wrong post.
[quote=“enn”][color=#0040FF]Okay, guys. I need a little help with the acronym soup:
CBCs =
Thanks![/color][/quote]
CBC = Croatian Born Croatian … duh!
You are welcome! 
Well, to start, stay away from these shady little buxibans. Whenever you deal those types of people feelings get hurt and you don’t get paid. These people at these little schools who want “white” faces are only interested in hiring white clowns to baby-sit toddlers so that they can show the children’s “ignorant/unthinking/racist”(you pick as it varies) parents that they are learning “real” English. Of course they are not learning anything and the parents are getting duped. If you apply to a school that is actually interested in teaching the children then the way you look won’t be an issue. I am also an American who isn’t white and after being run around by a couple of English speaker run(go figure) places, and a couple of Taiwanese run places(this island has mental illness, I’m not kidding) I was snatched up by a bilingual school here in Taipei. No baby sitting, no clown work, and the pay is way more than one of these kindergartens and still more than adequate for actually having to teach any subject, in my opinion. There are jobs here working for companies who make English teaching materials such as books and posters. I would take a day to make some translation samples or dig up some old college papers and tweak them to act as a portfolio.These companies aren’t making money off of duping parents into giving them free money, so the odds of finding employment not requiring any sort of “skin test” in this area are pretty good. You speak Mandarin fluently and English. Freelance pay would include placing an ad on Tealit or anywhere and act as an teacher of Mandarin or an interpreter for hire helping people get cars, cellphones, housing, understanding leases and more. There are also websites in Chinese like “104人力銀行” that has plenty of options.
Don’t believe any hype about white preference not getting you a job,blah blah blah. That applies to jobs that require you to be a kindergarten clown or if the person doing the hiring is a racist( which happens often in unspoken form in more financially developed countries). There is a ton of racism/mental illness/backwards thinking here but if you keep your focus on getting paid and not getting deported you should be as fine as any other unemployed person looking for work.
I hope this advice helps, just repeat this mantra …Ohhm…“Stay focused, get paid.” “Stay focused, get paid.”“Stay focused, get paid”…Ohhm… 
[quote=“Nomaad”]
I hope this advice helps, just repeat this mantra …Ohhm…“Stay focused, get paid.” “Stay focused, get paid.”“Stay focused, get paid”…Ohhm… [/quote]
Reminds me of:
youtube.com/watch?v=L2JfY-nVaqg
To all the ABCs out here trying to make it, just keep ya head up. Keep hustling and you’ll find something eventually 
Today I first experienced humiliation. I attended an interview, but the interviewer (Taiwanese) basically laughed at me thinking I am some kind of fool. He kept asking me rhetorical questions e.g “you have a law degree so what are you doing here in Taiwan?”,“Why teaching?”, “Why not China?”, “My god, you’re here alone all by yourself?” When I tried to state my reason, he replied “that’s OK you don’t need to tell me that”. I guess it wasn’t convincing, He told me that they needed someone “with at least 2-3 year experience in teaching” and I have none. He told me to seek somewhere else, and it wasn’t really nice, I could sense the discrimination.
Are you sure that is discrimination? Where are you from? How much teaching exp do you have, just out of interest?
Yeah, you’re right and I have to admit that my English may not be perfect (that’s not the problem in this present case) and I do not have any experience in teaching, but I really wanted to come to Taiwan and I have my own personal reasons of doing so, I’m sure there are a lot of people doing the same thing as me, maybe they’re Caucasian, maybe they’re qualified teachers and maybe they have more working experience compared with me, but its just not right to discriminate against their race. If I’m white I’m sure they just wouldn’t question why I’m here (at least not in a rhetorical manner).
