GUARANTEE: If you are married to an ROC national, and have an ARC based on that marriage, I can lead you and your prospective employer through the steps to obtain a work permit in any field of employment. (Of course this assumes that the employer is fully registered.) If you follow my instructions, you will find that the entire process is very easy.
Many people have written in to question the above GUARANTEE. Some have stated that their inquiries with the Ministry of the Interior, city/county Departments of Education, Ministry of Finance, various local recruitment agencies, law offices, and even the personnel departments of their prospective employers have clarified for them that the employment of foreigners in Taiwan is subject to a large number of restrictions, and “foreign spouses” are not treated any differently.
All I can say is, the real situation is as I have stated it in the GUARANTEE. In order to save time and save face, I really don’t want to argue with all the people, departments, etc. who are misinformed and who continue to promulgate incorrect information. My only interest is in helping you to get your work permit.
I have been researching these (Employment Services Act Article 48) procedures since July of 1995 and immodestly consider myself an expert. I have put together a 20-page information packet. Much of the information in this packet is in Chinese, including some official forms and leaflets. Hence, it is impossible to post this information directly on this website. I will be happy to snail-mail a copy to you at any address in the Taiwan area.
If you qualify as a “foreign spouse” and need full details on the entire procedure for how your employer can apply for your work permit, I suggest that you first send me a private email with your name and address. If you are writing in English, please give some hints (comparison, allusion, reference, etc.) about the Chinese characters used in your address.
I currently have an ARC based on my job
(manager at a computer systems
integrator). I have been living in Taiwan
for 10 years, and married to a Taiwanese
lady for about seven years. So, presumably,
the spouse visa would be easy enough to get.
I was wondering about the advantages
of the spouse visa/work visa.
Would it allow me to, for example, work
for a smaller company or start my own
company?
The real advantage to having the JFRV (visa based on marriage) is that you are not dependant on the whims of your boss for your residency rights. With residency rights based on marriage, you are in a much more stable position, and can then apply for employment in any field, or even get employment in more than one job, multiple work permits, etc. This gives you a lot of flexibility to move around in your pursuit of the best position.
If you are going to start your own company, that is a wholly different process altogether. In such a case you would not be the employee, you would be the employer.
Hey Richard - your package is fantastic - it looks so complete and understandable - to a foreigner.
The problem is that few employers have even heard of the idea of employing a “resident” (JFRV) foreigner. Even with your package - it is just too hard for them!
It is not hard to guess why!
They get advice, from whatever Taiwanese authority they ring, that this is too difficult!
I guess that is why an employer might suggest changing your visa status to something he understands - like from JFRV to working visa.
Or an employer might prefer to do something a little irregular - they seem so much more comfortable with this, and presumably more experienced.
Richard - I hear what you say - I show them your package - and I brought all the necessary supporting documents - they all (3 times - 3 “potential” employers) say - I must ring someone - then - ah - how about we do it some other way.
So should I say - No! I do not want this job if you cannot deal with the authorities to make it entirely legal??
My husband got his work permit based on our JFRV just last month. Only took about 10 days. You really can get a work permit based on the JFRV and it really is easy!