How much is a work permit and ARC

Hello, I am new to Taiwan. I cannot seem to find information on how much a work permit is and how much an ARC card are separately?

Work permit is free. ARC depends on number of years. I think 1600 for one year.

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You cannot have a work permit. It belongs to the company that hires you. It is never in your possession nor you can do anything with it. The company can even cancel it without any obligation to tell you. However, you cannot start working without the work permit being approved and ypu cannot have an ARC unless it is backed up by a work permit. The date printed on your ARC as validity is only for reference, as it depends on a valid work permit. If the work permit is invalidated, your ARC automatically becomes void, no matter what is printed on it.

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Does invalidation of a work permit (by way of the employer having it canceled) prevent the (ex-)worker from obtaining an ARC extension from the NIA?

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Dear Icon, so does that mean I’d only pay for the ARC? And how much is an ARC for 1 year? And how much does a company pay for the work permit?

Whatever they pay us none of your business. They cannot pin that one on you. They need to show they have paid their taxes and fulfilled the limit on sales/revenue allowed to hire a foreigner. It uis their responsibility to comply. They must process the permit themselves. Sometimes they hire agents which complicates things a lot. Again, that is their business. Yours is to take the copies of the paperwork sent to the labor offices and process your ARC on time. Last I heard it was about 1000 ntd a year.

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Allegedly not, as all work permits must be cancelled at some point, when people change jobs. The catch is doing the extension on time, before you overstay. You get the 6 month “I am looking for a new job” extension, whether you quit, get the boot or complete your term, AFAIK or heard from other furriners experience.

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Right, but if the employer gets the work permit canceled without informing the worker as you say, then if the work continues (say for one week), it’s obviously illegal, and if it automatically causes the ARC to be invalidated, when the ex-worker finally finds out the job is finished and goes to the NIA to get an extension as if it had just happened, what then?

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A one-year ARC costs 1,000 NTD. If you get a three-year ARC, which I believe is the maximum cap per ARC, that’ll cost you 3,000 NTD.

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That’s not so bad. Thank you sir. :slightly_smiling_face:

Such worker would be royally screwed. That is the company’s worst weapon…aside from threats of blacklisting or getting you deported. The other weapons include undereporting salaries, not paying taxes fully or partially, and others I won’t mention as made up accusations and lower.

So when trouble stirs in the horizon, make sure you keep up with your status at NIA.