Job Discussion Forums

[tjpnz2000]

Hi,

I am currently working and living in Japan. I am considering Taiwan as my next option in order to further broadern my horizons. If you want to know more about me read my posts or sent me a PM or email.

Anyway, my question is about visas. To help illustarate my question I'll outline what I think the process, usually, is and hopefully you can correct me.

Definition of terms:
Visa, issued outside Taiwan, or inside, that says you can come into Taiwan
Permit, issued at the the airport or inside Taiwan, and only inside, saying you can stay for a certain time for a certain purpose.
Tourist visa issued outside Taiwan, or at the airport equals tourist permit inside.
Work visa issued inside Taiwan means you have to leave and come back to get a work permit on entry.


1) Go to Taiwan on 60 day tourist visa
2) Find a job and work illegally on your tourist permit for the remainder of that visa while your school sorts out the paper work for your work visa.
3) Do a `visa run` to get your work permit on re-entry to Taiwan.
4) Continue to work for your school, now legally.

Now my questions;
1) What, apart from you being a wonderful teacher, stops your school from firing you on return from your visa run? And not paying you any money they may owe you?
It is my understaning you have been working illegally for the school so you would have no legal recourse, is this correct? Does it happen often?

2) If you leave the school that sponsered your work visa what happens to the visa? Are you free to look for work at other schools? Do you do the whole process again? or are you completely barred from working in Taiwan?

Sorry for the length, and psudo-legalise, but I was wondering.

T

[Aristotle]

The problem is that the laws and goverment of the R.O.C. are openly biased in favor of Chinese business interest. It really doesn't matter if you are working legally or illegally. If your boss doesn't want to pay they don't have to. If you are working legally you face defacto deportation at the request of your former employer.
If you are a real teacher, with credentials and certified, you can do a lot better than Taiwan.

[tjpnz2000]

Leaving the `real teacher` versus `unreal (?) teacher` debate to one side for the moment is my understanding of the visa process correct?

Personally, I have the non-education BA, no TEFL cert and 2 years experience teaching in Japan. 10 months NOVA and the rest in a junior high school. I would be looking to move to Taiwan about March/April next year.

I consider myself serious about what I do.

I can probably make more money here in Japan but I am sort of looking for a new challenge.

T

[Aristotle]

[tjpnz2000]

You sound like a good man.

Save me a seat at the bar, I'll be there in March or April.

T

[jason_seeburn]

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[tjpnz2000]

Yeah Jason_Seeburn, I hear what you are saying. I am asking the question because so many people say things like `Schools in Taiwan will lie to you and try to cheat you`. I makes it seem that all Taiwan schools are required to try and take teachers to the cleaners by law. I do know this is not the case. However, it is VERY rare that a school in Japan will try to openly lie or cheat you (just waiting to be contradicted on that ). It certainly seems that the Taiwan scene is different int this regard.

Thanks for your advice.

T

[jason_seeburn]

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[WorkingVaca]

Glitch: If you plan to go to Taiwan straight from Japan, expect to only get a 30 day visa. You can't get a 60-day visa unless you apply at a TECO office within your Western home country. Applying ahead of time in an Asian TECO office will only get you 30 days, which you can get at Taipei's CKS airport at the "Landing Visa" counter anyway.

As for all the paranoid talk of pirate ESL school owners, listen to jason_seeburn.

Aristotle is the Taiwan forum's resident fear-monger. Check out his other posts before taking his advice too seriously. He sometimes forgets that he's an ESL teacher on a benign, McDonald's & Starbucks-infested island and fancies that he's involved in an important political adventure in a violent/unstable Third World country. Must sound really exciting to the folks back home.

[Richard]

Hear, hear to W.V.

[killian]

taiwan is infested with starbucks? been here four years+ and haven't seen them outside the MAJOR cities. the largest city on the east coast, hualien, has exactly zero.

there is indeed no dearth of horror stories. it is only natural that one feels "ah, but those guys were suckers. not me. i'm inherently smarter than them." the party referenced may indeed come across as paranoid at times, but one person's paranoia is another's SOP. i have been reading his contributions for a long time and it seems he has only hte best intentions. slag him for caring if you must.

[Aristotle]

[matchstick_man]

I should know this having already spent three years in Taiwan but how do I get the sixty day visa without a job lined up. I have looked up the requirements specified by my country's (New Zealand) Taiwan consulate and it specifies for a letterhead from the prospective employee or education facility. Are signing up for Chinese lessons my only option? When I applied for it more than three years ago I just needed a name address and phone number. Please give advice and/or opinions....I don't want to fly in a wing and a prayer (althugh taht is now a thirty day visa) if I don't have to.

[Wanbro]

Matchstick man - I too am having somewhat of a mission trying to get the visa I wanted from here in London, although a recent bank statement and plane ticket seemed to pull a few strings this week. i have no job/Chinese lessons arranged or letterhead to speak of!

I now have a 60 day visitor visa, I wanted to ask if anyone knew if this can definitely be extended once I'm out in Taiwan? - there's no accompanying documentation to suggest that it's the case... I've read so many posts about visa applications, and how to extend/whether I can or not and am now so confused I'm not entirely sure how long I'll be able to stick around when I fly out in a couple of days!!....

Wanbro

[TaoyuanSteve]

A small point I'd like to make for the benefit of the original poster: Visa runs aren't necessary if you and your employer are on the ball about things. I didn't need to make a visa run during the processing of my resident visa/ arc. Perhaps this is something that has changed. I don't know. However, if you get your job and your health check sown up in a reasonable time frame, you should have your resident visa before your 60 days are up on your "tourist visa." They make the visa retroactive to the date you arrived, hence negating the necessity of re-entry. To ensure your employer doesn't drag his feet, make them agree to compensate you for any visa runs that are necessary as a result of their tardiness with paperwork. If all goes well, NO VISA RUN IS NECESSARY. Maybe some companies are less efficient, but I didn't go on any visa runs.

Also, with all due respect to Aristotle, I'd like to join the chorus of people who assert that often what he says about Taiwan gives a false impression of the place and its people. Caveat emptor is something to be observed in Taiwan for sure. But not every school rips off its teachers. Most reputable schools will give you a fair shake. I can confidently say that my job has been and is by far the easiest part of being here for me. I like the way one person eloquently summed up Taiwan, as a benign McDonalds and Starbucks infested place. I couldn't agree more (But he forgot to mention the seemingly millions of 7-elevens). It's really not bad here at all. If it were so bad, people such as Aristotle wouldn't still be here after so long. It's worth being here. That's why so many ARE here.