Planning for a Taiwan ESL Gap Year (Short Contract)

Work Teaching English in Taiwan
1

Hi guys,

I graduated a couple of months ago and I have a job lined up in the UK which is due to start September 2014 so I was thinking of going to Taiwan for the few months between now and then for a sort of gap year. My bank balance is currently in the red so I was thinking of taking up an ESL job in Taiwan in order to live there comfortably and have enough to go travelling around the area.

I’ve done some preliminary research and my main problem seems to be the fact that I cannot commit more than around 6 months in Taiwan as I will have to return to the UK to start my job. My understanding is that a one year contract is the minimum for a decent ESL job (good work environment) so I was wondering if anyone had any experience with shorter contracts or maybe even leaving the job before the one year is up?

Thanks!

2

You should rethink your plan if those are your goals.

3

I doubt this is possible on the timescale you talk about. Ten or fifteen years ago, you could arrive in Taiwan and be making decent money within a couple of weeks, but that’s not the situation now at all; it’ll probably take at least 3-4 months to balance your start-up costs. You certainly won’t be making enough to travel in the region (Japan, Philippines, Malaysia); that may take about a year. I suspect your nine months or so in Taiwan would result in deepening the red, and minimal travelling.

But others who have arrived in Taiwan more recently can give a more accurate assessment of what the job market is like now.

4

You need to have enough to fly here, pay a deposit on a room, and enough to keep you while you find full-time hours.

Get a job where you are, sort your bank balance out and then ‘travel’ with that. If you work for an EFL place, you aren’t (a) making money for anyone (b) benefitting anyone with a few months’ commitment, especially as presumably you’ll be learning to teach on the job. Few employers would see you as worth the bother.

Try some of the chains. They will be unimpressed when you break your contract (they pay for your paperwork and re-recruiting) and you probably won’t get your tax back.

5

Taiwan hasn’t ever been a good place to make money in only one year for a lot of people, which is why many do two or more years of service. As for traveling, it’s a money sucker even just on the island unless you stick to day trips. I blew 10,000nt mainly on travel and accommodation when I took a three day weekend recently and the High Speed Rail was the only real luxury item I used. It’s more than likely a newcomer will be working Saturdays which leaves you Sundays to travel and nearly every travel option is crowded as it’s the only day off for a lot of people.

As others have stated, it’s really not worth coming here without cash in the bank.

6

(adding to the negativity)

I won’t comment on money, but Taiwan is an awful place if you’re looking to travel. Most employers here offer no vacation days your first year and will resist tooth and nail if you try to take unpaid leave. Most of the teachers I’ve met have spent almost no time away from where they worked/lived during the first year teaching.

There may be attractive options in China or southeast Asia, but I think the situation is pretty similar in Korea as well.

7

China might be good for you, if you’d find that interesting (rather than just telling you everywhere’s crapper than the 90s and discouraging you overly)? You would earn a similar amount per hour, as a newbie, but the cost of living would be cheaper, it’d be cheaper to travel to and around. Vietnam’s also expanding in terms of EFL.

8

Thanks for all the feedback so far it’s very insightful albeit somewhat more negative than I’d hoped.

Just to clarify, my main objective would be to be immersed in the culture of an asian country like Taiwan (and hopefully have some opportunities to learn mandarin to some degree) so if travelling was as difficult as you guys have said it is, it’s not too much of a bother although it would be very nice.

Also, I am currently in the red but not by too much. The signing bonus I’m due to receive should be enough to offset it by such an amount that I should have enough for flights and deposit etc. I would like to save whilst there but if I end up with zero by the time I leave that’s ok too.

So with that in mind, where would be the best option? I’d like to leave minimal impact on the students by leaving. So probably not a major role?

9

If you are from the UK, you might be able to come on a Working Holiday visa and put together some short-term jobs like English summer camp etc. My understanding is that you can’t work too long in one job but that you can have a number of jobs. It might work.

10

Sounds like a great idea Feiren. Would this be restricted to just the summer months or do you think there are enough short term jobs throughout the year to keep me going?

