Open-Work Permit Application Procedures - Step by step

Thanks Northcoast Sufer, I went to apply for my work permit yesterday and your step by step process was flawless. :notworthy: I went in yesterday afternoon and it only took 5 min. Unfortunately, Mr. Liu wasn’t there to help me. I had a woman that didn’t speak much English instead. No big deal because I was fully prepared.

I do want to mention that if you want to pick up your working permit yourself make sure you tell them this right when you go to the next counter after you pay. The woman files your application at the next counter just assumed that I wanted my working permit mailed to me. I ask her when I could pick it up and she said, oh sorry I thought you wanted it mailed to your address. So she didn’t even give me the option and she was unable to reverse the process. So I was pretty upset about that because I am never home when the mail carrier comes to my house. Oh well, I will live.

Also Northcoast Sufer noted that if you want it mailed to your house then you will need to fill out another form, but that was not the case for me. Once she gave me my receipt, she told me that I was finished.

is resident certificate needs open work permit rights to work legally?im not married.

The following individuals are qualified for an Open-Work Permit.

  1. Foreigners who possess an Alien Permanent Residency Certificate (APRC).

  2. Foreigners whose spouse is a Taiwan national AND possess a Joining Family Residency Visa (JFRV) based Alien Residency Certificate (ARC).

The following individuals are [color=#FF0000]not qualified [/color]for an Open-Work Permit.

  1. Foreigners who possess an ARC based on an employment visa.
  2. Foreigners who possess an ARC based on a student visa.
  3. Foreigners who have a visitor visa.
  4. Foreigners who enter Taiwan visa free.

Hello and Happy new year !

i have a question about the open working permit (which i have)

if i change my adress on my APRC, do i need to redo totally the paperwork or just a simple copy of the APRC ?

to change the adress on my APRC, kind of easy, household paper and done but OWP ?

Ludovic

so just to keep it alive,

my APRC is updated to the new address (cost nothing to do that, nice!) so do i have to do redo the paperwork for OWP or just keep it this way (no address is written on my OWP)

Ludovic

[quote=“Ludovic”]so just to keep it alive,

my APRC is updated to the new address (cost nothing to do that, nice!) so do i have to do redo the paperwork for OWP or just keep it this way (no address is written on my OWP)

Ludovic[/quote]
Sorry. I hadn’t seen your previous posting. :blush:

Answer: You only need to re-do your OWP when you renew your passport because your passport number subsequently changes. That’s it. You’re good until you need to renew your passport. Keep working! :bow:

Hi Northcoast Surfer,

thanks for the infos, really appreciated !

Ludovic

I got my open work permit this week by following the directions posted at the beginning of this thread.

This Monday morning, the 20th, I walked into the CLA in Taipei and applied for my open work permit. I asked if I could just wait for it, but the guy said 7 days and they’d send it to me. It didn’t take 7 days. It arrived today (Thursday 23rd) at my house by registered mail. The card’s issue date is February 21. I didn’t download and fill out a form ahead of time. I just went in with the necessary docs (APRC, passport, photocopy of front and back of APRC, photocopy of first page of passport, and one photo), filled out the form, paid my $100NT, submitted my form, took my receipt, and left. It took less than 15 minutes. There was no line, and there was even a retiree volunteer on hand who helped me write my address in Chinese. He even spoke English!

Hey Guys,

I am sure am getting antsy. I have all my APRC documents in order and ready to go. I’ve got my interview setup for next Friday. I have an OWP question maybe some of you have dealt with:

I am currently employed with an ARC. Once I apply for my OWP and receive it (assuming I get my APRC without any problems), what do I need to tell my current employer? I guess they would need to cancel my current working permit that is used for my ARC and they will just use my OWP to employ me? Is there a time frame when this needs to be done/completed?

Thanks for all of the great information!

Joshua

[quote=“joshishappy”]Hey Guys,

I am sure am getting antsy. I have all my APRC documents in order and ready to go. I’ve got my interview setup for next Friday. I have an OWP question maybe some of you have dealt with:

I am currently employed with an ARC. Once I apply for my OWP and receive it (assuming I get my APRC without any problems), what do I need to tell my current employer? I guess they would need to cancel my current working permit that is used for my ARC and they will just use my OWP to employ me? Is there a time frame when this needs to be done/completed?

Thanks for all of the great information!

Joshua[/quote]
Just give your employer a copy of your APRC and Open-Work Permit for their files and they can just let the current work-permit run out. No need for them to officially cancel it with the BEVT. All is good once you get the APRC and OWP.
:bow:

I got my OWP this week, and it was a truly delightful experience. It left me wishing all Taiwanese bureaucracy were so pleasant.

Mr. Lu was the one who helped me, and he was amazing. Everything in the OP about what a wonderful guy he is was absolutely true. Northcoast Surfer, he mentioned you by name (well, by Northcoast Surfer) and asked if I would pass along the newest change:

As of 2013, there is now a third option for pickup. You can wait 30 minutes and your OWP will be ready before you leave. This is what I chose, and it was probably only 20 minutes before they handed me my new permit in a plastic sleeve. Since the BEVT has a cafe on the first floor, it felt like no time at all. I’d barely finished my coffee before the volunteer from the lobby came to fetch me.

Overall, a great experience, and a lovely way to top off all the stress of going through the APRC process!

[quote=“naive”]I got my OWP this week, and it was a truly delightful experience. It left me wishing all Taiwanese bureaucracy were so pleasant.

