arc
Tsk, tsk, you’ve been reading Tealit, haven’t you?? :shock: 
Anyway, I believe what the authorities look at is your “ultimate purpose” of being here, which must conform to the category of visa you are on. Right now, you are on a resident visa which was granted because you’re working (i.e, as far as they’re concerned, your purpose here is “employment”.) If you change over to a completely student visa, I’m not sure whether or not you must leave the country but I would suspect you might have to; I’m sure others could comment more fully. The point for the authorities is that you are then changing the purpose for which you are staying in Taiwan. If you merely change employers, you do not have to apply for a new resident visa, just change the employer sponsoring you on the ARC, backed by the appropriate documents.
[quote=“Donalda”]I also want to enroll in a university and complete my Masters degree sometime in the future and the regulations read that they will provide an ARC for you. However I have read that your school can block your ARC if you did not split on amicable terms. Is that true or just some more foreigner myth of which I have encountered way too much.
What is your legal position regarding your ARC and is it possible to move to a university with an ARC sponsored by your school?[/quote]
I would rather doubt that a school could block a student visa-based ARC on you, but stranger things have happened and I have no personal experience of this (better to let those contracts run out their term if possible to avoid such problems). The reason I say I doubt it is that they are probably governed by different divisions of the same ministry, or even perhaps by different ministries.
To stay in Taiwan after your employer cancels you, you must either find another employer so that you can switch “owners”, so to speak (but that sometimes requires a release letter from the first employer as has been alluded to elsewhere), or (I believe) leave Taiwan and re-enter on an appropriate visa for your new purpose (which would be “study” if you were basing your residence on Chinese classes.)
Definitely learn all the Chinese you can if you are thinking of an MA program here. There are a LOT of things that they don’t tell you in universities and the more you can “pick up” by listening to people, the better off you will be. It is sometimes extremely frustrating what they assume you know; for example, my registration was nearly cancelled this semester because no one thought to give me a copy of the “Foreign Student Registration procedures” and “anyway everybody knows you have to do XYZ…”
Hope this helps. I’m sure others will expand and correct it.
Chinese classes will allow you to extend a visitors visa or go to HK and apply for a visitors visa. What you have now is a visa which automatically expires if you lose your work permit(should your employer fire you), so you’d have to leave the country.
If you want to go to university to study Chinese you have to study for 6 months (possibly 4?) before they can issue you an ARC. Your old employer can’t prevent this.
Brian
Tealit and one too many conversations with one too many foreigner.
Thank you for the response. One more question though. My original visa has now run out and has been replaced by the ARC. Is it possible to have two visas i.e. an ARC and a visitors visa or am I needlessly complicating my life?
You are needlessly complicating life. When you got your ARC you should also have got a new visa in your passport and also a re-entry permit. This will allow you to re-enter Taiwan without having to re-apply for a visa. If you don’t have the re-entry permit then go the Foreign Affairs Police and get one. Make sure it is multiple entry as well.