I have been in Taiwan for many years on a JFRV. My wife and I have been split up for some time know but she was allowing me to keep the paperwork in place. However, we now need to file for divorce and I need to change my status.
I have learned that I can use my Associate Degree + tefl certificate to switch to a working visa. Unfortunately, I don’t have the tefl but will get it as soon as possible.
What i would like to know if it is possible to do the tefl certificate online? I’m already teaching and just want to fulfill the requirements to switch to a work permit. Everyone is very cool about the situation, work, ex-wife, ect…, so i just need to figure out the best solution and put together a timeline. Has anyone gotten a visa with an online tefl or had to acquire one while already in Taiwan.
Sounds like you qualify for an APRC (> 5 years on JFRV within the last ten years). Definitely go for APRC since you won’t need a purpose of stay anymore and qualify for an open work permit. Changing to a cram school based ARC is a downgrade from your JFRV.
I’m actually 1 and a half years away. I would like to switch to ARC so not to lose my time so far and then later change to an APRC. Any time that I had before my JFRC unfortunately cannot be used.
Luckily, my school is foreign owned and willing to work with me.
OK, well it seems to me like you should qualify for naturalization (> 3 years on JFRV). I you know enough about the political system of the ROC and can read enough Chinese, you kay want to apply for naturalization. I assume you make twice the minimum salary per year?
You would have to give up Canadian citizenship, but it seems like you can resume it ( cic.gc.ca/english/citizenshi … bility.asp ). The whole process of giving up the original citizenship just to gain it back after naturalization in Taiwan seems ridiculous - and it is ridiculous! - but despite some lawmakers talking about changing the rules, there isn’t much to hope for.
If you are on good terms with your employer, then you may as well trust them and get the ARC through them until you qualify for an APRC. If you aren’t so sure, you can apply for naturalization. Once you are divorced, the three year rule won’t apply to you though.
Why do you want to get divorced at this moment anyways? Why not stay married until you qualify for the APRC? Unless adultery on your part is involved, your wife cannot force you to a divorce under any circumstance. If she is the one demanding a divorce, set a few rules, i.e. when it will happen or financial arrangements. Just be sure not to have any outside relations amd you are 100% safe.
Naturalization does not seem to be the answer for me. My Chinese is not at a passable level.
The reason that we are getting divorced now is because my wife would like to remarry and waiting a year and a half is a bit long. She lives overseas and would like to relocate to another country. We pretty much split up right around the time I got the JFRV but she was kind enough to let me keep it for all of this time. She is not pushing for us to sign the paper immediately but also does not want to wait for me to get an APRC. After all of my research it seems my best option is to change my JFRV for an ARC, accumulate my 5 years and then switch to an APRC.
That brings me back to my original questions. Has anyone used their Associate Degree + an online tefl certification to get a work permit? I only need the certification and was wondering if the online version would be valid to apply for a work permit. Also, how many hours does the certification need to be?
Thanks for the suggestions but i believe i got my answer. I have found someone who has gotten their work permit with An AA + an 8hr. tefl course. I will also do mine online but bang out a 40 hr. one just to be sure. They say 6 to 8 hrs. is enough but they think it is better to do more hours. So I will apply for my work permit then a new ARC. After all of this paperwork in a year and a half i will begin the process for my APRC.
Bear in mind that just because someone else managed to do something, doesn’t necessarily mean it will always happen again. Precedent is of less importance in Taiwan.
OK, if you switch from a JFRV to a work permit based ARC, will your residency clock revert to 5 years to wait for the APRC?
I ask this because I held a work permit based ARC (in 2011) and I asked immigration if I should get a JFRV or APRC. They said I should just get the APRC because I already met the requirements for the APRC. They said if I switched from work permit ARC to JFRV, my APRC clock would be reset to zero and I’d have to wait 5 years to get the APRC.
Anyhow, I got my APRC, not the JFRV based on what immigration told me.
But in my experience, not all the people at immigration are up to date on all the rules. Just last month a friend wanted to switch from work permit ARC to JFRV. I had to call the foreigner hotline in Taipei and explain that the immigration officer in Taibao city Chiayi county didn’t know that Americans with work permit ARCs could switch to JFRV with no police, FBI background checks. He thought they still needed background checks. It was kind of funny because I’d stopped by the Chiayi city immigration office and the officer there knew the regulations, but the officer in the county office didn’t. The foreigner hotline person was great. She put me on hold, let me listen to her explain (in Chinese) to the officer in Taibao about the rules. Took care of it in a matter of minutes. I then talked to the officer in Taibao and it was all settled. My friend went in an hour later and got his JFRV. Cool stuff.
