[quote=“Tapani”]Thank you for the swift response and your warnings. This is not a plan of mine, just checking what options there are (and finding reasons to actually read the laws). I am quite sure it is not intended to be ok to work on visa-exempt entries, but I could not find any catch. I did dig around a bit before posting here. Heck, wo an ARC one might not even have to do the health-check…
What you say though, contradicts in several matters what I have found on the net (but that does not mean you are wrong! It’s Taiwan after all… information is often wrong, contradictory or missing).
[quote=“Icon”]The company has the work permit, not you. The work permit is not like a green card, it is an ethereal construct, only the ARC is real. It doe snot exist without the ARC.
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If you are doing visa runs, you are not working legally, i.e. you have no work permit.
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Is there some other branch of regulation I am not aware of? Does an ARC say something about this? How is the work permit connected to the ARC? :eh:
What you say contradicts the English translation of the law (Article 43, employment act). Working illegally is specified as working when your employer has not got a work permit for you. No mention of ARC or visa.
There are vistor visas for employment purposes, but I know what you mean. 
[quote=“Icon”]
Police stopped doing household visits like 10 years ago. And you have a higher shot of leaving the country anytime, without warning, if fired or found out, without time to pick your stuff and get your affairs in order.[/quote]
The law specifying how the visits shall be done was last renewed March 2010. The law says they are mandated to check on everyone, and apart from unnanounced visits, one check shall be done in your fourth month of stay. (But, it’s Taiwan, so it does not mean anyone will visit…)
If there is a catch with working on repeated visa exempt entries, I think it is more likely to be within immigration laws (specifically, Article 29 (or 22) in Immigration act). Or that there are more detailed regulations decided by a ‘competent authority’…
Sorry if my response seems cold or hostile, that is not intended.
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Ehem, read the whole thing. A visitor’s visa is for visiting. Anything outside teh scope of that, and you are engaged in an illegal activity, ergo, if you are working while holding a visitor visa, you are working illegally.
What it refers to the work permit -which as said, means nothing as without the ARC it does not apply- is that you are tied down to that position. This means you cannot perform any other jobs aside from the one that has been assigned and given as a reason for your ARC -that allows you to stay here and work -by the company -when they requested the permit from CLA. That is why people are booted out of the country when, for instance, they are found teaching at a different branch than the one their work permit specifically says they work at, even if it is for the same company.
This is not a loophole, it is a mistranslation. And remember: not all relevant laws or details are specified on the websites of local government entities. Ask anyone who has gone through the loops -not loopholes- to get their Permanent Residence. Plus they would most probably be out of date, yes, even in Chinese.
Ther eis a certain amount of time you have to get your ARC once the work permit has been approved. Again, understand work permit as job description and reason for being here. Finally, when a student has been here 4 months, they must apply for ARC and NHI, other wise, fines pile up.