Hi all. I am new to this forum so I’m sorry if I’ve posted in the wrong place. I am a UK citizen trying to enter Taiwan to work as an English teacher, where I have worked before. I am trying to decide whether it is best to accept a job offer from a school in Taiwan and get a work permit for over six months and thereby a residence visa, or to apply for the employment seeking visa, which allows entry without already having a job lined up. I have phoned the TRO in London and they seemed to be unsure on almost every question I’ve asked so I was wondering if anyone had any advice or experience.
As far as I see it getting a teaching job lined up and a work permit means I would be guaranteed a residence visa from the TRO in London. However the process is more complicated as I would need to have my police check and health check possibly legalized AND authenticated in the UK and then processed in Taiwan and then have my subsequent work permit processed in the UK before a residence visa/special entry visa is issued. An employment seeking visa (ESV), on the other hand, would let me enter without going through the legalization/authentication process (I already have my police check and I could get a health check done in Taiwan) and would let me look around for the best jobs possible. But I don’t know if I am eligible for the ESV as the form requires you to either 1- show your salary from the last 6 months (I have been unemployed since Covid started) 2 - show recent university graduation diploma (don’t have that) or 3 - the rather vague “deemed otherwise eligible my MOFA following consultation” and I don’t know how that process goes or how long it takes.
Anyway, here are all my questions. I’d be delighted if anyone has the recent experience to answer some or all of them.
1 - Is it still possible to enter Taiwan with a work permit/residence visa and get your ARC with one school, and then if you don’t like that school/boss, quit and apply for the six month temporary visa while you look for a new, better job? or has that been stopped due to Covid?
2 - To get the work permit, do your police check and health check both need legalizing and then authenticating before being sent off? I think when I last did it in Taiwan neither required either of these things (but it was a Taiwanese hospital)
3 - How long do your health check and police check last in terms of acceptability for the work permit? I have heard 3 months and 1 year from different sources
4- does anyone know any specifics on what kind of clinic can perform the health check and which parts of the form need checking? I remember last time I did it in Taiwan the doctor said one of the sections wasn’t actually necessary
5 - Am I eligible for the employment seeking visa (I have taught for a long time and have an MA degree plus a CELTA if that helps) and how long does that visa give you to find work?
Sorry for such a long post. I have asked all these questions of the TRO in London and I’m guessing they don’t want to give definitive answers as everything might be a bit up in the air at the moment. I have also asked a few of these questions to one school in Taiwan who are keen on hiring me but they weren’t sure either. If anyone knows or knows who will know, please tell me.
Thanks
Dave