I work for a reputable and large chain school in Taichung (would rather not be specific). I was recently asked by my boss to sub at another one of the branches for the same chain, relatively close to my school. I thought nothing of subbing at this branch because it is considered the main branch, and all of the processing for my ARC was done here and the woman in charge of foreigner’s ARC/Work Permit’s is the lady residing over this main branch. Anyway, I was only asked to sub one class, then return to my main branch to finish a regular evening. However, my ARC is only registered to the branch which I permanently work, not the branch which I was asked to sub at. Also, my school does not have a kindergarten or pre-school program, just a normal buxiban, because I DID have prior knowledge that teaching kindy is illegal and chose not to do so.
To make a long story longer: I arrived early that day, and shortly after I arrived and sat at the desk in the reception area, a lone official appeared and scoped me out – later asking to take a look at my ARC. I obliged because I was currently sitting at a desk and there were no classes in session at the time. To my knowledge (and after pressing the lady about the issue) I was told he did not write down any information in reference to my ARC, did not copy it, and did not seem to care. He did, however, take a copy of the ARC of a permanent teacher who works full time at that particular branch. Again, and according to her, she admitted to him that I was there to sub only one class, but she said he was nice and said although it was not technically allowed that he was not going to make an issue of it. I had no prior knowledge that it was illegal to work for the same company, under the same owner, in the same city–but I did have an uneasy feeling about this situation, so I politely had the ARC/Work Permit lady ask the man if it was in fact OK if I was to go into the classroom and sub that particular class, or should I head back to my original branch and forget about it. The man agreed and said that it was OK, so I proceeded into the classroom. After I walked into the classroom he disappeared and my ARC was handed to me and I was told, “don’t worry it’s just a routine thing and it’s not a big deal this has happened many times before.”
In conclusion, this incident sparked me to find these forums and read many of the deportation threads. Although many were as old as 2005, I’m sure most of the same regulations (or lack thereof) still apply today. I did not and was not asked to sign anything. No photos were taken to my knowledge, and the lady in charge denies any photos were taken or that any of my personal information was submitted to the man, besides a brief glance at my ARC. I was never officially questioned myself, I just sat quietly at the same desk while he talked to the ARC/Work Permit lady. It was only one official/inspector and it was before normal teaching hours (which I wouldn’t consider a raid, but then again I don’t really know much about this shit). By all logical means, I asked him if I was doing something wrong before I went into the classroom and he told me it was OK. I just have a lot of ties here and was considering building a longer future here, so this event has left me stressed out to the max. Should I be overly concerned, or take any sort of preemptive action, or should I just let the situation fade in hopes that I never receive that letter in the mail? I have been assured and reassured (although I don’t feel much better) that no information was taken pertaining to me, no warnings were given to the school, and that this situation has happened before and it’s nothing to fear. Should I be legitimately worried, or just chill out?