My contract doesn’t start until July 1st, but the school I signed a contract with is trying to say that I’d have to start working on April 15 if they apply for my work permit on April 1st.
I have to apply ASAP because my current FBI check expires on the 7th and isn’t authenticated or else I’d apply for my marriage visa.
The lady in charge of applying is sounding like she just doesn’t want to apply for it, and keeps saying to just apply for my marriage visa. However, I can’t get an FBI check since they stopped processing them as they’re working from home.
What this lady is saying doesn’t make any sense. People get work permits before coming to Taiwan. I’d need a work permit to even apply for my resident visa.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the process is this:
Company applies for my work permit -> 2) receive work permit and apply for resident visa -> 3) receive resident visa and apply for ARC within 15 days of arriving (if not yet in Taiwan) or within 15 days of receiving the resident visa (if already in Taiwan).
Is there any reason I couldn’t get my work permit, resident visa, and ARC and then start on my contract date of July 1st?
There might well be. Part of the application documents are the employment contract, which has to include the term of work. It seems likely that there is some legal stipulation about when that has to be vis-a-vis the issuance of the work permit. You could probably get an answer about that if you call the WDA
From the company’s standpoint, it’s also possible that if the permit has a fixed maximum time length (3 years I think), they shouldn’t be wasting a portion of it waiting for you to begin work. Perhaps that could be negotiated.
My mother in law and I will both call tomorrow to inquire about this.
It just seems weird if you couldn’t get a work permit within 2 weeks of your contract start date. According to the school’s documents sent to me, it takes 10 days to even get the work permit back and 7 days to get a resident Visa after getting he work permit.
According to BOCA, you can’t apply for a white collar work visa without a work permit issued to you. And, the resident Visa for white collar workers isn’t issued for 7-10 days. If not in Taiwan, you apply for your ARC within 15 days upon arrival on Taiwan. If already in Taiwan, you must apply for your ARC within 15 days of receiving your Resident visa.
How would a foreign teacher be expected to get settled in a foreign country without arriving 1-2 months before their contract start date? Nowhere in either BOCA’s or the Labor Department’s websites does it state that time requirement.
I’m going to get more info tomorrow and I’ll update with info for others if they experience a similar situation.
I’m just a bit jaded that I paid $100usd for documents (FBI check, diploma, etc.) sent to me here, and $360usd for an urgent (24 hour turn around) FBI check Chinese translation for the school to not even at least try to apply for my work permit with the already signed contract start date of July 1st. Worse comes to worst, the labor department denies it and I accept that.
However, the school not even trying to apply for the work permit and just telling me to apply for my marriage visa when I made it clear that it’s impossible because I need a new FBI check that’s authenticated in US to apply for my JFRV, which the FBI aren’t processing currently due to working remotely, is infuriating.
I’ll hope for the best, but the thought of having to leave my wife and 3 kids in Taiwan to wait for things to pass is killing my optimism -_-
Even if the school applys for your work permit now, the valid duration of your work permit may be from July 1 to the end date of the contract, and you might not get your resident visa months before the start date.
If you have an effective work permit, you can work before you apply for your ARC.
Many English teachers come on visa exempt, then look for jobs, so many of them already somehow settled, when they start working.
If you have a work permit and resident visa before you come, your employer may provide some kind of help to settle. Many teachers would temporarily settle with arriving 1-2 weeks before their start date, and complete their settlement while working.