Finding white-collar jobs in TW for Filipinos

Hi there! I’m new to Taiwan and just received a JFRV to join my husband who has been living in TW for a few years. I’m from the Philippines and am hoping to find a job in the field I’ve been working in for the past 10 years or so (supply chain purchasing). I speak fluent English but not much Chinese. Just wondering if anybody has any information on finding professional jobs in TW for Filipinos. Thanks :slight_smile:

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Welcome to the forum, @Orangeday.

I don’t have any direct answer to your inquiry, but link some threads which might have some info.

Recommended Taiwan jobsite for Non Chinese Speaker?

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It’s easier if you know someone from within the company. Is your husband Taiwanese? His connections might help.

Most Taiwanese companies hire English speakers for English-related jobs. If the nature of the job requires you to speak/write English fluently, you might find something for you.

Taiwan is not like Singapore or Hong Kong in terms of job pool if you don’t have Chinese speaking skills at the very least.

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The sort of job you’re looking for is tough to break into for all foreigners; and in fact there’s a distinct lack of potential employers since most manufacturing went to China. Your best bet, IMO, might be to start your own business, perhaps an import-export company getting goods from TW to PH. Think in terms of earning pesos rather than NTD.

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Your citizenship isnt so important as you have open work rights with a jfrv i believ.

But if you cant speak the local language in a country and you want to do business it will be difficult. I think as finley suggests. Open up a company yourself and go from there. Doesnt need to be with your home country though it might be easier to start.

Purchasing is also often not needed as much as sales. If you use your experience to also open doors into sales/marketing you could find far more clients.

I know lots of people who are looking for good sales workers, myself included, but very difficult to find and there is little trust with this field so its hard for people.

My best suggeation is learn chinese. I regret so much not taking it serious when i first moved here. When you know chinese, many more doors open up for you in taiwan.

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Have you been living under a rock for the last year? The manufacturing sector is on fire in Taiwan thanks to the trade war. GDP growth far surpasses Singapore, HK, or South Korea this year.

I’m aware that some of it is coming back and that new industries are emerging. However I’m not convinced it back to where it was in, say, 1990. GDP growth doesn’t necessarily imply growth in manufacturing (which is where purchasing people are going to find steady work).

I think there should be purchasing obs out there and in fact I’ve encountered Filipinos working in office jobs in companies in Hsinchu, as an example.
Anyway keep an open mind on what you can do.

All Hands Taiwan offers monthly professional networking events in English that may help you make some valuable connections. They are also building a job board that will be in English, so stay tuned for that.

Even though you are brand new to Taiwan, there is also an important survey happening right now about foreigners’ experiences here. It would be a great help if you’d contribute your own experience:

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Thanks for all the information and suggestions! Sounds like finding a job in purchasing might be difficult here in TW… wasn’t sure if I was being realistic. I may enroll in a Mandarin course in the meantime, and look out for office jobs as they come up. Thanks again!

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My husband is American actually so don’t have too many connections at this point. But will look out for English-related positions as they come up.

does he has dual nationality, so you have a work right? Or, do you need a work permit? What and how you can/must do are largely different by it.

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Weird, if he’s an American then how come you have a JFRV? As I know foreigners here can only get up to an APRC, which is permanent residency. Very few get dual citizenship, one usually has to renounce their citizenship to become Taiwanese. JFRV are only for spouses who married a Taiwanese.

This is important to check because you might not have a JFRV, rather a dependent visa or ARC. Check with the NIA or the Labor Office. I’m not sure if you can just find work without the employer sponsoring a work permit for you.

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he could be an ABT with hukou.

Spouses of foreigners on ARC get Resident Visa for the purpose of Joining Family too, though JFRV is mostly used to mean resident visa/ARC for a spouse of a Taiwanese citizen on this forum.

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What Tando said above.

Also, just because I’m really itching to say this, employers here do not discriminate white-collar jobs against Filipinos. As long as you are legally able to do the work, as long as you meet the requirements, they will hire you. Just because most Filipinos do blue-collar jobs doesn’t mean they don’t hire Filipinos for white-collar ones.

Just find a job that’ll take you and you can take. You being a Filipino doesn’t matter. It’s your legal status to work that matters, and that’s not a motherhood statement. That’s what Taiwanese employers actually consider.

TBH, I’ve said this much because I have an issue with this thread’s title. I don’t like this kind of blue-collar vs white-collar shenanigans within the Filipino community. It’s like hey, I’m Pinoy but don’t mix me with the blue-collar ones because [insert reasons why I’m an office worker and don’t work in the factory or as a caregiver]! Sorry for that brutal honesty. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Yes. This is true. Anyone can tey and do anything. See above post. Peoples choices are their own. Including this filipino person chosing their own thread title.

Lots of opportunity in taiwan actually. But there are layers of rules thatmake it more time consuming for sure.

And yes. Foreigners with aprc can have their spouse apply for jfrv. Have a few friends, 1 american, with aprc and their husbands/wives got jfrv based on that. There did seem to be some differences and restrictions though in comparison to a taiwanese spouse with ID.

pretty close but not exactly correct.

though off topic, every foreigner whose residency is supported by a spouse gets JFRV/ARC (resident visa/certificate for the purpose of joining family). It doesn’t depend on the status of the sponsoring spouse (foreigner/nwohr/citizen, arc/aprc/tarc, work/study/investment etc.).

If sponsoring spouses fulfill some requirements, sponsored spouses have work right, or can apply for open work permit, or can get work permit for part-time specialized and technical work.

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I partially understand both. A poster who says filipino nationality might get many recommendations of factory jobs or home helper jobs if white-collar is not mentioned, which a poster who says American nationality usually wouldn’t get.

I think it’s an important distinction because the person asking is living with her husband, and unless I’m wrong the blue-collar jobs require workers to either live in a dorm or live in the home of the person they are caring for.

What kind of work is that, those listed in chapter 2, article 4 here?
https://law.moj.gov.tw/ENG/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?pcode=N0090031

If so, they applicant would need to be an expert or have special skills in a small list of fields. I looked further down in the act, and the qualifications are restrictive for each job.

What requirements are those, being a foreign senior professional? That’s a hard qualification to fulfill.