11

A young American did bout ten months in TAiwan recently. He saw virtually nothing. Did virtually nothing. Made only enough to have a hard life six days a week.

HE came with nothing , left with nothing. BAsically accomplished nothing.

He didn’t improve his chinese because he talked to nobody. Made no friends.

That could be YOU !

Or … you could meet a Taiwanese girl and your Gap Year becomes a GAp 20 years.

12

[quote=“Hokwongwei”](adding to the negativity)

I won’t comment on money, but Taiwan is an awful place if you’re looking to travel. Most employers here offer no vacation days your first year and will resist tooth and nail if you try to take unpaid leave. Most of the teachers I’ve met have spent almost no time away from where they worked/lived during the first year teaching.

There may be attractive options in China or southeast Asia, but I think the situation is pretty similar in Korea as well.[/quote]

During my four years in Taiwan, I usually only traveled during the Chinese New Year’s vacation. Plus, you need to stay on top of things and may sure you leave Taiwan plenty early to find an affordable ticket during Chinese New Year’s.

13

Pretty much all jobs require a 1 year contract and usually they withhold a big chunk of your salary if you break the contract early, but you can ask them to take this clause out (I always tell them to take it out, or I won’t sign).

Be aware that you’ll face a lot of start up costs. Renting an apartment and paying the deposit will be a big hit.

You won’t have much time to travel (except Chinese New Year) so you should travel after you’ve quit and saved some money.

14

The UK has a program called the Youth Mobility Scheme. The idea seems to be to enable young people from various countries, including Taiwan, to live and work in the UK. As far as I know, Taiwan reciprocates with a similar program. I know very little about this program, but there’s some information here:

boca.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=131 … e=783&mp=2

web1.tainan.gov.tw/NewEnglish/CP … Exi01.aspx

(For the FAQs link, the second link, I used the Tainan City Government’s link instead of the National Immigration Agency’s link because the NIA site’s FAQ page on that subject ( immigration.gov.tw/ct.asp?xI … 09&mp=T002 ) appears to be down or missing at this time.)

I hope this helps.

15

Someone inquired about the Youth Mobility Scheme back in March of last year, but apparently no one on the board had any information on it, or if anyone did, they didn’t see the post. That post is here: forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi … 7&t=107980

The following month, a person who already had a Youth Mobility Scheme visa inquired about whether he could teach on such a visa:

[quote]hi.
im brittish currently living in taiwan and hold a 1 year YMS holiday working visa.[/quote] forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi … 5&t=109005

The inquirer got two somewhat different opinions, but the two persons who responded seemed to agree that it was permissible to teach in a cram school on such a visa.

In October of last year, someone who was holding such a visa asked whether it was permissible to teach kindergarten on that visa. The word we’ve gotten for some time now is that it’s illegal for us to teach kindergarten. There was some disagreement about whether a person with a Youth Mobility Scheme visa could legally teach kindergarten, but I think the general sense of the thread was that it was risky. Here’s that thread: forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi … 4#p1473504

In March of this year, someone posted a number of questions about the Youth Mobility Scheme, along with some helpful information:

[quote]Hello all,
Just a quick introduction, my name’s Liam, I’m from Bedfordshire, England. . . .

I’m hoping to teach in Taiwan for a year or two whilst working on a portfolio. . . . Anyway, I’ve been looking for information on a Youth Mobility Scheme Visa (YMS), and anyone who has experience with one. . . .

Also, here’s the Taiwan Rep. Office website link if anyone else was looking; it’s hidden away on their site. forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi … 0#p1509100

The next day, in the same thread, someone else posted questions about this kind of visa: forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi … 6#p1509326

About five and a half months later, in September of this year, the original poster posted the following:

[quote]I thought I’d reply to my own post, encase someone else looks for this information in the future.
I didn’t find any luck else where on the net, so I just bloody went for it and got a YMS Visa. Here is what I know:

The YMS Visa acts as a one year residency visa, and is valid from the day after you land. Within 15 days you must visit the labour office for an ARC and I’m assuming something that allows re-entry, as the visa only has single entry on it.

