dddd
A long long time ago, in a place far away there lived a dragon called PUFF the Magic Dragon…Oh sorry wait, wrong story.
A long long time ago in a place far away there was a place called TAIWAN where the govt didnt seem to care all that much if you wanted to live and work there as long as you got your ass employed by someone who would employ you and paid your taxes and kept your nose relatively clean.
But alas, in its desire to be considered a first world nation nowadays , the very same govt has decided to implement the very same instruments of slave control as practiced by other first world nations. Namely, you couldnt just go and live and work there, oh no, you had to have related work experience and a degree. And the people who wished to hire you had to jump through numerous hoops as well.
So basically the fairy tale is over and now the harsh reality.
Far as I know , you would basically have to marry your GF if you want to have a job in Taiwan because all white collar jobs require a 4 year college degree and 2 years related work experience before your arrival in Taiwan, but this can be circumvented if you are married to a ROC citizen. However, you still can not teach (unless I am mistaken) because teaching falls under a separate ruling that a teacher needs to have at least a 2 year degree and a teaching certificate or a 4 year degree. And you must have a passport from either the UK, New Zealand, Australia , USA or Canada to qualify as an English teacher as well.
So basically you are disadvantaged not having a degree, so you still cant teach english even if you marry your GF. But you will be free to take a great number of other jobs besides teaching if you marry her.
Thats far as I know, lets let others chime in. I could be wrong on some of the above (or all ) 
wishing you the best.
you look like a nice couple (but be aware that people on this forum dont really like colored contacts on TW wimmen…theres a thread on it here )
p.s. let me be the first to welcome you to forumosa !
Your only practical option would be to get hitched and obtain a visa based on marriage.
And lose the bumfluff. You look like my friend Brent, which is not a good thing.
[quote=“sandman”]Your only practical option would be to get hitched and obtain a visa based on marriage.
And lose the bumfluff. You look like my friend Brent, which is not a good thing.[/quote]
Yes and your GF looks like someone I used to date who went to England to get her masters degree. Oh nevermind shes back on the rock and married to some English teacher. CArry on.
p.s. thats what happens when you put your mugshots on here
thanks for the swift reply, I guess teaching is not an option at all really then, which is a shame but completely understandable.
as for marriage, I don’t know about other Taiwanese familys but my gf’s parents are like really pretty strict about all this kind of shit, I think they secretly hated the fact that she was even with me at first, as I’m quite a bit younger than her (6 year age gap) but they’ve come to terms with it now, they obviously wouldn’t mind us getting married in the future but when we are more stable, though I guess we could just do it secretly, I really don’t know.
Thank you, and I didn’t know that no, though those are past the use date and she has normal ones now.
ahhh, ok well I took it off now.
thanks for the advice on marriage but I’d love some answers on the other questions if that’s cool :]
How old are you??? If you are in your 20s…it’s best if YOU stay in Uk and get a degree of some usefulness, so you can look after yourself.
I’m 23, but I don’t have a spare £3k at my disposal :aiyo: even If I did, IF my gf has to go back to Taiwan I wouldn’t like to be away from her for 3 years.
I don’t understand what you mean about the vain and bitter thing :s
It’s her signature, it wasn’t aimed at you.
argh. my mistake
Could anyone shed some light on what it’s like to freelance as a designer/illustrator in Taiwan?
Why don’t you apply for Open University?
You can get a student loan to pay for the courses and then work at the same time. You’d also be able to keep taking the course while you were in Taiwan.
If you take a graphic design or related course, you might be able to get some credit for your work experience.
University in the UK is very flexible nowadays, just keep talking to your course co-ordinators! They can usually wrangle something.
If most of the jobs you get are online cases, you might be able to come here on a visitor’s visa and keep accepting jobs in the UK ($$ will go to a UK bank account though). You’ll have to do a visa run about once every 6 months, but you should have enough to get by. It’d be better if you did a uni course at the same time, then you could at least qualify for a working visa here in a few years!
[quote=“tsukinodeynatsu”]Why don’t you apply for Open University?
You can get a student loan to pay for the courses and then work at the same time. You’d also be able to keep taking the course while you were in Taiwan.
If you take a graphic design or related course, you might be able to get some credit for your work experience.
University in the UK is very flexible nowadays, just keep talking to your course co-ordinators! They can usually wrangle something.
