A little birdie just whispered in my ear that there is a new degree verification process coming into effect. Apparently, ALL degrees, for ALL work permit applications will now have to be verified in the country where you studied. Can anybody confirm or deny this?
A friend of mine has a degree of, shall we say, questionable origin. There are some dark alleyways on the www where such things may be purchased apparently. Although the university he supposedly studied at is listed on the actual degree as being in the UK, some superlative sleuthing work by yours truly has found that this address, while being there, is not really a university. The degree was however legally issued by the university of the Seychelles. Is his degree going to stand up to the scrutiny of the new procedures, or should he be at the Japanese Trade Office making enquiries?
From various other posts and threads, it is possible to work without a work permit if you are married to a local. Does anybody know what the law says about being here, married to a foreigner who has a valid work permit/ARC. I am assuming that you would also need a work permit in your own right to work legally.
Hi, I’m a friend of Truant’s, and I think if you are planning on coming here to use a fake degree, you should delay your trip around 4 years and get a real one.
oh, and see that orange band there about doing a search before you post? well, make sure that degree you get is a reading one.
I wasn’t asking for anybody’s opinion on the moral issues of using a purchased degree. My question was whether anybody on the board had any details about a new verification process.
And I’m a new poster, so the reference to an orange band went over my head.
I wasn’t asking for anybody’s opinion on the moral issues of using a purchased degree. My question was whether anybody on the board had any details about a new verification process.
And I’m a new poster, so the reference to an orange band went over my head.[/quote]
OK. well sure, but just to let you know it all stacks up to looking like someone’s concerned about using their fake degree here.
Personally I don’t agree with it, and assistance with illegal activity is in breach of the rules here.
OK, I might be on a high horse, but do a search and you should find what you need to know. If not, someone might address your verification/validation Q.
The orange band refers to the search box on the main page. You can’t miss it.
Point taken. The second part of my post was meant more in jest. My personal concern, if there is indeed going to be a new validation process put in place running along these lines, is logistical. How long is it now going to take to process a work permit if we have to wait for communication from the Taiwan Gov --> University --> Taiwan Trade Office --> Taiwan Gov.
for those of you from the true first world, this might not be a problem, but for a lil ol boy from Africa; I forsee some serious delays…
And ta forthe heads up on the orange box. grin Will use the advice in the future.
[quote]My personal concern … is logistical. How long is it now going to take to process a work permit if we have to wait for communication from the Taiwan Gov --> University --> Taiwan Trade Office --> Taiwan Gov.
[/quote]
It shouldn’t matter. Once your paperwork has been submitted to the government, you should be safe from any problems re: illegal work. As far as I know.
Point taken. The second part of my post was meant more in jest. My personal concern, if there is indeed going to be a new validation process put in place running along these lines, is logistical. How long is it now going to take to process a work permit if we have to wait for communication from the Taiwan Gov --> University --> Taiwan Trade Office --> Taiwan Gov.
for those of you from the true first world, this might not be a problem, but for a lil ol boy from Africa; I forsee some serious delays…
And ta forthe heads up on the orange box. grin Will use the advice in the future.[/quote]
FYI, I had to get my marriage cert validated in my home country once I was here. I can imagine the process would be similar for degrees.
Basically I had to courier it back home to the defacto Taiwan embassy (i.e. the Taiwan Trade and Cultural office or something) and they stamped it on the back and being a genuine document in NZ, scribbled something in chinese and sent it back to me here. I think the tw govt requires document validation to be done at the country of document source, so if you have a UK degree, that will need to go there.
If you can do that to all your important documents before you come up here I would recommend it if you are worried.
Some documents may then require translation in chinese. That is something I haven’t had to deal with yet. I understand english->chinese is easy enough to get done here, but if you are talking Afrikaan -> chinese, then I hope someone else knows about this.
I know there is a good thread on document translation on here…
That makes sense. I just hope the onus is not going to be on us to handle the validation.
Truant:
I’m already here. (Last 2.5 years or so) I’m currently looking for a new job though, so I’m just worried about potential delays once I start the procedure for getting a new work permit. Especially as my current employer is NOT going to be happy when I leave (even though I have given notice).
If it becomes the responsibility of the applicant to prove authenticity, I know a lot of people who have for example correspondence degrees, where getting it authenticated in the country of origin is going to be VERY difficult without them personally going there.
That makes sense. I just hope the onus is not going to be on us to handle the validation.
Truant:
I’m already here. (Last 2.5 years or so) I’m currently looking for a new job though, so I’m just worried about potential delays once I start the procedure for getting a new work permit. Especially as my current employer is NOT going to be happy when I leave (even though I have given notice).
If it becomes the responsibility of the applicant to prove authenticity, I know a lot of people who have for example correspondence degrees, where getting it authenticated in the country of origin is going to be VERY difficult without them personally going there.[/quote]
well suck me sideways. You probably know more about this than my meager contribution.
A little birdie just whispered in my ear that there is a new degree verification process coming into effect. Apparently, ALL degrees, for ALL work permit applications will now have to be verified in the country where you studied. Can anybody confirm or deny this?
A friend of mine has a degree of, shall we say, questionable origin. There are some dark alleyways on the www where such things may be purchased apparently. Although the university he supposedly studied at is listed on the actual degree as being in the UK, some superlative sleuthing work by yours truly has found that this address, while being there, is not really a university. The degree was however legally issued by the university of the Seychelles. Is his degree going to stand up to the scrutiny of the new procedures, or should he be at the Japanese Trade Office making enquiries?
From various other posts and threads, it is possible to work without a work permit if you are married to a local. Does anybody know what the law says about being here, married to a foreigner who has a valid work permit/ARC. I am assuming that you would also need a work permit in your own right to work legally.
Thanks in advance.[/quote]
Gawd man. If your degree is legit, then no problems. Who cares how they verify it? I WANT the authorities here to call my uni to verify my credentials; I really do. Check if I graduated or not. If you are working by way of fraudulent means, then I WANT you to get booted. What does it matter how they they check as long as they verify you actually have the credential/qualification you claim to have?
Pretty much the same as distance learning afaik. Some institutes are recognised by the gov here I think. At least, I assume so since I have friends with said degrees and valid work permits. There are certain universities that are not recognised by the local gov though, from what I’ve heard.
[quote=“cuchilo”]
If it becomes the responsibility of the applicant to prove authenticity, I know a lot of people who have for example correspondence degrees, where getting it authenticated in the country of origin is going to be VERY difficult without them personally going there.[/quote]
Hi cuchilo,
It is the responsibility of the applicant to get his/her documents authenticated and certified by the appropriate TECO office prior to arriving to Taiwan.
However, as is the practice in many instances, no one has told the new foreign employee about this and the employee comes to Taiwan (or is already here) without having done this. Now, you can still get your paperwork properly authenticated and certified but the logistical nightmare begins. There was a recent post about this in another thread regarding someone’s graduate/Ph.D degree from France I believe.
Our office has worked with Malaysians whose degrees came from the UK and Malaysia and is in Taiwan on a large multinational project. They are not able to get their work permits and work-ARC’s approved. It’s a headache. Sorry.
Thanks for the info, that is what I was looking for. Do you, (or does anybody else) know if there are any reputable companies out there that can handle authentication in multiple countries? I have had a few online hits with sites like www.apostille.com , and am just wondering whether their service would carry weight with the Taiwan Gov. Their website states that Taiwan is not a signatory to any of the international agreements mentioned, but that could just be due to Taiwan’s unique international status.
