ARC Question: How to get an Internship in Taiwan when you are on a Dependent ARC

[ewuzz]

Hi Everyone,

I have a question regarding ARC and working. I am living in Taiwan on a Dependent ARC (my wife is an English teacher at an Elementary School). while I study for my Master’s in Computer Science through an Online M.S program in America. I wanted to apply for an internship, however since an internship is a job, I am not legally allowed to work with my Dependent ARC.

I looked around on the internet and have found limited information on this issue. From my limited understanding, I would have to convert my ARC into a work ARC? When my internship is over does it just convert back to a Dependent ARC? How easy is this done? Would I need to leave the country during any of these steps?

I looked on the Ministry of Labor website and there is an Application for Spouses of Foreign Professional Worker. Should this be what I am looking for? Since I am in the middle of my Master’s education and career change I don’t have the 2 years relevant work experience it lists? Honestly, I feel like this is uncharted territory and any information on this matter will be most helpful. I don’t want to lose out on potential work/internship opportunities here in Taiwan because I am on a Dependent ARC (as the spouse of a working foreigner).

[teach]

Others will know more, but I remember reading past threads about volunteering, such as this one:

Is it not legal to volunteer in Taiwan?

Hi, this was posted in the Feedback Forum Is it really illegal to volunteer – or what kinds of volunteering are not legal. I would like to post a disclaimer of some kind for the Volunteer Forum. Can you help me draft something appropriate Cheers

I can also say that 2 years work experience may not be as restrictive as you think–it’s possible work study in undergrad would count, non-profit experience, volunteer work after graduation, etc. This is another case where it’s helpful to parse how legal you need to be (for instance, your spouse’s school might welcome you to teach a computer class during their after school time) and how much you want to do. It could be worth a trip to the department of labor to ask. Alternately, another avenue to try is to look for alumni of your US school/program and see if a company here would help you arrange the internship and work with ARC issues.

[ewuzz]

So would it be best to just contact the Ministry of Labor to get information? Will I be able to communicate with them in English. My mandarin is so-so…

[teach]

There’s probably somebody there who knows. There’s a foreigner hotline you can call and they may be able to advise you where to go/who to ask about these issues.

Here’s another past thread, where it looks like some people essentially volunteer without formal status and others work through university/education/labor system to change their ARC/visa status:

Working permit (internship)

Start contacting the council of labour relations. They will show you the way. I think it is actually processed by MOEA. We recently brought an intern aboard, and the process was not especially tough, the most important is the documentation that you will be a student while you are an intern. They did not ask for certifications of documents or any of that crap, it went fast and smooth. If you are here on the right type of visa, you do not need to leave the country, our intern was not, so he had …

[yyy]

I would also look at this thread:

Are Unpaid Internships Legal, Or...?

Hi all! Nice to meet you! My company’s telling me that I don’t need a work permit. I would work for them part-time and unpaid as an intern (non-specialized work) with a tourist visa. I recently graduated with my bachelor’s; so, I’m not a student, I have less than two years of professional experience, and I don’t have my Master’s. There is no contract in sight. Is this legal? Follow-up question: Is there a way to work for them legally? Thanks so much for the help!

It includes a link to a more recent thread about volunteer work, which I’ll also link here:

Most volunteer work now OK without work permit

[Cross-posted from Forward Taiwan @ FB] Here is Forward Taiwan’s translation of a new letter of interpretation from the Ministry of Labor that significantly expands the scope of unpaid volunteer work that foreign nationals can do in Taiwan without a work permit. In a nutshell, foreign nationals can now work as unpaid volunteers on public interest projects such as beach cleanups, animal shelters, or other informal projects. Previously, foreign nationals could only volunteer at registered charit…