APRC-My non-citizen, dependent wife's qualifications, and our income

Legal Visa & Residency
1

I’m married to a non-Taiwanese foreign wife who cannot legally work in Taiwan because she is a dependent with her ARC depending on my ARC status. I’m planning to apply for an APRC in the next two years. This raises a few questions.

  1. My wife has no income. Can she still apply for an APRC, or will she need to continue to have a dependent ARC? She wants to work, but legally she cannot now. Since she doesn’t have an income, that seems to disqualify her for financial reasons.

  2. Since we file taxes together, and she is reporting no income, does that cut my income status in half? At the moment, the income requirement to qualify for an APRC is $44,000 NT per month, equaling $528,000 per year. I make just about that much. But since we have to use the tax filing to verify income, and since she is on my taxes, does that cut it in half, so to speak? It seems unlikely, but I need to know if I should file jointly or as single for the year before we apply.

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2

If you are a foreign senior professional, your dependants can apply for APRC with you. If not, no.

  1. “Foreign senior professional” means a senior professional needed by the State as prescribed in Article 25 Paragraph 3 Subparagraph 2 of the Immigration Act.
3

So not the usual buxiban English teacher? That doesn’t sound like a senior professional, but that’s what I am.

4

If going to senior professional route, looks like the dependents can apply only after the major APRC holder holds his APRC status at least 5 years.

5

Dependants of foreign senior professionals can apply at the same time.
Article 15 of Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals

Dependants of foreign professionals can apply after 5 years.
Article 16 of the Act

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6

You are right. I missed that point.

7

Ok, that’s good. But that means a buxiban teacher is a foreign professional, right? And according to Article 16:

After a foreign professional hired to conduct professional work has been approved for permanent residence by the National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior, said person’s spouse and minor children, and children over twenty years old who are unable to live independently due to physical or mental disability, who have resided in the State lawfully and continuously for five years, have stayed in the State for more then 183 days in each of those years, and have behaved properly in compliance with the national interests of the State, may apply for permanent residency to the National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior.

So if I’m reading that right, my wife can apply for an APRC after I receive mine, is that right?

But more importantly, can she apply for an open work permit? Are you automatically qualified to get an open work permit after receiving an APRC? That seems to have been the case previously, but under the new law I’m not sure.

8

After she will get an APRC, she can get her open work permit.

9

Has anyone verified that a Bushiban teacher is a “Foreign Professional”? This is VERY important in relation to this thread, and I would like to know as well.

Also important, if a Bushiban teacher is a foreign Professional, does his wife apply at the same time, or in 5 years? And what about children as well? Once they hit adulthood, did they get an APRC?

10

Tl/dr:
Buxiban teachers are foreign professionals.

Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals

Employment Service Act

Subparagraphs 1 to 6 are what they used to call “white collar”. (“Blue collar” covers the next few subparagraphs, not quoted here.)

They recently (November 2018) revised subpararagraph 4, removing the “foreign language(s)” part but haven’t updated the English version yet.

就業服務法

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11

Excellent! Thank you for verifying that.

12

As for when to apply for the dependents, as far as I’ve been able to learn, it’s after the worker has their APRC application approved. #2 or #3 in the list can apply at the same time for their and their dependent’s APRCs. Small difference.

13

For anyone who comes across this thread later, here’s an unfortunate update:

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