And just to muddy up any info you get from the web you must remember that there were significant changes to the APRC rules last November. What may have been the case may no longer be the case.
An AA degree with a TEFL course (a vague term tbh) has always been considered the minimum for a work permit. I’m pretty sure a former roommate had gone this route without issues. You could run into several problems though. for example the govt employee that you work with might not have processed a work permit for a AA degree. Or they could have trouble finding you CC/JC on their approved list. A co-workers college/uni actually closed after he got his degree and there were some issues processing his work permit.
I wish the new APRC rules allowed for a 6 month gap in ARCs but they only allow for 3 months so I lose a year of eligibility myself.
As other people here said, there is no guarantee switching to an ARC will work with your qualifications, there might even be more complications attached.
If I were you I’d just not get divorced. Your wife has no way of forcing you to a divorce and would just have to wait until you agree. - which should be in 1.5 years.
You neither abandoned her, nor committed adultery. It is in fact her who wants to remarry (thus possibly committed adultery) and abandoned you (she left Taiwan). No judge will grant her a divorce and she can’t give you any trouble either since she isn’t even in Taiwan. Don’t leave the safety of your JFRV and rather wait until you qualify for an ARC. Your current amicable relationship with your employer may change and 4 years into your ARC, just one year away from an APRC you may be left with not more than a ticket to Hong Kong.
[quote=“hsinhai78”]As other people here said, there is no guarantee switching to an ARC will work with your qualifications, there might even be more complications attached.
If I were you I’d just not get divorced. Your wife has no way of forcing you to a divorce and would just have to wait until you agree. - which should be in 1.5 years.
You neither abandoned her, nor committed adultery. It is in fact her who wants to remarry (thus possibly committed adultery) and abandoned you (she left Taiwan). No judge will grant her a divorce and she can’t give you any trouble either since she isn’t even in Taiwan. Don’t leave the safety of your JFRV and rather wait until you qualify for an ARC. Your current amicable relationship with your employer may change and 4 years into your ARC, just one year away from an APRC you may be left with not more than a ticket to Hong Kong.[/quote]
These are completely selfish reasons to not get a divorce. They split up 2-3 yrs ago and there doesn’t seem to be any interest from either party to reconcile.
These are completely selfish reasons to not get a divorce. They split up 2-3 yrs ago and there doesn’t seem to be any interest from either party to reconcile.[/quote]
I agree, these are selfish reasons. But isn’t it selfish to expect a guy to give up 3.5 years towards an APRC? With all these messy divorces involving foreigners - who usually lose a lot of money and even their residence in Taiwan - I think it is time for foreigners to use these archaic divorce laws in their favor.
She wants a divorce? Fine, but in 1.5 years. This may be selfish but still better than what many Taiwanese women pull: extortion for money and taking the children away.
These are completely selfish reasons to not get a divorce. They split up 2-3 yrs ago and there doesn’t seem to be any interest from either party to reconcile.[/quote]
I agree, these are selfish reasons. But isn’t it selfish to expect a guy to give up 3.5 years towards an APRC? With all these messy divorces involving foreigners - who usually lose a lot of money and even their residence in Taiwan - I think it is time for foreigners to use these archaic divorce laws in their favor.
She wants a divorce? Fine, but in 1.5 years. This may be selfish but still better than what many Taiwanese women pull: extortion for money and taking the children away.[/quote]
Ugh… Ick… I don’t feel like getting banned but this is an awful post.
Having been at the receiving end of that treatment from a Taiwan woman, I would go as far as saying that he should look out for nobody but himself and thus go for the APRC before a divorce, unless they only got married pro forma.
She can wait, and I see one reason and one alone that she wants a quick divorce, and that’s an upcoming marriage and even a pregnancy in progress. Peace with all that, but the OP should still not care and go for the APRC first.
Having been at the receiving end of that treatment from a Taiwan woman, I would go as far as saying that he should look out for nobody but himself and thus go for the APRC before a divorce, unless they only got married pro forma.
She can wait, and I see one reason and one alone that she wants a quick divorce, and that’s an upcoming marriage and even a pregnancy in progress. Peace with all that, but the OP should still not care and go for the APRC first.[/quote]
Spot on Mr He! In fact she can’t do anything against the OP because she would incriminate herself as an adulterer.
