[quote=“berquist”]Hi all!
I was just wondering if any of you are or have come across expat. esl teachers who are NOT from one of the following countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, UK & USA.
If so , then from whuch country?
Thx[/quote]
Ireland!
Lots of illegal teachers in Taiwan: from Sweden, Belgium, Poland, Estonia, Finland, Holland, Germany, Italy etc etc… And these are just the few I’ve met. 
Thx for your replies. The reason I ask, is that I have a Zambian passport. I queried the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa about whether my Zambian citizenship would disqualify me from being able obtain a work permit. They responded that it would not. As you can imagine, I’d hate to arrive in Taiwan only to find out that i am ineligible for a work permit.
Anyone can get a work permit but I’m not sure you’d get a legal teaching job with that passport. No legal job - no work permit.
Hmm… I asked the Liason Ofiice specifically about teaching English. I am not interested in teaching illegally nor am I interested in going to Taiwan on the off chance that I may be able to find a job in another field. I am considering education as career choice. Taiwan seems like an excellent opportunity. I’d like to make it work if possible. I think I’ll fire off another email to the Liaison Office. Any suggestions & insights would be helpful.
[quote=“berquist”]Hi all!
I was just wondering if any of you are or have come across expat. esl teachers who are NOT from one of the following countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, UK & USA.
If so , then from whuch country?
Thx[/quote]
Someone teaching English who’s from Europe is exactly the same as an Afrikaans first language person from South Africa doing it, as English is also their second language…
teggs
[quote=“teggs”][quote=“berquist”]Hi all!
I was just wondering if any of you are or have come across expat. esl teachers who are NOT from one of the following countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, UK & USA.
If so , then from whuch country?
Thx[/quote]
Someone teaching English who’s from Europe is exactly the same as an Afrikaans first language person from South Africa doing it, as English is also their second language…
teggs[/quote]
Not so in the eyes of the government.
SA is regarded as an English speaking country.
Other countries, like India and Sri Lanka, and, obviously, The PI’s, despite having English as an official language, are NOT counted as allowable nationalities for English teaching in Taiwan.
I’d be real surprised if Zambia were allowed.
Remember that it’s commonplace for the representative offices to be completely out of touch with all the local in and outs and what-have-yous…
I worked with a Romanian…with a Canadian passport. If her accent wasn’t a dead giveaway (and the first day of school, parents were asking her where she was really from), the poor English she wrote was a big clue. Don’t worry, Elegua, your child was in the other kindergarten class.
Zambia surely wouldn’t get through.
I really doubt that a work permit will be issued.
I know a Zambian guy who has been teaching English (legally) here in Hsinchu for the last three years.
I am going to bet that it’s with a recruiter like I## and that the “real” work permit is for translating or something like that.
I met a number of Romanians that had this deal going. They all believed they were legal too.
I’ m trying to find some information about English teaching jobs for non native speakers. I’ve read somewhere that it’s not possible to get a work permit if you’re not a native speaker.
Who can give me some information?
Can i get a work permit?
Is it possible to work without a work permit?
If I can’t get a work permit…is there another legal way to stay 6 months in Taiwan?
Any other information for a Dutch newbie is welcome.
BTW I have a degree and TEFL.
Dankje
Who can give me some information?
The legals forum here, tealit, occasionally the various government departments who are responsible for messing these things up.
Can i get a work permit?
You can get a work permit if you’re being hired to do a job that a Taiwanese can’t. To teach English you need to be a native speaker of English or have a masters degree in something suitable. I don’t think just a TEFL cert will be sufficient. You might be able to find some other work if you have some other skill, such as cheese-making or building dykes.
Is it possible to work without a work permit?
People do it all the time. It’s illegal, but in Taipei at least most folks have two or three jobs and it’s rare for them all to be legal. Meeting a private student is illegal, but people do it. Look at the job ads here and at tealit and see how many mention that they provide a work permit/ARC.
If I can’t get a work permit…is there another legal way to stay 6 months in Taiwan?
You need a reason to be here, such as retiring here or studying something. You can study Chinese, or you can study a plethora of other subjects, often in English. There was a thread on this a while back. Just make sure you choose a recognised school so you can get a visa. Again, search the legal forums. Or marry a local.
Hope this helps.
What tmwc said. Sorry if I sounded terse.
[quote=“Buttercup”]1. The Ministry of Education
2. Not as a teacher. You have to be from USA, UK, SA, Australia, Canada or New Zealand to get an English teaching work permit. Depending on your background, you may be able to get another kind of job and apply for a work permit based on that.
3. Not legally. People do do it, but if you get caught you will be fined, deported and your passport stamped, barring you from entry for five years.
4. Learn Chinese at a government recognised school.[/quote]
Not Ireland? :s (serious question)
[quote=“irishstu”][quote=“Buttercup”]1. The Ministry of Education
2. Not as a teacher. You have to be from USA, UK, SA, Australia, Canada or New Zealand to get an English teaching work permit. Depending on your background, you may be able to get another kind of job and apply for a work permit based on that.
3. Not legally. People do do it, but if you get caught you will be fined, deported and your passport stamped, barring you from entry for five years.
4. Learn Chinese at a government recognised school.[/quote]
Not Ireland? :s (serious question)[/quote]
Not sure. I’d heard it was only those. I am probably wrong, or, more likely, my ex-boss thought Ireland was in England anyway.
It’s obviously a moronic rule.
[quote=“Buttercup”][quote=“irishstu”][quote=“Buttercup”]1. The Ministry of Education
2. Not as a teacher. You have to be from USA, UK, SA, Australia, Canada or New Zealand to get an English teaching work permit. Depending on your background, you may be able to get another kind of job and apply for a work permit based on that.
3. Not legally. People do do it, but if you get caught you will be fined, deported and your passport stamped, barring you from entry for five years.
4. Learn Chinese at a government recognised school.[/quote]
Not Ireland? :s (serious question)[/quote]
Not sure. I’d heard it was only those. I am probably wrong, or, more likely, my ex-boss thought Ireland was in England anyway.
It’s obviously a moronic rule.[/quote]
Wouldn’t surprise me either way. I thought the rule was “A native-English-speaking country”, but I really don’t have any evidence to support that. I’m sure there are plenty of other countries that have been missed off that list if it’s supposed to be the definitive one.
Anyway, I’m here on my Brit passport. Oh yeah, and I’m married to a local, so I don’t need an ARC through a school. Oh yeah, and I don’t teach English anymore…
I’ve seen Oirish English teachers here…but never sober.
No, there is definitely a list of countries. Even though there are many non-native speakers with passports from those countries. And many people with other passports ARE native speakers. And even if you aren’t a native speaker, maybe you speak such amazing English and are qualified enough, that you still offer a service that is more worth importing, maybe much more than that of a native speaker who hasn’t set foot in a classroom since he was in school; I’m speaking of some of the Dutch and Swedish people I’ve met in Taiwan. And let’s not even talk about the Filipinos and Indians that could be teaching English here…
But hey, I’m ranting on the Teaching forum again…