Trying to escape a nightmare two year teaching (con)-tract that I signed in the UK and am now six months into, I’m attempting to do it is amicably as possible but there are dark hints that they’ll hold on to my work permit, thus effectively expelling me form the country. Two quick questions: can they hold it, and if so, can they hold it for the duration of my broken contract, or is it renewable yearly (that is, does it expire in August when my contract started?)
Thanks!!
The Work Permit is a piece of paper, a letter. You should have a copy. The employer should have a copy. The government departments involved will have one copy or multiple copies. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will probably have a copy. Vice President Lu may get a copy, etc.
It will be clearly stated on the Work Permit as to the beginning and ending (i.e. expiry) dates.
It does not matter who holds it. It matters whether the employer notifies the relevant government department and Police Station that your employment has been terminated.
If your employer tells you to go take a hike, but says that he will not notify these departments that your Work Permit has been cancelled, i.e. he will just let it run its course, but then not renew it, then (assuming you have some savings) you can go to south Taiwan, sit on the beach, and watch the boats go by.
You can also try to find a new job, and then try to arrange for the new hiring date to occur roughly a week or five days before the expiry date of your old Work Permit.
Granted, it is not fair that the employer wants to unilaterally cancel your Work Permit. However, from a practical standpoint, even if you want to file a complaint, and/or sue, you need to be on a firm “residency” basis before doing so, and that requires the negotiation of a new Work Permit (in order to get residency rights based on employment), or marriage to a local citizen (with accompanying application for the appropriate marriage visa, commonly called JFRV), or a decision to devote your life to Buddhist studies (thereby obtaining a religious visa), or some other related purpose of residency, in order to continue your soujourn in Taiwan.
quote[quote] or a decision to devote your life to Buddhist studies (thereby obtaining a religious visa) [/quote]Really? How would you qualify for one of these and what does it allow you to do?
Obviously, Buddhist studies is regarded as one legitimate form of missionary activity. So, you are going to have to link up with a fully registered Buddhist organization/monastery, and convince those people of your sincerity to devote your life to Buddhist studies. After you attain some sort of advanced “rank” in your studies, you may qualify for a visa based on that status. Good luck.
Bri,
Don’t you think your fiance would be a little non-plussed if you ran off to a monastery?
I’m not likely to run off to a monastery I was just curious to see if I had another option if I loose my work visa. Instead of enroling in Chinese classes I could say I wanted to study buddhism instead
Actually my fiance’s more likely to run off and become a nun. She threatens to do so ocassionally.
Bri