I am planning to arrive in Taipei on a Visitor’s Visa to find a teaching position in May. The problem is that all of the schools I have approached so far are reluctant to sponsor me for an A.R.C. card(Work Visa) because I only want to committ to a six month contract.
Does anyone have any suggestions how I can get around this? If I can prove to the Taiwanese government that I am in employment can I apply for a Work Visa myself? The other option seems to be to register myself in a Chinese Language School as a student so that I can stay longer in the country. However, I am dubious about this because I am not sure whether I can still legally work.
If anyone has any suggestions I would be so grateful to hear as I have spent the last day trying to navigate myself around the Republic of China’s website regarding legal matters and speaking to the Taiwanese Embassy in London - without any luck.
Thanks,
Leigh
quote:This is very common. I doubt you'll be able to get a school to sponsor you if you'll be here for only 6 months.
Originally posted by Leigh: The problem is that all of the schools I have approached so far are reluctant to sponsor me for an A.R.C. card(Work Visa) because I only want to committ to a six month contract.
quote:Lie. Tell them you'll be here for 1 to 2 years.
Does anyone have any suggestions how I can get around this?
quote[quote] If I can prove to the Taiwanese government that I am in employment can I apply for a Work Visa myself? [/quote] No.quote:Not sure on this one. I think the laws changed a few years back to allow students to work part time, but you need to have been here for at least a year. Here s teh relevant paragraph from the Mandarin Training Center Web site ([mtc.ntnu.edu.tw/tandt.html](http://www.mtc.ntnu.edu.tw/tandt.html)): "Work: In recent years the government has taken steps to crack down on foreign nationals working without a work permit. This has affected students working as English teachers while pursuing their Chinese studies. Students who have studied at the CCLC for twelve months continuously and have shown excellent academic progress may apply for a work permit from the Ministry of Education.They may then work up to a maximum of twelve hours per week. Students without a work permit are forbidden to work at any job, including English teaching." Also view this thread: [url=http://oriented.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=29&t=000281]http://oriented.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=29&t=000281[/url]
The other option seems to be to register myself in a Chinese Language School as a student so that I can stay longer in the country. However, I am dubious about this because I am not sure whether I can still legally work.
It’s up to you, but loads of people work here illegally and enrol in Chiense schools to do so (no – you can’t do this legally). Many also lie to schools and say they’ll be here a year and leave early. Lots of schools will accept 6 months but very few of these will give you a work visa. My friend managed it at Kid Castle though. Just depends what you think about it morally. Just bear in mind that pretty much every school in Taiwan breaks the law about teaching English in kindergarten or about taxes anyway, and most of them would break your contract in a second if it suited them.