If most of the jobs you get are online cases, you might be able to come here on a visitor’s visa and keep accepting jobs in the UK ($$ will go to a UK bank account though). You’ll have to do a visa run about once every 6 months, but you should have enough to get by. It’d be better if you did a uni course at the same time, then you could at least qualify for a working visa here in a few years![/quote]
I’ve never heard of such a thing 
But it sounds marvellous 
so I could get a British degree whilst living in Taiwan? what’s a visa run? and would I be able to teach with a degree in any subject (sorry if this is an annoyingly stupid question) please forgive my ignorance
Dan welcome to Forumosa, and none of your questions are stupid.
Thanks for the welcome. :]
Visas are usually good for a month or two. Get the right one and you can have a two month visa extended three times (meaning that you stay put for three months). After that you fly somewhere, get a new visa, and return.
Graphic artists seem to be a dime a dozen here. Unless you’ve got some particular skill/angle that sets you apart – I’ve a friend who’s cleaning up in video game animation, but mostly thanks to his computer skills --it’s unlikely you’d find any work. I don’t know, maybe as a novelty act you could make do sketching portraits and caricatures on tourist strips.
Do you guys know about the 6 month visa-free entry into UK for TWese? maybe this helps her stay there easily?
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/resources/en/news/visafreeaccesstaiwanesevisitors
Also, at least in my home country, if you do your degree in Germany you are entitled to stay there for a certain time and find a suitable job. If you find a suitable job, you can stay there for the job. Maybe there is something similar in the UK?
Hi Dan! Nice to e-meet you!
I’m also a Brit and I think I can give you some useful info on a few things.
Firstly your GF’s Masters. If she failed and plans to re-sit, she can get a new student visa. Besides that, I’ve had contact with many, many Chinese MA grads back home and their student visa allows them to stay in the UK for 2 years after graduation, so that would give you both another 2 years. She can also look for work in that time. To be honest, what you both need to do, is get in touch with her academic department and seek advice on the extension/retake business before you start worrying about moving out here! They are the ones who can tell you what the situation really is as, believe me, she won’t be the first international student to not make it! I knew another and she re-sat and stayed for another year. It can be done! Another option may be to apply for a related course and get creidt transfer or see if she can get a postgrad diploma for the modules she did pass and if that qualifies her to stay for the usual 2 years.
Re Open University. They’re a good deal financially and you can get a degree in 3 years at the least, but you will need the time to do it. Something worth bearing in mind is that, unless you’ve already started with them, you can’t study their courses outside of Europe. If you are outside of Europe unavoidably once you’re a student, you can make some arrangements. (I was helping a Taiwanese girl sort all this stuff out a few years ago, so that’s how I came across this info). Check with them what’s possible and have a good look at their website: open.ac.uk They’re just started doing some stuff in design, which you may find interesting, and the education and English lang stuff may be of use for future work in Taiwan. The quality of their teaching materials is superb (I’ve done one of their German courses) and UK epmployers really respect OU graduates for their time management and commitment to personal development.
To add to what the others have said, unless you’re married to a local, you can’t just set up a business here, I think. Things are really quite strict on foriegners! Another alternative may be to seek work with a UK company that operated in Taiwan, but this is a long shot. The only ones I know are things like The Body Shop and The Pru!!
You should also be aware for the future that the UK does not recognize marriages performed in Taiwan and so, if you got wed here, you would be considered still unwed back home, legally speaking, which may affect the legal rights of your future family. Also, if you want to marry here, you have to stay in the UK for 4 weeks before you can get the relevant documentation to say you’re legally free to marry. A BIG nuisance - my sister is dealing with all that guff now and going to marry in Hong Kong later this year instead!
So, whilst things are not necessarily the best out here, esp for Brits, forewarned is always fore-armed, so you can make any relevant preparation now.
Good hunting!
I’ve helped many a former graphic art student apply to study for their MBAs abroad. Which means they couldn’t find adequate work in graphic design. Just reporting it as I see it.
Crucial question: if the OP does the Open U degree, will Taiwan accept it? Will it look like a distance degree to them? I have no information on this, I am just trying to anticipate potential problems so they can be addressed or eliminated before it is too late.
OU is a fully accredited UK university. Taiwan will accept it, or they should!