Hours/Teach before ARC

#1

Hi everyone,

Getting ready to head over to Taiwan and had a couple more last minute questions and then I should be feeling pretty set. Thank you to all who have already responded previously! SO helpful!

It’s my understanding that once hired by a school you have to get them to apply for the work permit and that it is illegal (and thus can get you deported) to teach before the school has the permit. (and also, demos are illegal. wtf?) But then again, I’ve also heard that it is very common for schools to pressure you to work before then.

  1. I’m wondering if it is feasible to hold off working until the permit comes in. I want to do things as legally as possible as the prospect of getting deported is terrifying when you’re literally packing everything up and moving across the world. Will schools just move on to the next applicant at that point?

Also reading here : https://acs.ait.org.tw/employment.html
says "Processing a work permit application can take several months. " … Months? Can someone please confirm that this is more like a couple weeks?

and 2. Is it okay to work once the permit is issued but BEFORE you get an ARC? These are two different things yes?

and finally… 3. I hear of people complaining about a lack of hours at their job. Is it common for a school to offer 20-25 hours and THEN pull back hours or is it just hard to find a job that offers that many (20-25) in the first place?

Thank you so much to anyone who can shed some light on this! It’s a bit nerve wracking but I’m looking forward to it all.

Much love

#2

Ok, so in Taiwan your work permit is issued first and then your ARC is issued after that.

A work permit takes like 7-10 days or something not months. But you need to have all your paperwork in order.

You can totally work before you get your ARC.

Some schools have a set amount of hours in their contract, like a minimum of 20 hours and in my case I was always given more classes which means more hours. Started on 24 and was up to 28.5 after a few months.

Are you coming here with no job offer? I am not sure about the demo thing being illegal but no one will care. It’s not like the government will just bust through the door and deport you mid-demo, lol.

But working before you have a work permit is a bit sketchy, my new job was very clear that I was only allowed to come to work after my work permit was issued.

peace

#3

Awesome. You totally cleared some things up, really appreciate your help.

And yeah, I think when i was perusing past threads here I saw mentioned that demos are technically illegal (again, I’m a noob so i could be wrong) because otherwise it provides an easy excuse for teachers working illegally. ie. “No, I wasn’t teaching. I was just doing a demo!” and that you can actually be deported for doing so. But I’m probably being way too paranoid about it and I’m sure the risk is super minimal.

Thanks again!
cheers

#4

It has happened, but if the demo follows the rules it’s okay. Following the rules means there are no real students present, only staff pretending to be students.

(You can find this somewhere in the WDA’s FAQ.)