Hi, my name is Kristie and I live in Canada. My husband & I would like to move to Taipei this summer to teach English. We have a Canadian friend (as well as his Taiwanese girlfriend) who is there now and has been teaching there for 5 yrs. He has been encouraging us to come over and is being quite helpful in our relocation plans etc. They have also offered to let us stay with them for awhile until we get set up. I have been reading up extensively on rules, legislation, guidebooks, culture shock info, jobs and so on. I have spoken with the Taiwan Office that you apply to for a visa which is in Vancouver. And I am still not clear on a few things. So… I have a lot of specific questions to ask and I was hoping that people who live there or know from experience (or even know of people etc., etc.) could help. We are bringing our 6 year old son with us, and in that respect it is VERY important to us to do this legally, correctly and safely. I have never ever traveled abroad so in some ways (especially where our son is concerned), I want to be very aware of all that is important.
So… if you would be so kind, here are my questions…
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Is it true that you cannot EVER get an ARC without a BACH. degree? I have college certification (3 cert.)in Massage Therapy, as well as TEFL certification, but it still isn’t clear to me what EXACTLY is required, and I’ve been told two different things from the Visa offices bwt. Vancouver and Toronto.
Is there any other way of getting an ARC? -
Do you think it is safe or wise to move to Taiwan if neither my husband or myself have a job in place first?
It is smarter, I almost think to have one before you go, but our friends keep telling us that we will be able to get a job no problem and that everything that I am reading on the internet from the Taiwan Gov’t website to the Canadian Consular Affairs doesn’t neccesarily apply pertaining to actually living and teaching in Taiwan. So different rules apply and it is or can be subjective depending on who signs your paper work, who hires you etc. We have saved a lot of money over time for this trip, so they also think that that will help us.
- What would be the best way to carry out our plan:
A. Leave shop open here in Canada, apply for multiple entry visa, travel to Taiwan, start looking for jobs immediately, leave if we have to and come back to Canada and close up shop here if we land a job?
B. Close up shop here in Canada, go to Taiwan, stay with our friends for a while traveling as we go, looking for a job as well, landing a job, and and having our empoyers respectively apply for a work visa on our behalf.
C. Don’t go until one or both of us have a job.
- I was also told by the consular office that we could apply for a multiple visitor visa on the condition that our friends in Taiwan write us an invitation letter for us to stay with them as well as the reason for our travel to the island of Taiwan and the area. She said in all likelihood supporting documents such as that would increase the amount of time that our visas are approved for. Does anyone know exactly what these letters should entail?
Another thing our friend said is that if I have formal college education but my husband doesn’t, he would be allowed to stay in Taiwan if I get an ARC. Is this true?
Last question for now (I hope for everyone’s sake including mine) : The Visa Application that I have printed off from the Official Website of the Taiwan Gov’t asks us to state our arrival and departure dates for Taiwan as well as a photocopy of our itinerary and plane ticket showing arrival and departure as well. I asked the Visa Office in Vancouver about the plane ticket because we know how long we will LIKE to stay but we don’t know when we will HAVE to leave. I would like an open ended ticket or one that will expire after a year or something, but not sure what is best. They said in Vancouver that you can’t have an open ended ticket, it must have a departure date on it that isn’t beyond the expiry date of your visa. But how will we know how long our visa will be approved for in order to book the proper time frame for our ticket? So what can I do? I hope someone has some great advice.
Thank you so much in your endeavor to read all of this, sorry to be so long winded. I hope someone will be able to help us. And Keith, I very much appreciate your posts. Thank you for your hard work and info.
Thanks Again !
Kristie in Canada