I have read/heard so many conflicting things about this recently. Just looking to make some money on the side, and I am not constrained to only working one job here – I do want to stay on the right side of the law though.
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I think it will depend on their school license. If they are a true kindergarten with all of the required permits and such then you shouldn’t be teaching without a license from Taiwan to teach in a kindergarten. If they are a buxiban masquerading as a kindergarten then you will have no problem because the laws are far less strict. Just my view on it.
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The answer is no. It is illegal.
People however justify it by saying “oh if you have a JFRV/APRC….”
Still illegal
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He is asking if it is legal for him to work in a kindergarten.
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Its not illegal to work there if you have an open work permit, but it is illegal to teach, People try to get around it by being employed in other positions, but if you are caught doing anything that resembles teaching you and they can end up in trouble.
People with open work rights will get a fine. If, as you say, they get caught teaching.
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Yeah I am definitely not looking to open a kindergarten! Just interested in the idea of working at one in the morning time for supplemental income.
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Many people do and have been fine. But that doesn’t mean it is legal. Just be aware that you should weigh the risks
Oh, then why did you specify “morning” in your question?
If you’re living in Taiwan as a foreigner, then it is illegal to teach at a real kindergarten, regardless of whether they open in the mornings or afternoons.
Stupid question, but why don’t you just teach at an elementary or secondary school? Why take the risk with a kindergarten?
Exactly. I taught at a kindergarten for a year in 1999. FAP came along to bust the foreign teacher which had been reported to them by another kindy owner lol.
They were polite and wanted to see my ARC to which I replied it had been cancelled. They are like “excuse me please explain”? I watch them absorb this bit of information so they ask me so what type of visa to do I have now? I reply none at all, your government was so kind to let me become a citizen here’s my ID card. That’s why my ARC was cancelled. We have a chuckle. So I ask the FAP how did you know I was working here and one admitted I had been reported as an illegal worker by another school owner.
Sometimes the MOE would come and as I only worked part time they didn’t seem to mind. It really depended in the relationship of the school owner to the local MOE officials. Me being a citizen really seemed to help as well. Certainly ARC holders married to citizens before 2000 did not have work permits their ARC’s were stamped not allowed to work in Taiwan.
I know an APRC holder that worked at a place I taught at later on and the school was fined for teaching English as he was full time. So don’t know if that made any difference.
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Exactly. Both the employee and the employer can be fined. Some get fined.
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In 1999 I was getting NT$800 an hour tax free. I was paid on hours and taught morning in one school and afternoon classes at another and made NT$110k and more per month. at one time I was doing 32 hours a week and schools would list me as a citizen on the minimum salary on the books and pay in cash.
I had just naturalized and was saving $$ to figure out what else I might do later on. I had several schools make offers as I was a citizen, for the schools it made them safe. Also once I had been reported the the FAP the school was never raided again.
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Why is it like this, do you think? What’s the crime in doing this? Pretty confused. Also, it seems so many 補習班 have foreign teachers openly teaching kindergarten? Is this mostly about the school just being on the gov’s good side, so they turn a blind eye? I don’t understand why this is deemed illegal at all.
It is like this because the MOE has said it is not allowed and there are penalties in place for both the teacher and the school.
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you need a teacher license to be an elementary school teacher, but not for buxiban teacher or elementary school cleaning job. the same for kindergarten
As far as I’m aware this is the correct information. People with gold cards or permanent residency can legally teach children of kindergarten age in schools registered as buxibans.
That I believe is for government schools yes? I know APRC holders who work for private elementary schools with no teachers license.
That is not the same as teaching in Kindergarten. I know of a Canadian woman who was deported from a school who registered as the Kindergarten Anching Ban Cram school, and she was caught teaching the Kindy classes but her ARC was for the same school at same location for teaching cram school lessons.
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But that’s not the same as open work rights. Nobody will get deported otherwise.