Hi all
I have a question about the rules about teaching English in Taiwan and how they apply to my situation. I have read though the other topics and haven
removed… cos it didn’t make sense.
Thanks Bassman
Ok, I think I understand a lot better. Where does one go to get the work permit for English teaching? Can I get it at the quasi-embassy here in Auckland?
Also, I think I phased my earlier question poorly. When applying for an English teaching work permit, do I have to show my graduate diploma, or can I merely show my transcript which states that I am eligible to graduate in a few months?
Squash
The work permit is issued by whoever hires you, and you’ll need to either get one sent over to you in NZ or apply for an extendible visitor’s visa in Auckland and then switch to a working one here after you get the permit. That’s how I did it, and it works fine. As for the degree thing… I think, although I could be wrong, you actually need to show your degree certificate. But like Bassman says, if you know people who know people, that could do the job, but don’t rely on it.
no diploma/certificate/sheep skin in hand? then no arc. i had to wait about four months after i earned my BA to get my diploma. those four months i worked illegally. the university armed me with a letter stating that i had indeed earned a BA. this paper was worthless in taiwan.
once you have a diploma in hand the chinese bureaucrats can get you legal in no time.
So am I right then in thinking that in order to get an english teaching work permit, one needs to first be sponsored by a employer (school), and then get that sponsorship checked off by TWese immigration officials who will hand me the permit. Who is it then that inspects my degree certifictate/transcript? Is it the officials or the school?
Also, is it possible to get a permit without first getting sponsorship by a school. Can I just get my residence visa, and my teach-english-work-permit while I am still in NZ?
Thanks skeptic yank, your story seems to be what is in store for me when I arrive. (I’m looking at the “working illegally” posts right now!). I will check with Auckland Uni tomorrow to see if they can give me some kind of provisional gratuate certificate.
Squash
It generally goes like this:
Find job.
Give employer documents.
(they will need to get yourdegree/diploma translated into Chinese)
Employer submits documents to Govt Dept (forgot wich one) (up to 4 weeks)
Govt dept may ask some questions that employer needs to satisfy.
Employer gets back paerwork saying you can work for that company/school.
Go to Foreign Affairs Office and get work visa in passport. (about one week)
Go to Police station with Passport/visa; Rental agreement (or letter from your landlord/host); photos; other various proofs of stuff (they looked at lots of stuff but I don’t know what they actually needed) (one week)
Pick up ARC yooohooo
Of course this is Taiwan and it may not go like this at all!!
Actually, there may be a way to get your permit without obtaining a physical degree. It’s not commonly done, but it’s what I initially did when I applied while still in the States.
You would need to go to the registrar of your school and get a letter of completion. At my school there were two such letters: a conditional letter and one witout the word conditional.
Conditional letter: chinawestexchange.com/person … letion.jpg
You will have to have an official registrar’s stamp and signature for it to be acceptable. You will also likely need this document translated into Chinese with the translator signing in blue ink on the translation that the translation is accurate.
In my case I received my degree a few weeks after I arrived and once that was done processing of my application for a work permit went faster.
One other note: this was acceptable a little over a year ago, but the authority issuing the work permits has now changed. You should ask an official government representative (perhaps through a school you are investigating) if that is still the case.
[quote=“skeptic yank”]no diploma/certificate/sheep skin in hand? then no arc. I had to wait about four months after i earned my BA to get my diploma. those four months I worked illegally. the university armed me with a letter stating that I had indeed earned a BA. this paper was worthless in Taiwan.
once you have a diploma in hand the Chinese bureaucrats can get you legal in no time.[/quote]
Perhaps in my case it was because I later got my degree sent over to me and my employer [i]at the time /i has a good relationship with the authorities.
Have you asked your university if you can order your degree earlier? Same with asking your professor about going ahead and giving you final marks for your paper earlier. Some people are quite reasonable when a person’s immediate employment is involved.
Thanks Puiwaihin. I took your advice and got a letter of completion from my university. It says that my graduation ceremony will be in September. I couldn
[quote=“puiwaihin”]Actually, there may be a way to get your permit without obtaining a physical degree. It’s not commonly done, but it’s what I initially did when I applied while still in the States.
You would need to go to the registrar of your school and get a letter of completion. At my school there were two such letters: a conditional letter and one witout the word conditional.
Conditional letter: chinawestexchange.com/person … letion.jpg
You will have to have an official registrar’s stamp and signature for it to be acceptable. You will also likely need this document translated into Chinese with the translator signing in blue ink on the translation that the translation is accurate.
In my case I received my degree a few weeks after I arrived and once that was done processing of my application for a work permit went faster.
One other note: this was acceptable a little over a year ago, but the authority issuing the work permits has now changed. You should ask an official government representative (perhaps through a school you are investigating) if that is still the case.[/quote]
Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but does anyone know if this method is still acceptable?
[quote=“GongChangZhang”]It generally goes like this:
Find job.
Give employer documents.
(they will need to get yourdegree/diploma translated into Chinese)
Employer submits documents to Govt Dept (forgot wich one) (up to 4 weeks)
Govt dept may ask some questions that employer needs to satisfy.
Employer gets back paerwork saying you can work for that company/school.
Go to Foreign Affairs Office and get work visa in passport. (about one week)
Go to Police station with Passport/visa; Rental agreement (or letter from your landlord/host); photos; other various proofs of stuff (they looked at lots of stuff but I don’t know what they actually needed) (one week)
Pick up ARC yooohooo
Of course this is Taiwan and it may not go like this at all!![/quote]
I just did this last week and the steps varied (I had a dependent ARC already tho and had to change to a work ARC…)
- Get job
- Give job your sheepskins, health check and copy of all your other pertinent stuff
- Employer sends needed documents to govt.
- Get work permit from the job (they get it from the govt)
- Go to immigration with work permit and contract
- Get ARC
No police station or work visa (but could be cus I already had an ARC…just needed to change its “purpose”)