This is my first post. I am looking to move to Taiwan with my wife and three kids. I understand that may sound crazy. I have a bachelors degree and a TEFL certificate and I am looking to teach English.
My question is, how do I handle the visa process? Given that I will be getting an ARC from my eventual employer what do I have to do? In my search of the forum some people have said that visa exempt is fine. But the websites I have read also say that I have to have a return ticket which of course I will not have.
Also, do I have to pay $190 per person (so for me x5) for visas for everyone, even my kids? If so ok, but that’s almost as much as my airfare to get there.
Anyway I’m no in country yet, I’m just getting my affairs in order to make the big jump.
Others can comment about the visa issue since I’m not too clear on that front.
Please don’t take this the wrong way, but based on the info you’ve given, you’re going to support three kids and your wife based on a salary at a cram school, or were you looking to teach K-12 full-time?
If it’s not the latter and unless your wife also has a job lined up or you have family here that can help with various costs, you may want to do a little more research on teacher salaries. I could see the monthly salary being enough for the family in more rural areas, but in big cities like Taipei, Taizhong and Kaohsiung it would be a little tough.
Please feel free to clarify my assumptions, but just wanted to make sure you were clear on the decision.
I was looking at a cram school. In order to teach public school there I would have to have a teaching degree which would cost me about $30,000 here in Oregon. So you can imagine that seems like a huge waste of money. My wife has a location independent income of about $1000 a month. I am not going to take a position in Taipei as the cost of living is too high. I am looking into Hsinchu or Taichung. All of the research has suggested that rent would basically be the equal of like $450 and everything else would be more than doable. There are really no other high expenses. I don’t know if you have children, but other than food they are not expensive need machines.
It doesn’t just sound crazy, it sounds certifiably insane. There are so many questions I don’t know where to begin. Have you started your job search? Have you ever been to Asia? Do you have any idea what teaching English in Taiwan entails? Have you consulted with your family about this “decision”?
Regardless of whether you come over on a visa, you must have a return ticket - or proof of onward travel. I know some people in the past have slipped through the cracks, and it’s been a long time since I went through the whole ordeal, but that’s the one thing you must have. Job, ARC, visa - get 'em, whatever.
Do you plan on rolling off the plane with a family of five and no proof of onward travel? Lord, no offense, but I’d love to see how that goes down at immigration. I’m curious at heart.
Meanwhile, my calculator tells me that 190 x 5 = 950, which may be equal to a single one-way airfare. It’s going to cost you at least five grand to bring the family over here.
Where you plan to live? Stay upon arrival? How much cash do you have to flush down the toilet? What about school for the kids?
Start answering those questions and maybe someone will chime in about getting a visa. To give you a quick personal experience, I came over on a 60-day visitor visa, found a gig, and things took care of themselves. BUT I was incredibly lucky and more importantly, I was alone, flying solo, no one to worry about but me. My goodness, with a family in tow? N-O.
Well this has been enlightening. I have discussed my “decision” with my family. I have of course started looking for positions. It is common for folks to believe that living abroad is madness. People assume that quite simply it cannot be done unless you are childless or a retiree.
My wife would be home schooling the children, not that it’s what I asked is relevant to my question. And if I rolled off the plane to immigration then yes I suppose you would be amused. And I am excited at that notion. It’s almost as if I posted on a forum regarding questions about the process.
So while I appreciate the concern you have expressed for my foolishness and my inability to care for my family, it is not helpful.
Going back to my original query, you have to have a return ticket even if you have a job lined up and no intention of returning?
OP: I’ve no experience with family visas, but if you do need onward plane tickets for your family members (which seems likely) this website might be useful: https://flyonward.com/en/.
from personal experience, i did not need return ticket when i applied for visa in my home country. since i had work permit issued from company they did not ask it.
my wife came here on dependent resident visa. again, return ticket was not needed.
Basic average English teacher salary = 60k NTD. Wife’s income: 30k NTD. 3 bedroom house in Hsinchu/Taoyuan/Taichung: 25k maybe, probably a lot less, in a 3 bedroom place with an elevator, fulls security and garbage service. Add taxes and National health Insurance. Wife and kids will be attache dto your ARC. She is not “allowed” to work legally this way, but you say income is not based here, should be OKish.
