Learn Hardcore Chinese: Wèile chūguó, tā zhèngzài shēnqǐng qiānzhèng, hái yào tián hěn duō biǎogé. - In order to go abroad, she is applying for a visa and still has to fill out many forms.

为出国 is grammatical but sounds more formal or written; 为了 is more natural in everyday speech for “in order to.”
If you omit it and just say 出国，她正在申请签证…, it sounds abrupt or like “As for going abroad, she is applying for a visa…”, slightly different in feel. You lose the explicit “in order to” meaning.

So 为了 is the best, most natural choice here for spoken-style “in order to …”.

Why is it just 出国 (chūguó) and not something like 去国外 (qù guówài) or 去外国 (qù wàiguó)?

出国 literally means “to exit the country,” and is the standard way to say “go abroad / go overseas” from the speaker’s country.

Comparisons:

出国 – neutral, very common: “go abroad.” No specific country is mentioned.
去国外 – also means “go abroad,” but slightly less common; can sound a bit more written or explicit.
去外国 – not very natural; Chinese usually says 外国 (foreign country) in other structures, e.g. 去外国读书 (“go to a foreign country to study”), but as a standalone “go abroad,” 出国 is preferred.

So in this context, 出国 is the most idiomatic choice.

Why is 为了出国 placed at the beginning of the sentence with a comma? Could it go somewhere else?

为了出国 is a purpose phrase, and putting it at the beginning is very natural:

为了出国，她正在申请签证…
“In order to go abroad, she is applying for a visa…”

You could also say:

她为了出国正在申请签证，还要填很多表格。

That is still grammatical, but the version with 为了出国 at the start:

Emphasizes the reason first (common in Chinese).
Flows more naturally in spoken language.

So yes, it can move, but sentence-initial position is the most typical for a purpose phrase like 为了….

What exactly does 正在 (zhèngzài) mean, and how is it different from just 在 (zài) or not using anything?

正在 marks an action as in progress right now – similar to English “is doing”.

她正在申请签证。
“She is (currently) applying for a visa.”

Differences:

在 + verb (e.g. 她在申请签证) also marks a progressive action; 正在 is often a bit more explicit/emphatic, like “right now.”
With no 在 / 正在, Chinese is often time-neutral:
- 她申请签证。 could mean “She applies for a visa / She is applying for a visa / She applied for a visa,” depending on context.

Here, 正在 makes it clear that it’s happening now.

Is 申请 (shēnqǐng) a verb here? Why don’t we say 申请一个签证 with a measure word?

申请 is a verb: “to apply for.”

申请签证 = “to apply for a visa” (verb + object)
Adding a measure word (一个签证) is possible but not necessary.

In Chinese, with many abstract or institutional nouns, people often skip the measure word:

申请签证 – apply for a visa
申请工作 – apply for a job
申请奖学金 – apply for a scholarship

申请一个签证 is grammatically correct, but in this context it sounds less natural and slightly more “counting” than needed. 申请签证 is the normal expression.

What does 还 (hái) contribute in 还要 (hái yào)? How is that different from 也要 (yě yào)?

Here 还 means “still / in addition / furthermore.”

还要填很多表格 = “(She) still has to fill out lots of forms” or “(She) also needs to fill out many forms (on top of what she’s already doing).”

Nuance:

还要 suggests an extra step / further requirement besides what has just been mentioned (applying for the visa).
也要 is a more neutral “also”, often used to say two subjects have the same property or two parallel actions both happen.

Compare:

她正在申请签证，还要填很多表格。
→ Besides applying, there’s the additional task of filling forms.
她要申请签证，我也要申请签证。
→ She wants to apply; I also want to apply.

So in this sentence, 还要 is more appropriate because it highlights the extra burden / additional step.

What does 要 (yào) mean here? Is it “want to,” “will,” or “have to”?

In 还要填很多表格, 要 expresses a kind of necessity / requirement / planned action:

Natural English: “(She) has to / needs to fill out many forms” or “(She) will need to fill out many forms.”

It is not “want to” here. Context decides:

我要水。= “I want water.” (desire)
明天我要去北京。= “I’m going to Beijing tomorrow.” (plan / future)
为了出国，她还要填很多表格。= “In order to go abroad, she still has to fill out many forms.” (requirement)

So here, interpret 要 as “need to / must / be required to” rather than “want.”

Why is 填 (tián) used instead of 写 (xiě) for forms?

填 means “to fill in / fill out (a form, blanks, etc.)”.

You 填 things that already have a fixed structure with empty fields:

填表格 – fill out a form
填空 – fill in the blanks
填申请表 – fill in an application form

写 means “to write” in general (write characters, essays, letters). You would 写一封信 (write a letter) or 写文章 (write an article), but 填表格 (fill in a structured form).

So 填很多表格 is exactly the right verb here.

Why do we say 很多表格 (hěn duō biǎogé) instead of just 多表格 or something like 多的表格?

很多 is a very common “a lot of / many” expression:

很多 + noun = “many (noun)”

So:

很多表格 = many forms

About the alternatives:

多表格 – sounds incomplete/unnatural in modern Mandarin; 多 as “many” almost always needs 很 / 很多 / 这么多 / 那么多 / 这么多表格, etc.
多的表格 – could appear in some specific structures but not as the standard “many forms” phrase. Native speakers say 很多表格.

So 很多 + noun is the basic, natural pattern you should remember.

Why isn’t 她 (tā) repeated before 还要填? In English we would say “She is applying… and she also has to fill…”

In Chinese, when two clauses share the same subject, the subject is often mentioned once and then omitted in following clauses:

她正在申请签证，还要填很多表格。
Literal structure: “[She] is applying for a visa, (and) also has to fill out many forms.”

Repeating:

她正在申请签证，她还要填很多表格。

is grammatical, but sounds slightly more repetitive. Omitting the second 她 is more natural and efficient since the subject is clear from context.

Can this sentence be split into two sentences instead of one with a comma? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you could write:

为了出国，她正在申请签证。她还要填很多表格。

Meaning-wise, it’s almost the same. Differences:

With one sentence and a comma, the two actions feel more tightly connected as part of one overall process.
With two sentences, they feel slightly more separated, like two statements about her situation.

Both are acceptable; the original one-sentence version is more compact and typical in writing.

How do we know the time reference in this sentence? There’s no past or future tense like in English.

Chinese doesn’t mark tense with verb endings like English. Instead, it relies on:

Aspect markers and adverbs:
- 正在 → action is in progress now
- 要 → indicates a need / plan / requirement, often for now or the near future
- 还 → “still / in addition,” ties it to the current process
Context.

So in:

她正在申请签证，还要填很多表格。

We infer:

正在 → “is currently applying” (present progressive)
还要 → “still needs to / will have to” (present or near future requirement)

Together they situate the whole sentence in the present time frame with ongoing and upcoming actions.