Is 30 Day Entry Permit Enough Time?

Hello. I have not been in Taiwan since 1991 so please bear with me. Back then I taught English without a degree and therefore without a work permit. I did OK for myself, no doubt due to huge demand for ESL instruction. I recently finished my B.A. in Humantities. I do NOT have any ESL certificates. I am from the USA. I also have a few years of experience in the investment fund field.

  1. Am I limited to English teaching with this experience?
  2. Is there a huge demand for business English so I don’t have to teach children? I prefer teaching adults.
  3. Do I need Mandarin to work in anything but teaching?
  4. Is the 30 day visa free entry enough time to sort out work and the work visa? (I am told the 60 day stay, multiple-entry 5 year validity visa is still available to Americans (only??), but no longer for free like it was when I last held one. Apparently now it costs $USD100.
  5. Should I find a backpacker hostel in Taipei, settle in, and ask around who is hiring like I did in the 90’s or is the internet before arrival the way to go?
  6. Do I need an employment agent?
  7. Is Taipei really the best place to stay and work?
    Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Without answering any of the other questions, you should definitely get the 60 days m/e visa. It takes almost 30 days to get an ARC, and that’s after you have the job confirmed.

Don’t go with a recruiter. Find a job yourself. You can go the internet route or wait until you get here, both are plausible options. Some people will say Taipei is the best, but there are a lot of other cities. Taipei probably has the largest expat community though.

One time in Hong Kong I was refused a 60-day visa on the grounds that I was entitled to visa-free entry. I said that I wanted to stay longer than 30 days, but they wouldn’t budge.

The Taipei Hostel off Linsen North Road has jobs posted on its bulletin board, but local newspapers and the internet (e.g. Forumosa or Tealit shoud present a much wider choice of jobs.

Personally I would rather be anywhere but Taibei. Unfortunately, I am stuck here.

Thanks so far for all your replies. Josephus that’s interesting they refused you a 60 day visa. However, you are in Taipei again so how did you resolve that issue? Fly in on a 30 day and extend? Also, I am in Sydney now. As an American, assuming I choose to apply for the 60 day visa, will they give it w/o hassle as I am not in my own country? Also assuming they don’t treat me like Josephus. Last time I got my visa in Los Angeles.

Sorry! Juba, not Josephus, had the problem!!

Just try for the 60 day. In the long run, it will be cheaper.

Also, I recommend looking for a job after you’ve landed.

No. Visa-fee stays are not extendable. Actually I overstayed by one day and lost my right to visa-free entry for one year. I got a visitor visa on the grounds of having paid for a Chinese course. (Beware - if they don’t like your face they can refuse to give you a visa even if you have paid your fees!) I extended the visitor visa twice while at the language school. Then I got a job, on which grounds I replaced my visitor visa with a resident visa and got an ARC (without leaving Taiwan).

Hi, not sure if I’m too late for you but definitely go for the 60day - I’m on a 30 visa-free entry at the moment and am not allowed to apply for the ARC on it, so am having to go to HK to apply for the resident visa in person anyway.

Hi Kauai,

I’ll take a stab at your questions:

  1. This is the one I know the least about. Here’s what I’ve seen. This society seems to be nuts about certificates, credentials, etc. regardless of the actual knowledge or lack of same behind the paper. If you have any training certificates in the investment fund area, that would certainly help. Other people can correct me on this, but I believe I’ve read other threads where a rule was mentioned about 2 years of experience. In other words, if you want to enter the country and base your visa / work permit on something other than teaching English, you need to be able to document at least two years of professional experience in that field. Something beyond listing it on your resume. As far as opportunities go, there seems to be quite a few job listings outside of the English field. Many of them, at first glance, appear to be for foreigners, but on closer inspection, seem aimed at locals with good English skills.

  2. Although most of the business here is said to be teaching kids, there is a reasonable supply of jobs teaching adults. Most young Taiwanese adults seem to have either been in a buxiban or are currently enrolled. There are several agencies that seem to focus on this crowd and also seem to induct new foreign teachers pretty quickly. Among those are Kojen, Global Village, and David’s English Center. There are others. Do a search in here and you’ll find more info.

  3. I would say “yes,” but that is only an impression. Others might have other experience.

  4. No. As others have said, definitely get the 60-day visitors visa. The multiple entry and 5-year duration things are almost meaningless in my opinion. In the first 60 days, you’re too damned busy to be leaving the country anyway. Plus, you’ll never spend five years on that one visitor visa anyway. As soon as you get a work permit, you’ll need to obtain a resident visa in order to get your ARC. As soon as you get your resident visa, any visitor visa you had is canceled. Lastly, out of some sense of reciprocity, they do stick it to Americans and now charge U.S. $100 for a visa of any type/length (obtained from the States before leaving).

  5. Either way works fine. Don’t know when you’re coming, but lots of part-time stuff should be opening up during the summer. That will mostly be teaching kids though, I would think.

  6. I’ve never heard one good thing about using an employment agent. The general rule is that they seem to be unethical and do not act in your best interest. At best, they end up with too much of your salary for too long. Plus, they simply are unnecessary. You can do it all yourself.

  7. Taipei unquestionably has the most jobs. So from that viewpoint, yes. From other viewpoints, such as quality of life, natural surroundings, density of people and buildings, maybe not.

Maybe that will shed some light. Best of luck and please ask if you have any other questions. Someone here surely knows and most people are very helpful.

Seeker4