Yeah, you’re right and I have to admit that my English may not be perfect (that’s not the problem in this present case) and I do not have any experience in teaching, but I really wanted to come to Taiwan and I have my own personal reasons of doing so, I’m sure there are a lot of people doing the same thing as me, maybe they’re Caucasian, maybe they’re qualified teachers and maybe they have more working experience, but its just not right to discriminate against their race. If I’m white I think they just wouldn’t question why I’m here.[/quote]
I’m not going to reread this thread but I’m pretty sure this was mentioned as a fact of life for native English speaking Asian’s. It sucks but it’s reality in Taiwan.
And even worse for non-native-speaking people who are not Caucasian.
Why not just work as a legal adviser or whatever foreign lawyers in Taiwan are called? Have you been admitted to the bar in any state?
I totally understand what you mean. Our backgrounds sound very similar. I was born in CA and lived there until I was 25. Then I came to Taiwan. Although I have a full-time job, I had considered teaching English on the side to generate extra income… But everywhere I went, they took one look at me and said, “Sorry, we don’t hire Asians.” So I realized they would rather hire Europeans with noticeable accents rather than hire Asian Americans. Pffft…their loss eh?
If I was Asian, I would consider it a blessing that buxibans don’t “hire the asian face”. Other posters have said that it’s only the smaller, best-avoided operators that script such hiring policies, but in fact, such policies are de riguer industry-wide. Of course your English is better than Gaston de Marseilles or even possibly a Steven from Scarborough, Ont. You may have an advanced degree in linguistics for the sake of my point.
Which is, buxibans don’t teach English. Buxibans are au paire sweatshops. And marketing an au paire favours the caucasian as the marks in this national con game are gullible parents who don’t realize how simple it is to actually learn a language as a child and how the grifters and snake oil salesman that occupy 100% of the industry have no interest in methodology that would create independent learners of L2s. They wants to soak 3-6 years of cash outta the parents. And the whiter the au paire, the longer the con, the bigger the payoff… I taught adults for 8/9 years. Thousands of students. 1% of whom actually had enough yon chi (confidence) to carry on a conversation with another Taiwanese student while walking around buxiban jie. 1%! Simply put, EPIC FAIL!!! Unless you run a buxicon…then cha ching…
So why is it a blessing? You are still Hua Ren; no matter your accent or ability to speak however many languages. As long as you can avoid military service, Taiwan is the land o plenty. You usually have easier visa hurdles to leap (aforementioned military service notwithstanding) and real Taiwanese find you cool. Not falling into the buxi-con may be the best thing that could happen to you. Took me 9 years to get my 5 years str8 in, and now that I can work anywhere, the “english classroom” is the last place you’ll find me (most likely, dangling from an overhead projecter by my necktie).
Use your mandarin to network. Use your visa status to avoid buxicon. Be creative instead of analytical (this is an advantage you have over 99% of the locals). Find something that fits your personality and use all of yourself to pursue the Taiwanese Dream. It’s out there and far easier to realize if you are Hua Ren.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. I find it enlightening. 
[quote=“Toe Save”]If I was Asian, I would consider it a blessing that buxibans don’t “hire the Asian face”. Other posters have said that it’s only the smaller, best-avoided operators that script such hiring policies, but in fact, such policies are de riguer industry-wide. Of course your English is better than Gaston de Marseilles or even possibly a Steven from Scarborough, Ont. You may have an advanced degree in linguistics for the sake of my point.
Which is, buxibans don’t teach English. Buxibans are au paire sweatshops. And marketing an au paire favours the caucasian as the marks in this national con game are gullible parents who don’t realize how simple it is to actually learn a language as a child and how the grifters and snake oil salesman that occupy 100% of the industry have no interest in methodology that would create independent learners of L2s. They wants to soak 3-6 years of cash outta the parents. And the whiter the au paire, the longer the con, the bigger the payoff… I taught adults for 8/9 years. Thousands of students. 1% of whom actually had enough yon chi (confidence) to carry on a conversation with another Taiwanese student while walking around buxiban jie. 1%! Simply put, EPIC FAIL!!! Unless you run a buxicon…then cha ching…
So why is it a blessing? You are still Hua Ren; no matter your accent or ability to speak however many languages. As long as you can avoid military service, Taiwan is the land o plenty. You usually have easier visa hurdles to leap (aforementioned military service notwithstanding) and real Taiwanese find you cool. Not falling into the buxi-con may be the best thing that could happen to you. Took me 9 years to get my 5 years str8 in, and now that I can work anywhere, the “english classroom” is the last place you’ll find me (most likely, dangling from an overhead projecter by my necktie).
