Job Discussion Forums

christmas · Joined: 27 Jul 2009 Posts: 49

This is my first time for all of this and I have know idea how this stuff works. I was asked to do a job interview and if things go well the job is mine. When do you get your ARC. Can I start to teach without it? How long does it take for them to verify your degree and certificates?? Will this affect my getting paid? Do I need the ARC before I get my first salary. What is with the police report? I didn't think of getting one before I came over.
How stringent are these schools. If every "T" isn't crossed or "I" dotted, what happens to the job?
My friend said he was really checked out by his school. How long do they take and how common is it?
Just worried. I have know idea what they expect.

tomintaipei · Joined: 07 Aug 2009 Posts: 18

Christmas, it can be very dodgy to teach without an ARC. Most schools in Taiwan will want you to start teaching before you get one, but that's a bad idea. I did, my wife did it, most people I know did it, but more and more cases are popping up where people get deported. Take my wife's school for instance: There was a new teacher at her school who started work without having his ARC yet (he still had a tourist visa). The government did an inspection and caught him, and now he's banned from the country for 5 years and can never hold residency there.

What are the details of your potential job? Stay away from schools that want you to work 6 days a week...you'll have no life. Stay away from schools like Hess unless you just use them to get in the country and then find another better job.

Like I recommended in your previous thread, check out www.tealit.com for good jobs in Taiwan.

christmas · Joined: 27 Jul 2009 Posts: 49

It is with a government elementary school. The recruiter is saying I can start on Monday because that is when training is. I also have just received an offer from a private elementary school. They want me to start a.s.a.p. as well. What am I supposed to do?? How long does it take to get an ARC

tomintaipei · Joined: 07 Aug 2009 Posts: 18

It's up to you...if you don't take the job, they'll find someone else willing to work. It takes about a month to get your ARC if I remember correctly. You need to get a work permit, then change your tourist visa to a resident visa (if you don't have a tourst visa and just come in on a landing visa at the airport, you'll have to leave Taiwan and go to a Taiwanese office outside of the country - most likely Hong Kong - to get a tourist visa). Once you have that, you (or your employer) will have to go to the Immigration office and get your ARC processed. I may be leaving steps out, but that's how I remember it.

If I were you, I would just take whichever job sounds better. Post the details here of each of the jobs and I'll tell you which sounds like a better Taiwan job to me.

A word of advice though.....if and when you start work without an ARC and the government comes to do an inspection at your school, run for the nearest exit. This is standard procedure at the Kindergarten schools in Taipei (teaching English language kindi is illegal in Taiwan). As long as they don't have your ID, they can't do anything to you.

DHAPhotography · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:30 pm Post subject:

Personally, I wouldn't be taking any job that far away from home without the proper papers in place. It could get costly.

joolee · Joined: 11 Aug 2009 Posts: 3

Any job you take in Taiwan will have immediate paperwork issues...but it is the only way the system works. Your new employer needs every day of your tourist visa to process the necessary paperwork and it is not possible for them to do so before you enter the country.

The last stage of the paperwork is to apply for your ARC (which you can't get until you have converted to a resident visa...done by the employer) which means that nearly every new employee in Taiwan is working without one for at least a month. You are vulnerable during this period IF the government inspect your school, but since you will not be working for a private English School you're not likely to be paid a visit.

If you are from the UK, you will find the information about police checks on this website: http://www.crb.gov.uk/

It's primarily for the purpose of child protection but it will detail any criminal convictions you may have.