I’m leaving my job at the end of July. I’m British, and married to a Taiwanese woman (but my visa is purely work related)
My ARC is valid to the end of the year. But does it stop being valid if I leave my job? What then is my visa status? Am I illegal?
I’m starting a new job and will be on the payroll from 1st August. But the visa/ARC arrangement they’re applying for won’t have come through when my contract begins.
Because the job is at a university, I won’t actually start work straight away. I’m going to Indonesia for a holiday from 8th August to 31st August. The visa should have come through by the time I return to Taiwan, but it won’t be stamped in my passport because obviously I’ll be taking that to Indonesia.
Do you think I will encounter any problems leaving Taiwan, or re-entering? The new employers say not, but I don’t think they really know. The old employers say they don’t pass on the info about me leaving to the Foreign Affairs or police, but I’m not sure they erally know, because this employer is a large organization.
Should I phone the Foreign Affairs and come clean, or just keep it quiet and see what happens?
The other thing is I’ll be taking my son with me to Indonesia. He’s only 5, so we can’t be separated. He has a Taiwan passport.
[quote=“smithsgj”]I’m leaving my job at the end of July. I’m British, and married to a Taiwanese woman (but my visa is purely work related)
My ARC is valid to the end of the year. But does it stop being valid if I leave my job? What then is my visa status? Am I illegal?[/quote]
Your ARC is tied to your job. From the date your employer “says” you left your job with the authorities, you have seven days to leave the country. Be very sure of whatever day is told the government by your employer. What I’ve done as insurance is go to the police station and ask for a one or two week extension stamped in my passport. Depending on what they had for lunch, they will or won’t be accomodating. I’ve been lucky here. But know that you will be dinged for an overstay (which you DON’T want) if you exceed the seven days past your last day of work. Now, if your employer doesn’t report your leaving the company, your ARC will still be valid as far as the computers at the NPA and customs are concerned to the natural life of the ARC, but that is a risk I’ve never wanted to take.
Try to get an extension with the police station for a week. This will cover you until you get another work permit from the MOE … assuming you almost have that ready??? You can’t switch over your current ARC to an new employer without a new work permit. This is the key.
If you leave the country, then an extension is useless. You will have to most likely do a visa run in Indonesia. You could check to see if your new work permit has you working at a date before you leave on your holiday.
You are right to be skeptical. You will almost never go wrong if you don’t trust the advice of Taiwanese (almost), espcailly when it comes to labor laws. They have ALWAYS been wrong in my experience. If your current employer doesn’t report your leaving, you are good to go, BUT don’t trust this. I never have and many have been burnt on the way out of Taiwan for it. Also, your new employer doesn’t know jack. I assume your nationality can get a two-week landing visa, but you will have to apply for a 60-day (or whatever visa they give you, maybe 30-day) visa in Indonesia to stay longer while you wait for your new work permit to revive your old ARC. So, it is imparitive that you find out when your new work permit is coming through and what are the contract dates?
Consider getting an extension first to give you room to think. Don’t let them take your old ARC from you. Tell them you lost it. They will discard it or snip the corner off and it will take longer to revive your ARC when you get around to it later with your new job.
An extension is stamped in the later pages of your passport.
Wow thanks Pinesay for that full and helpful reply. I definitely owe you a beer!
It looks like getting an extension from the police here, and a tourist visa in Jakarta is the way to go. What a palaver!
The visa free stay is now 30 days, which would be enough time: but that’s not extendable under any circumstances. I very much doubt that you’re allowed to apply for another sort of visa and transfer to that without leaving Taiwan again.
Take paperwork with you to Jakarta, for example, a letter of employment intent from your new employer … just in case they give you a hassle, such as “Why do you really want to go to Taiwan” or “Are you going to teach English illegally” … Sometimes it is no problem … But sometimes they get snotty. I had to go through a whole interview process in Singapore once and they almost told me to go home. It helps if you have some sort of official excuse.
Well joining family and saying your kids and wife ( who are in Taiwan and Taiwanese) should be no problem.
Not to sound paranoid here about TECO offices, but if you say wife and family and then mention you are going to get a job, you may end up with more questioning that is unneccessary. They tend to follow the rules of the person who is issuing the visas that day and you never know you could end up with a prick.
I would go with the wife and family “I need to go back to them they miss me and need me”. That way you would probabily get a mutiple entry. This may be useful when applying for the work permit from the university. Never know if there will be a delay or a problem.
On the application for a the visa, I think you have to list a reference in Taiwan. Say your wife and take a copy of her ID card, marriage license and her household registration if you are listed it.
I would also take a copy of the contract with the company and a letter of invitation. Just to be prepared. (PLAN B)
Strictly you are not allowed to work in the company until you get a work permit anyway, so saying you are going there to assume employment might raise some questions like when are you starting blah blah blah
but you are right and I will take documents with me.