I’m in a situation where it’s highly probable that I’ll lose my job due to shitty HR in my company, currently I’m working in a sales company i have a work permit an arc and a taiwanese bank account, my question is once i eventually lose my job will the arc be invalidated? Does my boss have the authority to invalidate it/or my work permit, and what do i need to do in order to continue living here at least for a couple of months (not talking about jobs just about visas and work permits)
They have every right to cancel your work permit. Once cancelleation is complete, you’ll receive a notice to leave the country within 7 days. You can try going to the NIA for some leniency and possibly get an extension. It’s been known to happen. Otherwise, visa runs?
you can easily get 6 months extension for your ARC at NIA but you will have to provide termination certificate to them. Also, during that extension time you cannot work
So basically too keep my arc i need to apply for an extension at the nia and provide some certificate, which is by itself uncertain whether or not they will approve… So my only viable option is to sign up to shida and get a student visa?
FWIW that will reset your clock for getting an APRC in the future, should you continue to stay.
Maybe you could stick it out at your job right now and if you do lose it make sure you get a termination certificate from them so you can get that 6 month extension giving you the option of finding a new job in Taiwan which is what it’s for. Details about that certificate I have not.
When you leave you job your employer should issue the termination certificate to you otherwise you can call CLA. With such certificate you will get ARC extension automatically.
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Yeah, you got that very wrong. The six month extension is basically automatic.
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It’s the Ministry of Labor now, not the CLA, but they would advise you to contact the labor department in the city/county where the work occurs.
It’s true that you will lose your permission to work, until your next employer obtains a work permit for you.
Students can obtain part-time work permits, but not immediately.
So basically as long as i demand the termination certificate from my employer i have an automatic extention of 6 months but my work permit is over
Work permits are issued on a per job basis with an ARC. You won’t have open work rights, but you can look for a new job during your 6 month extension. Once you find your new job, your employer would apply for a new work permit and your ARC would be updated accordingly.
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Importantly, your ARC number will remain the same. Whereas if you left without getting an extension and came back later with a new employer, you would get a new ARC number.
@11173 : where did you get that information from? ARC numbers are issued for life and do not change.
Times have changed. Sorry to be so very wrong.
I stand corrected.
Have you tried starting your own business? So that you would be able to continue staying on and live in Taiwan? 
Not completely automatic. You have to ask for it at NIA.
Not really. If the ARC expires/is cancelled then it is no longer valid. Therefore, he comes in and applies for a new one, new history, all years worked before go into smoke. Hence, the urgency in advising the OP to retain his ARC number and hence the years he has acumulated, looking forward to a nice APRC.
Moreover, when I was a student I had one ARC number. When I started working, I was given a new number. New category I guess. I know because I was updating the info, I can’t recall if at Costco or somewhere else like Eslite, and the old one popped up. Really funny. Really needed an update.
The 6 month extension is there for you to find a NEW job.
It allows you to stay in the country and won’t reset your APRC timeline (5 years of continious ARC)
So if you want to stay in Taiwan, you extend it and find a new job.
You will need your current ARC card, passport, termination document from your job and a letter why you want to extend it + $1000 NT charge.
The letter just says you left your job before the contract expired and you enjoy Taiwan and want to find a new job blah blah.
When you go to immigration it literally takes 5 mins and she tells you right away it’s extended and to come pick up your new card in 2 weeks.
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Was that before 2007? Since 2007 the NIA has started issuing UIDs (統一編號). These numbers will not change regardless of a change in residence purpose. It was different with the paper-based ARCs.
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What I mean is that if you lose your ARC privilege, the number is also dead. You can reapply but it will be a different number, moreover, your years accumulated will be lost. That is the key issue here.
The number means nothing without the visa backing it up. That is teh most important thing. No matter what is printed, same or different number, if it is not valid, it is kaput.