Mr. Lu was the one who helped me, and he was amazing. Everything in the OP about what a wonderful guy he is was absolutely true. Northcoast Surfer, he mentioned you by name (well, by Northcoast Surfer) and asked if I would pass along the newest change:

As of 2013, there is now a third option for pickup. You can wait 30 minutes and your OWP will be ready before you leave. This is what I chose, and it was probably only 20 minutes before they handed me my new permit in a plastic sleeve. Since the BEVT has a cafe on the first floor, it felt like no time at all. I’d barely finished my coffee before the volunteer from the lobby came to fetch me.

Overall, a great experience, and a lovely way to top off all the stress of going through the APRC process![/quote]

Wow! Nice story! They now have a Cafe on the first floor? That’s really neato. I guess I’m going to have to head on down there sometime after CNY and treat Mr. Liu to a cup of coffee to show our appreciation for how he has treated all of us over the years.

Thanks for the information about the new “service while you wait” option. I’ll get the OP updated to reflect this nice new option. :bow:

[quote=“Northcoast Surfer”][quote=“joshishappy”]Hey Guys,

I am sure am getting antsy. I have all my APRC documents in order and ready to go. I’ve got my interview setup for next Friday. I have an OWP question maybe some of you have dealt with:

I am currently employed with an ARC. Once I apply for my OWP and receive it (assuming I get my APRC without any problems), what do I need to tell my current employer? I guess they would need to cancel my current working permit that is used for my ARC and they will just use my OWP to employ me? Is there a time frame when this needs to be done/completed?

Thanks for all of the great information!

Joshua[/quote]
Just give your employer a copy of your APRC and Open-Work Permit for their files and they can just let the current work-permit run out. No need for them to officially cancel it with the BEVT. All is good o
nce you get the APRC and OWP.
:bow:[/quote]

I’m not sure you really need to do anything. You might wait until renewal time comes around and let them know that they don’t need to renew it. Some employers might not be too happy with the idea that their foreign employee no longer depends on them to stay in Taiwan.

[quote=“Feiren”][quote=“Northcoast Surfer”][quote=“joshishappy”]Hey Guys,

I am sure am getting antsy. I have all my APRC documents in order and ready to go. I’ve got my interview setup for next Friday. I have an OWP question maybe some of you have dealt with:

I am currently employed with an ARC. Once I apply for my OWP and receive it (assuming I get my APRC without any problems), what do I need to tell my current employer? I guess they would need to cancel my current working permit that is used for my ARC and they will just use my OWP to employ me? Is there a time frame when this needs to be done/completed?

Thanks for all of the great information!

Joshua[/quote]
Just give your employer a copy of your APRC and Open-Work Permit for their files and they can just let the current work-permit run out. No need for them to officially cancel it with the BEVT. All is good o
nce you get the APRC and OWP.
:bow:[/quote]

I’m not sure you really need to do anything. You might wait until renewal time comes around and let them know that they don’t need to renew it. Some employers might not be too happy with the idea that their foreign employee no longer depends on them to stay in Taiwan.[/quote]

Well now, one might think so, but it’s usually the opposite! Employers are slap happy when their foreign employees get a JFRV through marriage or get the APRC because they can then run the employee off the books and cheat taxes even more than they already are!

At the start of this informative forum topic Northwest Surfer stated,[quote] I was one of the first JFRV spouses to get the Open-Work Permit and six months later it was no longer necessary! :fume: If you have an APRC and you wish to work legally, you MUST get the Open-Work Permit, it’s not optional.[/quote]

I just received my APRC today and mentioned to the NIA official that I was going to try to get my Open-Work Permit soon. I was told that I didn’t need to get one because I am married to a Taiwanese citizen (I changed from a JFRV to an APRC).
The NIA official told me that even though it doesn’t specifically list my wife on the APRC, it is in my record. Since this makes sense, I am wondering if it is too good to be true.

Has anyone actually experienced any trouble working here in Taiwan without an Open-Work Permit, being married to a Taiwanese citizen and holding an APRC?

Big thanks out to Northcoast Surfer and the fantastic Mr. Liu. :notworthy: Excellent step by step info for the application procedures and top notch assistance from Mr. Liu! :bravo: I was also presented with the three options of mail, return to pick up, or wait 30 minutes and receive. I gladly waited the 30 minutes and was on my way with my shiny new OWP :slight_smile:

Just got my Open Work Permit yesterday and, as everyone has mentioned, Mr. Lǚ is extremely friendly and helpful. He asked me to post the following information on Forumosa (he said he tried to call the number that Northcoast Surfer left but it didn’t work):

[color=#FF0000]As of July 29, 2013, the location to obtain your Open Work Permit is changing.[/color]

The new address is:
Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, Zhonghua Rd. Sec. 1, Number 39, 10th & 11th floors
台北市中正區中華路一段39號10樓/11樓

Take MRT, get off at Ximen Station, exit 5. It’s a five-minute walk north.

Click on the image below to see full size.

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Just received my APRC earlier this week and followed the information from Northwest Surfer for my OWP card. The BEVT new location is confirmed Zhonghua Road, Sec. 1, No. 39, 10th floor. Mr. Lu Yung-ming was spot on, helped me filled out the application and had it done in 30 minutes.

Just in case anyone is looking for these forms. They are now located at

Employment through a business: http://www.wda.gov.tw/home.jsp?pageno=201111160019&acttype=view&dataserno=201402240032

Open Employment Permit (aka Personal): http://www.wda.gov.tw/home.jsp?pageno=201111160019&acttype=view&dataserno=201402240033

I recently got a new passport–and then needed a new APRC, and then a new Open Work Permit. Thankfully everything went smoothly. I took care of the last step today, with the gracious help of Mr Lu at the Zhonghua Road office noted above. I wanted to pass along a thanks to Steve4nLanguage and all the others who have contributed to this thread. You guys are awesome and really help make this community a worthwhile place to be!

Guy