Job Discussion Forums

arnavah · Joined: 15 Mar 2008 Posts: 7

Hi
For a month I've been working full-time for a language school in Taichung.
The school paid the application fee for my work permit (around 1000 NT, I believe).
They informed me that soon I should go to Consular Affairs and another office (can't remember which one offhand) and that I'll need to pay a total of 7,100 NT for the processing of the ARC. They said it costs so much because I'm a US citizen (just like the tourist visa for Americans costs more).
In your experience, have you and your colleagues paid for part of the ARC fee or have your schools footed the entire bill?
Cheers

steve_c · Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 4:21 am Post subject:

I work for a private school--not a chain--and two months ago I footed the bill for both the Residence Visa (5,000 NT) and the ARC (1,000 NT).

I didn't balk at paying, since the school administration worked hard to find me an apartment that I love (only 5 mintues from work), and they aggressively negotiated with the owner for lower rent, appliances/furnishings, and other ammenities.

So for me, the amount I'm saving each month in living expenses makes up for the visa/ARC expense.

arnavah · Joined: 15 Mar 2008 Posts: 7

Nice one, Steve. Glad you got a good gig.

I took some more time today to scan the boards and read a similar discussion from a few months ago. Seems like a mixed bag: some schools pay for the entire work permit/ARC process, some pay for part of it, and some pay for none of it.

When the school originally told me that they would pay for the work permit application, I didn't realize that there were separate costs involved in applying for and getting the ARC ... Live and learn!

enoch83 · Joined: 02 Nov 2007 Posts: 69 Location: Taipei, Taiwan

i went through this process 9 months ago. my experience was that my school (Wall Street INstitute) paid for my work permit, but just sponsored me to get my ARC. as an american, i came on a tourist visa (30 days) and then i had to get the Visa Extension (60days) which cost $4500NT. once i got the visa extension, i just went to the other place and got the ARC for $1000NT. from my knowledge, this is the standard procedure/price. i know that my tourist visa to come here was more expensive as an american but i dont think the ARC was more expensive.

steve_c · Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:49 am Post subject:

Yep, just like you and enoch83, my school paid for the work permit application only. As you said, we're all living and learning here.