Could retired parents stay in Taiwan by studying Chinese?

First of all, I’m talking about after coronavirus restrictions have been lifted.

My mom, has talked about moving to Taiwan after she retires. She is not rich, so no investment visa or anything like that. She could do visa runs every 3 months, but that’s not ideal. She has an interest in learning Chinese, so I was thinking she could enroll in a Chinese school, which would allow her to get an ARC. My questions are:

  1. Is there an age limit for a learning Chinese student ARC?

  2. Is there a maximum length she could study Chinese and still have an ARC? For example, could she stay enrolled at a Chinese school for ten years and keep renewing her ARC?

  3. Could her husband (who wouldn’t be learning Chinese) get an ARC as a dependant of my mom?

  4. Is there a minimum number of hours you need to study per week to be eligible for an ARC? What would be the best school to do this economically speaking?

Finally, I’d like to say that she wouldn’t be lying about studying Chinese. She actually would study and wants to study.

yes, she can, 15 years ago I had a classmate from japan in ntnu doing the exact same thing.he was 65 and studying chinese in Taipei, he said his japanese pension lasts much longer in Taiwan.
there is no age restrictions, her husband can get a dependent arc.
the only problem is that this way doesnt allow getting aprc after 5 years (or ever), meaning they will have to study chinese till they die to keep the visa :slightly_smiling_face:
there is a minimum hours a week for arc, I think its 10 or 12.

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Do student visas for studying Chinese allow work?

as far as I know they do not allow work.
students studying for university degree (I.e. not language school or mandarin training center ) can get a student work permit which allows up to 20 hours a week.

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Language school students can work from the 2nd year

https://ezworktaiwan.wda.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=826B2B8EDB213BC4

to take language course(s) for one year or more, the said foreign student may apply for jobs

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So they effectively have an open work permit after the first year, or do they still need to get work permits for the jobs they find?

It is a part time open work permit.

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Are they actually given a physical permit or some kind of document to say they can work, or is it written on their ARC? I feel like most employers would be skeptical otherwise.

I guess.

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Two years maximum. I’ve gotten one. It’s 20 hours.

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The work permit is two years maximum or you can only get an ARC for two years?

Only can get the student ARC for two years.

That is not true, it depends on the program (and I know people who have done language study for longer than 2 years, so what is this information based on?). If the “2 years” limit is correct (and I don’t think it is), she could do language study for 2 years, and then do a BA in whatever she likes at a university. And so on.

That was the rule for learning Chinese when I learned it.

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For someone wishing to retire in Taiwan, leaving and reapplying for a new visa every two years is still much better than doing a visa run every three months. I guess they could also apply for a 180 day visitor visa every six months too.

You still need to reapply for your extension and your ARC every THREE months.

Oh, the student ARC is only valid for 3 months?

Yep. Only valid for the semester. I had six ARCs and two visa extensions.

It’s still $1000 for the year so the mid year replacements are free.

I’ve not tried to pay for two years of study, they might let you get a longer one. I dunno.

Don’t go to Shihda. Shihda is awful. Only happy when taking your money.

Terrible customer service.

I’m not sure about @carlcarl1’s father if he could get a dependent ARC on a student ARC.

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My wife had one through me. No issues.

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You can study long term for degrees. Know a handfull of people that started learning chinese, went for ba, 5 years, then masters then phd. A few have steetched it over 15 years. numerous masters and phd available in english. But you are far more restricted as more hours need to be spent at the school. Especially for your bachelors. Maybe online university style could work now a days?