The YMS website asks you to bring the below to the Taiwanese Embassy, or Taipei Representative Office as its known to appease some noisy neighbours. I’ll go through each one underneath.
Here’s a link to the website: taiwanembassy.org/ct.asp?xIt … 32&xp1=132

1. a completed application form for YMS resident visa (signed personally);
This is an online form you must submit and print before you go. It requires passport details. It isn’t linked directly on the website, click here for the form.
2. a YMS permit form;
This is the form on the website, it downloads as a word document.
3. a resume;
This document is sometimes known as a Curriculum Vitae :wink:
4. a passport valid for a minimum of 1 year at the time of submission;
Just to note they keep your passport while they process everything, and the visa is a sticker on one of the pages. It takes around two days, and you can either pick it up, or they will post it recorded for £7.
5. two standard colour passport photographs taken within six months prior to application;
These can be standard UK sized ones, not 2" x 2". If you forget, Victoria station is across the road from the embassy and has machines.
6. proof of travel medical insurance for their stay in the Republic of China (Taiwan), which should be valid for at least the first 4 months of their planned stay;
While this can get expensive, you can get backpackers insurance with medical cover, or single trip cover with add ons. Mine was £190 from AA Insurance, you can search around for cheaper deals, but the advertising worked and I decided I’m going to get a tropical infection after surgery on a broken fibula, so wanted some extras. I believe your employer must cover you once you start work, its mentioned elsewhere on here? I don’t know, I am but a man. And I’m still Britain. Not much use.
7. a medical examination report;
I don’t think the Taiwanese opinion of the Brits is too high; we must present the completed medical form which is on the website, with the four tests for us being HIV, TB, Syphilis, and proof of the MMR vaccine. But we DON’T need testing for Hanson’s disease (leprosy) (Part F) or the stool examination (part C). It’s on the second page, but point it out to the doctor doing the medical just in case; mine didn’t read the form and was keen to probe my pasty flesh for red open sores.
My local surgery said this is not covered by the NHS, and I had to go private. I couldn’t find any clinics that did Taiwanese medicals, so i emailed a few private clinics offering Australian Visa medicals, and stated which tests I needed. A few didn’t reply, so persevere. In the end I went to Knightsbridge Doctors in London, a 15 minute walk from Victoria Station. The cost was £260 for all four tests; three blood tests and one X Ray. The Australian Visa medicals seem to come in at the £300 mark, so expect a price around that if you go to another doctor. I was told the bring the form, my passport, and a passport photo. Results took 3 days; you can pick them up in person, or they will post them to you.
8. a round-trip flight ticket or proof of sufficient funds for the purchase of a return trip;
You actually need to present your one way ticket if you have it.
9. proof of sufficient financial means, such as traveler’s cheques or bank statements to the value of ￡1600;
I brought a printed online bank statement; it was fine.
10. ￡44 for the application fee.
You need cash.

That’s all there is to it; fill it all in and bring it to the embassy Monday-Friday 9.30-12.30. It’s located across the road from Victoria Station, a couple along from the big STA travel shop, and next to the Belgravia Centre. They are all ridiculously lovely and very helpful, I phoned them a few times to ask questions and they chatted away like I was a patron of their coffee shop.
There’s a bit on the site about only working casually; ignore it, it’s not for UK citizens, we can work full time for the length of our Visa.

While the visa seems to be the same as everyone elses, there is the bonus of being able to change jobs after the three month tourist period without worrying about your ARC or residency being cancelled.
Also before you come, fill out a P85 so the government get off your case, and let student loans know, or they’ll try to bill you a hefty chunk each month.
I am no expert, but if you have any questions Google can’t help you with, my email is liamscarlino@hotmail.com, and damn it, I’ll try my best.
I’ll post if I find there are any complications in Taiwan.
See you all in October!
Liam[/quote] forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi … 8#p1552068

Again, I hope this helps.