Job Discussion Forums

altaiwan · Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 6

I came here on a recruiter who had the notion of placing me in the boonies some small uniteresting town. Now I have yet tp sign any contract am anxious to move to the city and live the big city city life. I mean the only real diversion here is being stared at here everyday and having a laugh. Is changing jobs that easy ? what bout being blacklisted I dont think my employer or my recruiter filig my application for work permit and arc soon wouldlike if I gave them the slip. Or does this not even matter? how much freedopm do I have to switch? what if it I soon get the wp with through them can I still move can I stiil switch or is too late then

Ki · Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 475

Get out while you still can. Call the CLA and see at what stage your work permit is at and get them to cancel it. Make sure you get all of your documents, passport, degree, paper work and not anyone else. Keep them safe.
Now there are two ways to play this. I'm not sure how long you've been there and how much you will lose. You can play it the nice way and give them two weeks or four notice. Or you can just pack your bags and head for the bus/train station in the middle of the night. I would hate to recommend the latter option but it may be to your benefit.

Don't listen to any of the lies, threats, promises the recruiter may tell you. Don't sign anything. If you have been there less than a month you can leave anyway, probably without giving any notice.

It sounds like if you stay you are in for a year of hell. Which recruiter is it?

altaiwan · Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 6

what if your short on funds and have only a 30 day landing visa and would need a first months salary to make the move. I have read that getting a second job on your existing work permit is possible now. But again I am only just beginning to understand the rules and regulations pertaining to this issue

BigWally · Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:20 pm Post subject:

a 30 day visa will be problematic, and any decent recruiter would have advised you to obtain a 60 day visitors visa before coming into the country anyways, as there is almost no way to get an ARC within 30 days of arrival.....

the cash thing is also a big problem, but if you're willing to throw the dice here's how it could work out....spend your remaining cash on cheap transport to your city of choice (any city but Taipei will help keep expenses down once you're there), of course food is cheap if you're willing to live off rice & noodles for a few days, and check your bags into a locker at the bus terminal/train station....it'll be easier than carrying tons of luggage aroudn everywhere with you...pack a backpack with some essentials....

start looking into schools immediately (read: that day)...(if you feel really deperate you can alwasy try this: if you see any white people on the street, politely stop them and strike up a convo, ask if they know of any schools looking for people because odds are you'll run into someone who is or knows an english teacher Smile

) in this case i might lean toward a chain because they can usually offer you some type of a loan (supposing you are hired) to keep you a float, and so you can get yourself a place to live.....

if all this works out you then have a place to live, and a job, the next step will be your work permit issues, which supposing you find a reputable school will try to help you out where they can, but you may have to spend some money in order to do a visa run to hong kong to extend your visa.....

i'm not an expert in this but from what i've read in the past, this seems like a good course of action right now....if anyone else wants to correct me anywhere, please do....

good luck

cheers/ganbei! Surprised

dangerousapple · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 292

Before you run, a few questions:

Did you research carefully before coming to Taiwan? A 30-day visa is not the normal procedure, and doesn't give you any extra time for job hunting.

Were you mislead by the recruiter in any way? Did he explain where you would be living and what you would be doing?

Has the school started your paperwork yet? The spelling in your first post makes it a little difficult to understand.

Are you legally entitled to work in Taiwan? That's a big one, because if you aren't you'll be stuck with whatever jobs you can find.

If you were mislead by anyone, then sure, get the heck out of nowhere. However, if you knew what you were getting into but once there realized that you don't like it, you should think a little bit. That school may or may not have their next year's profits riding on your shoulders. They most likely used a recruiter because small towns have trouble getting native speakers. You could hurt them quite a bit by running.

Ki · Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 475

And you could hurt yourself by staying. What an ethical dilemna. Every job has a thirty day get out of jail free period. Use it. Contact a chail shool like HESS and make sure you state you will ONLY work in a big city. Get a credit card or call your parents for a short loan. Looks like you will need to do a visa run anyway.

Toe Save · Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:33 am Post subject:

SanChong · Joined: 22 Nov 2005 Posts: 335

I'd agree with everything Dangerous Apple wrote. You really do have two options and they both depend on how you came into this situation:

1) Leave the job right away. I would only recommend this if you were totally misled by the school/recruiter. What recruiter did you use and what school are you at?

2) If everyone was honest with you, but you just aren't happy with the situation, you should definitely do the right thing. Give a month's notice and be insistent that you will be leaving at the end of that month. You are in a foreign country: If people are being good to you, you should treat them with respect in return. If you aren't happy, then leave, but do it the right way.

Your visa situation is very confusing. You came on a 30 day landing visa, but your work permit is in process? That is entirely impossible as you need a visitor's visa to apply for a work permit/resident visa. As people have said, any good recruiter would have made sure you arrived on a visitor's visa.