Okay… we (my wife and I) finally made it to the local immigration (NIA) office and asked a few questions that had been lingering:
1. Does the new regulation, which allows children of APRC holders to apply for a three year extension of their ARC after they turn 20 years old come with a work permit? What is the application process?
2. Foreign university students who graduate can apply for a six month extension of their student ARC in order to look for a job. As students they had a work permit. Can they continue to take part-time jobs until they find a regular employment?
3. How does one obtain a work permit for the employment category F (entertainment worker, performer)?
4. The government uses a list of universities to make decisions about work permits: http://www.fsedu.moe.gov.tw/index.php. Can all graduates from these universities apply for a work permit for teaching English in language schools?
5. If a person receives permanent residency rights (APRC) based on marriage what happens in case of divorce?
Only questions 1, 2 and 3 relate directly to our family’s situation so please excuse a possible lack of detail or accuracy concerning the other two.
We had more questions about issues including volunteer work, foreign children adopted by a Taiwan parent, people who don’t need a work permit etc. but there wasn’t enough time and we will follow that up by email.
About the questions above:
1. A new regulation allows children who grew up in Taiwan (as dependents of APRC holders) to apply for a three year extension of their ARC after they turn 20. Does this extension come with a work permit?
No – and this actually renders the entire change largely useless – but but first the relevant details:
Usually children are no longer considered dependents of their parents once they turn 20. That’s understandable. According to the old regulation at that age, on their 20th birthday, they used to lose their ARC and faced two options: leave the country for good or start an activity commonly called ‘visa run’ – leave for a day, apply for a tourist visa in Hongkong, Macau etc. – anywhere outside Taiwan. They are granted a tourist visa for three months or so and can return. Then do it again for another three months or so. And so on and so on.
This activity is very popular among long-time tourists which somehow manage to make ends meet by breathing the air of Taiwan or have some cash on hand or money coming from abroad or… well, let’s keep the details hypothetical. People apparently have growned used to it and accepted the tri-monthly shopping trip to Hongkong as part of their way of life. Okay.
The situation is less acceptable for people who grew up here. Two of our own children, just one example of many others, came to Taiwan when they were 6 and 3 years old, respectively. (They are now 23 and 20.) Two more children – now 13 and 15 – were born in Taiwan. They went to local schools, speak the language perfectly – they think and feel Taiwanese more than anything else. They lack a few privileges that the Taiwanese have – the right to work, eligibility for certain government subsidies etc. – but that didn’t matter much to them while they were kids.
However, this changed as they grew up. Their classmates took part time jobs but if they did the same they’d break the law. They are not allowed to participate in national and international competitions. They are not eligible for government subsidies.
Once they grow up the denial of the right to work makes their stay essentially impossible. Even if I could bankroll their living expenses – a carefree life off the parents’ money is not a real option for a variety of reasons.
That’s why we suggested that once the head of the family obtains permanent residency rights (APRC) the same rights are granted to the rest of the family. That wouldn’t strain the national resource because the number of eligible individuals is not that large and not everybody who would be qualified would actually stay in the end. However, such change does not appear to be in the works. Yes, rumor has it that even parts of the government are dissatisfied with the current situation but there is no way of telling if anything is going to change in the foreseeable future. For now, the respective politicians have congratulated each other for the successful change of detail and are content with the continuing glacial speed of the government’s mills.
Our oldest son (20 in June) has decided to move to Germany – due in part to the lack of ways to support himself independent of his parents’ money bag. It’s certainly not the end of the world but if Taiwan would truly be interested in recruiting foreign talent – as it says it is – it would make more effort to accommodate the families involved.
And aside from the personal anecdotes: The application for the three year extension has to occur while the ARC is still valid. Once the ARC expires the opportunity ceases to exist. So, if someone has been on visa run (see above) because his 20th birthday fell into a time before the regulation change then he/she will not be eligible to apply even though he might be qualified in all other regards. Too bad.
This actually betrays a rather heavy-handed, reluctant approach to the entire issue of making life easier for people who are actually eligible if considering the ‘spirit of the law.’ We asked whether it is possible for a person who grew up here and fulfills all the other requirements to apply for an ARC even while on visa run but that doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut issue. We’ll follow that up in email but until further notice consider this a ‘No.’
2. Foreign university students who graduate can apply for a six month extension of their student ARC in order to look for a job. As students they had a work permit – can they continue to take part time jobs during the extension period until they find a regular employment?
No. The extension of the ARC does not go together with a work permit. You better save up enough money during your study – or have your parents wire some – to survive the job search.
Our daughter has been studying since she was 18. She has had her own student ARC since she turned 20. Plus a work permit since her second year of study. The work permit will expire when she graduates in June unless… well… She could also apply for the above three year extension but it’s really the work permit that would add sense for an adult person to stay here.
And again: the application for the extension has to occur while the ARC is still valid.
3. How does one obtain a work permit for the employment category F (entertainment worker, performer)?
This has to be done by the company that pays for the performance. The work permit is valid only for the individual occasion which may only last for a day or less.
4. The government uses a list of universities to make decisions about work permits. Can all graduates from these universities apply for a work permit for teaching English in language schools?
No. Teachers in ordinary language schools, including cram schools, must be native English speakers and prove that with a passport from an English speaking country. Universities, however, can make their own decision as to whether a person is qualified to teach a certain subject. So, at the university, an English instructor can be a native of any nation. It is in these cases that the government uses the above list in order to decide whether an applicant will receive a work permit or not.
5. If a person receives permanent residency rights (APRC) based on marriage what happens in case of divorce?
If you are married to a Taiwan citizen and have an ARC and a JFRV (Join Family Resident Visa) based on that – these become invalid in case of divorce. However, once you have an APRC you can stay and work permanently. So, the obvious step for everybody is to apply for permanent residency (APRC) as soon as possible – just in case things should not work out as planned (perish the thought.)
An APRC applicant based on employment has to prove that he receives at least twice the current official minimum pay in Taiwan. The minimum pay (base pay) currently lies just below 20,000 NTD. If applying for APRC based on marriage, however, the applicant only has to explain how he provides for the financial needs of the family – no minimum applies.
In any case, questions involving work permits are best addressed to the Workforce Development Agency in Taipei (02-2380 1729). Our contact at the NIA was so friendly to call on our behalf but had to face the comment that that was not really his business. (See, it’s additional work to answer questions to people who are not supposed to ask them.) He then called a friend in the ministry to get the answers. Thanks.