so leave yourself some time.