Have you looked into positions in Taitung, the islands -Green Island, Kinmen or Penghu? usually, there are a lot of incentives say in government schools to teach there, like housing and other perks. Somewhere nice in Nantou, over the mountains, or Kaohsiung, Tainan, close to beaches. More fun for the kids, more nature.
There is a local association of home school parents. You can look into it for support if so required.
To my knowledge, yes. You have to have a return ticket or just an out-going flight booked upon your initial arrival. UNLESS, you and your family arrive on a landing visa. Which I think is your 190USD visa you mentioned. I know you have a very limited time after you’ve arrived on your landing visa to apply for your ARC. So make sure you put all things aside to take care of that.
Just a quick side note, when and if you sign your contract, see to it that the school covers your Visa and ARC fees. They may not be willing to cover the entire family’s, but they should at least cover yours! It’s not out of the question and they are the ones sponsoring you, why do you have to cover the costs?
Your situation is different than mine since you’re bringing dependents with you and you weren’t here in TW on the ground to take care and prep the necessary documentation. So, I would highly suggest you call and present your questions to the nearest Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) aka the Taiwan Embassy, which is in LA. http://www.taiwanembassy.org/US/LAX
Maybe it doesn’t sound crazy…definitely brave though! I hope it works out for you.
Your visa issues are so specific that I think you’d be best off in getting touch with your nearest Taipei representative office and getting some official advice. It might take a bit of persistence - they seem to vary in terms of how helpful they are. But if you rely on posts on this board and others, whilst there’s a lot of good accurate info, there’s normally a lot of contradictory info that isn’t reliable or perhaps isn’t relevant to you.
Thank you for your response. I found a few apartments that were around 10-15k ntd in Taichung. So I would think based on our income spread we would be ok. I have not looked at those other areas, but I will now. Thank you for your response.
Have you looked at those apartments closely? 10-15k is going to get you a dump, or something appropriate for a single mid-20s person. Not for a family.
That’s the truth.
Given that the topic here is the costs involved, it should be mentioned that in addition to all the other stuff, you won’t want to be getting here without at least 3 months’ budget in hand. You can get set up, but it really takes some time, especially if you don’t have anyone on the ground here to help you out.
Which is kind of, I think, what my Uncle super_lucky was getting at.
You may think you’re prepared, but trust everyone here, it’s going to surprise you.
Really, it would behoove you to seriously consider coming alone and getting set up and then bringing the fams over.
Those first couple weeks, you’re doing well if you can manage to stay fed.
And I ain’t bullshitting back here.
It’s okay as long as she’s not actually working. (Some types of volunteer work are now permitted.) As a tax resident (183+ days in a calendar year), she’ll need to declare worldwide income, but there are ways to reduce it e.g. through joint filing with you and the exemptions/deductions that residents get. For example, if she’s receiving royalties for written work, the first NT $180,000 doesn’t even need to be declared.
As for online work, the law has not caught up yet.
In 25 years and over 50 inbound flights I have never been asked for an onward ticket. You’ll be asked at check in but you can sign a waiver of indemnity if necessary.
They don’t ask ARC holders and now that we have E-Gate, we don’t even have to talk to anybody.
I just spoke to a colleague’s nephew who’s visiting from the U.S. on a tourist visa. Arrived last weekend. They asked his itinerary at check-in and immigration, and he panicked because he’d misplaced it.
We can go round and round about this but what if OP shows up at TPE and gets pinched?
If OP shows up at TPE and gets pinched he either pulls out his smartphone and buys a ticket(s) online or the friendly immigration staff escort him to the CAL counter where he buys tickets to Honkers that he later refunds. Bottom line, its discretion of the immigration officer. IMHE I have never been asked to produce an onward flight ticket. I’m on permanent 3-month visa free entry. Maybe they’ve been told to not mess with the bear, maybe my Jedi mind weld is too strong for them. Just because a website says a rule exists doesn’t mean its enforced.
I was once refused entry for reasons I can’t disclose. Immigration offered me an onward flight to anywhere in the world free of charge. This is a great country.
Jennifer Aniston hasn’t stopped laughing all day.
