I need help knowing if I HAVE to get an ARC and change my ME

I need some good advice. I started working in Taiwan recently. I came here on a 3 year multiple entry visitors visa. My school applied for the work permit and it came through quickly. Now stage two, they want to get me my ARC, but I understand I will lose my 3 year ME visa if I do this. Someone told me that since I have my work permit now I shouldn’t get the rest of it and just keep my 3 year ME and keep leaving the country every sixty days since I already have health insurance through another source. I don’t know if this is truly possible and need someone to tell me if I can do this or not. Sorry if this all sounds confusing and thanks for any advice you can offer.

You have to get your ARC within a short time of getting your work permit. Maybe 10 days. I forget exactly how long but a search on the forums should turn up the info.

I don’t really know whether you’d be allowed to use the work permit in conjunction with the ME visa, forgoing an ARC. It sounds unlikely to me – I think the idea is that foreigners with jobs have ARCs, full stop.

If nobody posts any really helpful info here then I suggest that you go to the foreign affairs police and ask them about your situation.

An ARC preckudes the need for a visa, so it’s cancelled when the ARC is issued.