I notice that many English schools and companies alike seeking foreign employees require a B.A./B.S. degree or above. My question: is this primarily an institutional requirement, or a governmental one? In other words, if these schools can issue work visas, do they need proof of a degree for their own files and sanity, or because they must submit such documentation to government agencies to secure a work visa for their employee? I would sincerely appreciate any information about this - my situation is unique in that I only have a university paper detailing my completion of required credits towards my degree, but do not yet have the actual diploma in hand. Is there any way around this?
Take care and be safe, all.
The answer is that this is a requirement of the Taiwan government. In order to apply for a work visa, the candidate must show that they have some special skills and a certain level of education to “prove” that they are qualified.
As for your situation, I suggest the use of a scanner and appropriate software to “enhance” the content of your completion certificate into a graduation certificate.
Waydeadwrong’s response is certainly creative. Remember however that often as not you will have to have all “overseas documentation” certified by a local TECRO office (representative of the ROC government) in your home country, so “creative enhancements” to your certification run the risk of not passing their scrutiny. Let us know what you find out!
Jeff Geer offers the following comments: It really sounds like you have perhaps completed your degree requirements but have not yet been graduated for some technical reasons.
If you have graduated, then you need to obtain a diploma. Or get a new copy of it if not available because you are travelling. Ask your university.
IF your degree requirements are met, but you are impeded for some reason as not being able to be graduated (eg. one class short of requirements, or a class not fully transferable to your university because taken in the senior year), then you might want to check out the Regents University of New York State.
Transfer in your 100% college credits from your old school, and then choose a major for your BA degree. If the desired major is not available, then choose “general studies” and graduate with US diploma.
It is owned and operated by the State of New York and is accredited. Thus while most innovative, it is not a diploma mill. The fact you never stepped into the classroom or had a F1 visa will not stop you from graduating from a US university. Unique and legitimate backdoor for those PRC college graduates of Taiwan nationality whom are unable to transfer their mainland credits and degrees to Taiwan.
Go to college in China, but officially graduate from the USA. Makes great sense to me as the ROC would never dare to challenge the legitimacy of a real US degree.
Although hopelessly out of date, my experience was that in the dim and distant past of 1996 the Taipei Rep Office in London faxed my university to discover whether my degree was genuine or not. No amount of playing around with Quark Xpress would have got around that.