Has anyone done this recently? I did a quick search and found conflicting messages. I’m from the US with several degrees (undergraduate & graduate) and an APRC. I’ve never had to show a TECO authenticated diploma in the past. I recently applied for a part-time teaching position at a university and they want my diploma to be certified by TECO.
Is there a simple explanation for the steps that need to be taken? Can it all be done here in Taiwan? Once it’s done, can you hold on to it and just show it to any future employer?
Thanks for you quick response. Where did you get this information and when? It contradicts other instructions I’ve seen that stated we don’t have to send our diploma and transcript to the TECO responsible for our university’s city.
Also, why would anyone send their original diploma? Official transcripts can’t come from the diploma holder. They normally go from the university straight to the company or organization that wants them. Otherwise they’re not official. I realize that this is Taiwan and things happen here that sometimes don’t make sense. But…
Universities almost always ask for it, especially for graduate degrees. It’s easy but time consuming and can take 6 or more weeks so notify your employer it may take a while and usually they’ll say that’s fine. You make a copy of your diploma and send it to TECO in Chicago iirc. They’ll then send it back a month+ later with the authentication. Go to immigration and they’ll help sort it out for you. And yes, once it’s done it’s done. Just don’t lose it or you’ll have to go through it again.
I could be wrong as it’s been a decade since I last did this, but I think immigration affirms they’ve seen the original on a copy that’s made there and then you can send the copy to TECO. This could be completely wrong but I’m sure I didn’t mail my original and only degree to them.
I think it is a legal requirement for ARC, but I guess if you are married to a Taiwanese you don’t need that. If not, you may have been working illegally so be careful who you tell…
It is Taiwan bureaucracy, so no. You have already encountered the issue that different people will give you different answers depending on who and when you ask.
It will need to be authenticated by the TECO closest to the issuing institution, but it can be done by courier.
You can, until you can’t. Chinatown, Jake.
Oh, @Helpful1560 had given a very helpful response.
Where did you see these instructions? And have you contacted the appropriate TECO to ask them? Oh, someone suggests asking immigration, which is I guess also a good idea. They will be more helpful than the ministry of education who will probably just ignore you unless you can go to their offices in Taipei somehow.
Because that was the instruction when I did it
Not true. You can have them sent to you in a sealed envelope and then provide the official transcripts in the sealed and stamped envelope and it is considered official. I have done this several times, and even got extras when I was doing my PhD and applying for multiple scholarships it was cheaper and easier to get three copies of a transcript from one university and three separate sealed stamped envelopes.
When I got my highest degree authenticated, I had to send everything to another country and I included my original degree with my other documents and a prepaid self-addressed return envelope. After Echo did what they needed to do. They put everything in the prepaid envelope and sent it back so I got my original degree back. I wouldn’t have sent it if they didn’t require it and because it was sent by courier I was confidence I would get it back.
Funny thing about the form from that TECO is that I was required to put a specific name of the person responsible and also a fax number. When I emailed the issuing institution with questions about how to fill out this form from the Taiwanese government, the response was we don’t have one person who does this. We have a lot of people in an office and we don’t have a fax machine. What year do you think this is? So I had to include a cover letter with my application for degree authentication explaining how everything was good and I did my best to follow their instructions and please just put the stamp on the paper. Which they did.
Then like I said, my memory might be at fault. I just have a hard time reconciling the leap of faith it takes to mail one’s only degree across the world to some cultural office… but I suppose I must have.
My new uni asked for it again last year (married a decade, on APRC). Luckily I still had my copy from 2016 and just gave it to them.
If I knew, then would I knew now about the Taiwanese government and organizational culture in general I would have been more hesitant. At the time I needed the job. And also to get the hell out of Canada.
But universities will keep records of their graduates, and can always give you a new piece of paper. My first 2° are actually looking a bit crusty even though they’re in plastic sleeves and I wouldn’t mind having a new copy in case I decide to frame them. But I’m not decorating my new office because it’s horrible and I spend as little time there as possible!
Yes, you can request a new degree but it’s a timely and costly process. I think I once lost my Bachelor’s and filed for a new copy and it was a pain in the ass and cost well over $100. And that was while I was in the states.
I did it myself with diplomas at TECO SF and TECO NYC
Original printed diplomas don’t mean much these days (what does “original” even mean?) Mostly for the diploma holder to hang on their wall as a trophy. Clients and patients don’t care anymore.
Snarks aside, TECO requests an original copy, aka a duplicate, from the university. These days universities include digital codes/serial numbers that can be verified online even for original copies. No need to send the “original” diploma.
Official transcripts absolutely can come from the diploma holder.
Official transcripts generally differ from unofficial transcripts in that official transcripts are in sealed in an envelope by the university. The idea is to prevent the diploma holder from altering the transcript. However, some (most?) companies or verifiers don’t care if the envelope is open/broken.
Unofficial transcripts often are on plain white paper (or PDF file) and look like a simple microsoft excel printout. No university seal or dean/president signatures etc.
Yeah. My doctorate was issued with an official digital version, that can also be checked through a secure site online, but I think it will be years if not decades before Taiwan considers that as acceptable