ok, this may be old news, but for me it is new news and great news!
I tried to find previous posts regarding this to add this new info, but found it easier to just post here. So what am I shouting about? Well…
According to the NPA website, designed to help foreigners in taiwan by the taiwanese government, students are able to get a work permit through their school to work without work field restrictions other than hours.
This means regardless of what type of education you are getting, if your school is a MOE approved school or a language center affiliated with a MOE approved school you can work in Taiwan doing pretty much any job you want (as long as you are qualified). The maximum hours you can work a week is 16.
See this link for further details:
http://www.evta.gov.tw/foreign/eanswers-2.htm
Derek1978,
Have you applied for a visitor visa yet?
I was curious to see if BOCA was going to grant you an extendable visitor visa based on study at a language institute rather than a university.
(I’ve been reading your posts and I am in a similar situation. I’ve been considering a summer language study trip)
[quote=“billy budd”]Derek1978,
Have you applied for a visitor visa yet?
I was curious to see if BOCA was going to grant you an extendable visitor visa based on study at a language institute rather than a university.
(I’ve been reading your posts and I am in a similar situation. I’ve been considering a summer language study trip)[/quote]
I am at the mercy of the Seattle Teco. I applied, and am awaiting the results.
Before applying I called them and they said that the university that TLI affiliated with is NOT on the list that they have at their TECO. I then called San Francisco TECO, LA TECO, and Chicago TECO and asked their opinion. Each one said that they would grant a Visa based on my application, however I would need to go through Seattle. A bit nervous I called Seattle back…
Different person answered the phone and I asked the same questions. She told me that their list of approved schools was not updated yet and that they would forward my application to the officials in Taiwan for review. She said that it is very possible that the other TECOs I called have obtained updated lists and that is why I received the thumbs up from them. After a bit of begging and insisting I had her look up the MOE website and I showed her TLI’s affiliation and that univeristie’s listing on the MOE list of approved schools. She said that she could not guarantee approval base don what the MOE’s website details. :loco:
So that is where I am currently standing…and waiting
As far as I know, other conditions then the number of hours applied and still apply. One of the following conditions should be met:
1.Insuffecient finances to support themselves or continue their education, and the student can provide evidence of such circumstances. (upon contacting the responsible authorities I was told such a document could be issued by your representative office or school, which I highly doubted. However, I still asked at school and they, as I expected, told me they don’t have sight over my finances so wouldn’t issue such a statement. I was even more sceptical about the possibility that my rep office would issue such a statement, so I even did not ask. Insuffecient finances seems a very subjective measure anyway.)
2.An academic research institution at the student’s school requires a foreign student to provide assistance in its work. (so working as a research assistant in school is allowed, at the election study center at NCCU you can for example make 120NT an hour. Probably not the kind of job you’re looking for.)
3.The student needs to take part in an off-campus internship related to his or her field of study.
I managed to get my permit granted under condition 3, notwithstanding my work then had little or nothing to do with the degree I am studying for. My department just issued a broad statement saying that working in a Chinese environment would benefit my Chinese and my studies. However, when I applied for extension with the same documents, the extension was refused.
All in all, I feel the conditions for the student work permit are not easily met, and while at first I was delighted to hear students can now work legally, in reality this has not been really helpful for me.