Use your Mandarin to network. Use your visa status to avoid buxicon. Be creative instead of analytical (this is an advantage you have over 99% of the locals). Find something that fits your personality and use all of yourself to pursue the Taiwanese Dream. It’s out there and far easier to realize if you are Hua Ren.[/quote]
Hi guys,
It’s nearly a month now and time flies. I’ve finally been offered a job but it’s only a part-time position, pay sucks (I think I’m paid as a Taiwanese not a foreigner’s wage) and I can’t get an ARC. I’ll have to leave the country and go to Hong Kong next week for a visa run as I only came here on 30 days visa free. Can I apply for a visitor’s visa while I’m in Hong Kong? Thanks
You can get a visitor visa (停留簽證) in HK, but you will need a reason, such as joining family or employment.
And you’ll need to provide some documentary evidence, such as household certificate or work contract.
If you come in with a 30day visa-less entry, then you can’t convert to an ARC, even if you find a school willing to give you one.
A visitor visa, however, can be converted.
can others confirm?
You can get a visitor visa (停留簽證) in HK, but you will need a reason, such as joining family or employment.
And you’ll need to provide some documentary evidence, such as household certificate or work contract.
If you come in with a 30day visa-less entry, then you can’t convert to an ARC, even if you find a school willing to give you one.
A visitor visa, however, can be converted.
can others confirm?[/quote]
pretty much everything is wrong.
In Hong Kong you can just use travel as a blanket reason for obtaining a visitor visa.
If you come in with a 30 visa free entry it can be converted to an ARC. First you’ll have to apply for a resident visa and then the ARC. But you won’t have to leave the country.
[quote=“Abacus”]In Hong Kong you can just use travel as a blanket reason for obtaining a visitor visa.
If you come in with a 30 visa free entry it can be converted to an ARC. First you’ll have to apply for a resident visa and then the ARC. But you won’t have to leave the country.[/quote]
I happily stand corrected, which is good news for the OP.
[quote=“Abacus”]In Hong Kong you can just use travel as a blanket reason for obtaining a visitor visa.
If you come in with a 30 visa free entry it can be converted to an ARC. First you’ll have to apply for a resident visa and then the ARC. But you won’t have to leave the country.[/quote]
I happily stand corrected, which is good news for the OP.[/quote]
Visa rules change often, are inconsistently applied and there is a lot of misinformation out there.
In Manila for example you cannot use travel to get a visitor visa. But in Hong Kong and most of other TECO’s you can. And I have done this in Seattle and Hong Kong in the last two years.
And based on what I’ve read the visa exempt rule changed recently (within the last 5 years possibly) and it’s still very confusing. And the term convert could mean two different things to two different people. When I say convert the visa free entry to an ARC I include step of obtaining a resident visa as part of the conversion. Technically though it’s impossible to convert visa free directly to an ARC. And I’ve have read at least 5 first hand accounts on here claiming that it’s the standard practice now. though some schools might not know it. But the bigger issue is that it’s difficult to take care of all of the paperwork to get the resident visa in 30 days. Otherwise you have to do a visa (or visa-free technically) run.
Just curious …
How much does it cost to get the resident visa?
And having got it, is there any other cost to get the ARC (other than the normal $1000 for 12 mths)?
Resident visa for Americans = 5000NT. There is one person that said he was able to apply for an ARC with a regular visitor visa and skip the step of getting the resident visa. But as far as I can tell this is a single case and perhaps he is mistaken. If he isn’t then this is good news that is not widely known.