Coming to teach in August: some questions

Hello,

I am from the US and I plan to move to Taiwan in early August and work as an English teacher. I’m a little stressed because I am uncertain of the whole process of starting to live and work in Taiwan.

First, after applying to some jobs on Facebook and tealit, I’ve realized that most schools want to do an in-person interview and/or a demo class. I had the intention of trying to find a job before heading over, but now I’ve started to realize it might be better to just head over there first? It seems schools are much more willing to hire a person after meeting them in person (which is of course understandable). I was just surprised by this because I previously taught in Korea, which is the complete opposite.

If I enter Taiwan as a tourist, can I then obtain a work visa and ARC in Taiwan (once I find a job), without leaving? Or do I have to do a visa run? If so, would the employer pay for the flight to Hong Kong? I need to book a flight to HK anyways, as proof that I am leaving Taiwan, but I am not sure when I should book it, since I don’t know how long it will take me to find a job. Maybe three or four weeks after arriving? Last time I visited Taiwan, I gave the immigration agent a fake itinerary (it seems like she just needed a flight number and date/time), so if I don’t book one before I enter I don’t think it would be a huge deal.

Also, do I for sure need a federal background check if I work at a buxiban? I’ve read a bunch of posts on the internet and it’s not 100% clear if all schools will actually care.

Thank you in advance!

Yes, you need it. For sure.

Yes, you can.

Can I do a state background check or does it have to be a federal one?

Also, keep in mind that if you arrive after July 1 you will not be here for 183 days. Therefore, you will pay 18% tax for any work this year.

So if I am there for the whole year, I pay less taxes? How does that work?

Not necessarily the whole year, just more than 183 days.

Your employer will take out 18% of your paycheck. When you file your taxes the following year, if you’ve been here 183 days or more, you will get most of it back. Most likely be in the 5% tax bracket.

If you have net met the 183 day requirement, you will get none of the 18% back.

My marriage to a local lass in Taiwan allowed a state background check many moons ago.
But, I would do a federal one just as it’s not clear for you at the moment. I believe it’s good (in the eyes of Taiwan’s bureaucracy) for 3 months. So, get it as late as possible.

Do you know, if, for instance, I don’t like my job and decide to get a new one, do I need to get a new work visa? So would I need to do a background check again? Or is the background check only for the ARC?

to make it clear, there is no work visa thing in :taiwan:. You need a work permit for each of your job, and an ARC to reside here.

To get a work permit for a buxiban teacher job, you need a background check, though if you currently have a work permit for a buxiban teacher, you don’t need a new background check to get a next work permit for a next job.

But there could be a financial penalty for breaking a contract as some other threads have noted.

To make it a bit clearer, your privilege to stay as a resident in Taiwan (ARC - Alien Residence Certificate) and your privilege to work in Taiwan (work permit) are two different documents handled by two different government departments. The ARC is issued by the MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the work permit is issued by the MOL (Ministry of Labor).

More detail:
Theoretically, you could be the holder of a work permit without being the holder of an ARC. A VISA is yet another separate document that goes into your passport which gives you pre-authorised permission to enter Taiwan through the proper legal channels (ie via an official airport or seaport) for a specified purpose (joining family, tourism, work). It usually lasts for 30 days during which time you usually need to get an ARC unless you’re only here as a tourist. It’s not very common for somebody to be issued a visa for the purposes of coming to Taiwan to work, usually they either apply for and obtain a tourist visa or in most cases come to Taiwan on a visa-exempt entry (which will be your scenario) which not all nationalities are able to do because not all nations have a visa-exempt travel agreement with Taiwan. But for those that do (including the US), the passport holder enters Taiwan on a visa-exempt entry, finds a job, and their employer usually handles the ARC and work permit for them. Neither the ARC OR the work permit are issued to the company - this is important because in the past some foreigners in Taiwan have been told by their boss that the company has their work permit and they will cancel it on the spot if the foreigner does not do xy or z. It’s a bluff, if this happens to you don’t buy into it. You need to be officially relinquished from your position which requires paperwork to be lodge for your work permit to be cancelled, which will not revoke your right to stay that is provided by the MOFA either. You can apply to the MOFA for a six month extension to your ARC which in the vast majority of cases is a simple formality which is granted without too many questions asked.

tl;dr: A ‘work visa’ is not very commonly issued, your work permit is issued to you not the company you work for.

That is one large jumble of words (probably even worse if looking on a phone)! Could probably break it up a bit to “make it more clear.” :2cents:

grammar Nazi… “more clear” -> “clearer” :sunglasses:

How’s that?

In my defense, I was quoting. :stuck_out_tongue:

But, honest question, would “more clear” be wrong?

more fast -> faster

In Australian vernacular, we often say more clear. We don’t say clearer very often because of the irony around the fact that saying ‘clearer’ rather than ‘more clear’ actually makes us less clear due to our accent! But we never say more fast, we always say faster. :man_shrugging:

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More fast just sounds wrong. But more clear sounds ok to me.

Thanks, you did actually make it clearer (or more clear :stuck_out_tongue: )

I have another question though… do all buxibans have contracts? I really don’t want to sign a one year contract, because I’ve already had a bad experience with that in Korea, but I would consider a shorter contract. How hard is it to break a contract? After reading another recent thread here, now I’m a little worried.

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you and your employer need a contract to get your work permit and ARC. Your work permit and ARC cannot be longer than your contract.