Teach in Taiwan: Public School Posts, Work Permits & MOE

 

Teaching English in Taiwan, Teach English in Taiwan: Public School Posts & Work Permits 工作許可

 

Teaching in Taiwan, teaching English in Taiwan - for public school posts, the process for getting a Work Permit 工作許可 has changed. 

Before, to teach English in Taiwan in a public school, your Work Permit would be issued by the Ministry of Labor 勞動部.

Now, to teach English in Taiwan in a public school job, your Work Permit will be issued by the Ministry of Education 教育部.

Below is the new process of getting a Work Permit to teach English in the public schools of Taiwan, along with a timeline for documents issuance, and the name of the new office which will handle Work Permits to teach English in Taiwan’s public schools.  Uderneath that is the unchanged process for bushibans / cram schools.

QUESTIONS

My school has gotten my Work Permit, but not gotten my Resident Visa nor my ARC.  Can I start teaching?

Yes.  With your Work Permit issued you’re allowed to start working at your school as a teacher.  They’ll have the process underway of applying for your Resident Visa & ARC while you’re teaching.

They need to have the process finished before whatever visa you have runs out.

I’ve started teaching but I don’t have my Health Insurance card yet.  When am I covered?

Once you have your ARC you’re eligible for the National Health Insurance (NHI).  More about the NHI & Teaching English is here. 

Why did they make the change regarding the Work Permists for public school jobs and teaching English in Taiwan?

According to Chinese language news reports, the change was motivated by the goal of raising the total number of professional educators that can come each year.  By allowing public school teachers’ Work Permits to be filed through the Ministry of Education, this will allow their numbers to be counted as an Expert Group, separarting the count from the pool of incoming overseas workers which were all counted as one figure and was subject to caps.  This separate classification will have the effect of increasing the overall numbers of teachers who can arrive each year.