Hi all,
What is the proper process to lodge an administrative appeal against a non-granting of a work permit by the CLA?
I currently hold two Article 51 (“garden-variety unmarried foreigners of good characters who have worked legally for 5 continuous years”) work permits.
I applied for the first in 2002. At that time, I had been out of Taiwan for nearly – but not quite – two years. The law stated that one could make an application within two years of eligibility – that is, within two years of having completed 5 continuous years of employment. This permit was granted. I could not have proven five years continuous residence and work counting backwards from the date of application, nor was I required to do so.
I applied for a second Art. 51 in 2003. At that time, I had been resident in Taiwan since returning in 2002, and had been working based on the firsrt Article 51 work permit. This permit was granted, based on precisely the same paperwork I had submitted for the first permit. The only difference was the application form (which obviously had the name of a different company on it) and of course the company registration certificate. I did not submit any further proof of residency or presence in the ROC at that time. I could not have proven five years continuous residence and work counting backwards from the date of application, nor was I asked to do so.
I applied this week for a third Art. 51 permit. I have been resident in Taiwan since returning in 2002 and have easily made the required 183 days per year mark each year. I submitted precisely the same paperwork (photocopied from the same folder as usual) with the new company information and supporting documents. This request was denied. The basis? “You haven’t been working in the ROC continually for 5 years.”
I take this to mean that, having obtained 2 Article 51 permits, I am now effectively required to keep working ONLY for those two employers until I have accumulated five years’ residence ONCE AGAIN, at which time I could think about adding more 51s. This seems to be completely against the intention of the drafters of the regulations.
The CLA will not budge on this, although they admit they issued 2 permits in the past on the (sensible) basis that since the law said there was a 2 year window of eligibility, things were OK. I can see where they might read things this way, but how in the world can I be eligible yesterday AND apply and be granted the permit, and then be unable to apply today? I could see if I missed the deadline completely, but I’ve been relying on those permits to stay in the ROC.
Effectively, the CLA has just declared me illegal, if we consider that the issuance of the 2nd Article 51 (on which my current ARC is based) is flawed.
I would like to light a medium-sized fire underneath these folks (hopefully the fire of logic) and need to know how I go about it. Would a Post Office Registered Evidentiary Letter to the CLA “shen1su4” committee (with a cc: to Ma Ying-jeou, for instance) be the way to go?
I am sick and tired of the government not knowing its own laws (“What two years?” she asked me) and going completely ass-backwards against the protestations of the mayor and the president – oh yeah, we want to make Taiwan a foreigner-friendly, international place. Haaaa!!!