Teaching English In Taiwan
What are the requirements for a job Teaching English in Taiwan?
Work Permit requirements to teach English in Taiwan in a bushiban (after-school study center):
Be 20 or older.
Be a 4-year college graduate.
English is the official language of country your passport is from.
Here is a list of bushiban and public school jobs hiring now.
The Work Permit requirements for teaching English in Taiwan in a bushiban are laid out in Article 46.1.4.42 of the Employment Service Act of Taiwan 外國人從事就業服務法第四十六條第一項第一款至第六款工作資格及審查標準. Link Scroll down nearly to the end.
What is a bushiban?
A bushiban is an after-school study center. There are over 4,000 registered English teaching bushibans in Taiwan, and nearly 11,000 bushibans for other subjects, such as Math, Chinese, test prep, etc. Source The Chinese characters for bushiban are 補習班. It literally traslates to mean cram school.
Do I need a Visa?
A Work Permit requirement for teaching English in Taiwan is that you hold a passport from a country with English as the official language.
Taiwan allows citizens of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, the USA & the UK to fly to Taiwan without having to prearrange a Visa. When you arrive you’ll be issued a Landing Visa. 90-day Landing Visas for AU, CA, IRL, NZ, USA & UK. 30-Day visas Nevis, St. Lucia & St. Vincent.
Source: https://www.boca.gov.tw/cp-10-194-168af-1.html & https://www.boca.gov.tw/dl-1608-74daedb4774549fda54b1fe60f039f4c.html
Landing Visas can be converted into Resident Visas once you’ve been Issued your Work Permit.
What are the requirements for a job in the public schools?
The Work Permit requirements for Teaching English in Taiwan in the Public Schools are: hold a currently valid credential to teach in the public schools of your own country and at the same level. Your degree matches that required for the issuance of the credential in your country.
The requirements are defined in Article 3 & 4 of the Regulations Governing Educational Institutions at All Levels Applying for Work Permits for Foreign Teachers and their Administration. Link
Most employers will also ask for a nationwide criminal background check.
Getting a Work Permit for a public school job is not straightforward. Main roadblocks are in the nomenclature of credentials. The wide range of titles - Initial, Professional, Preliminary - most of which indicate only that you’re a new teacher, though fully-credentialled, can be interpreted as meaning somehow a “student teacher”, and thus delays ensue. Rejections are a possibility.
For getting a Work Permit for teaching English in Taiwan at a public school, the best advice: wait in your home country until your Work Permit has been issued and emailed to you. That way you can be sure.
Can I start teaching English in Taiwan with only a Work Permit?
As long as long as the Visa you’re holding has not expired, yes you can work with a Work Permit alone. It should take about a week after your Work Permit for your school to get your Resident Vias. That will cover your stay in Taiwan for the duration of your Contract. ARC comes about 2 weeks later.
When do I get my ARC?
Teaching English in Taiwan in a bushiban it takes about five weeks to get your ARC. The steps your school will follow:
Work Permit 工作許可: Ministry of Labor 勞動部 12 working days
Resident Visa 居留簽證: Ministry of Foreign Affairs外交部 5 working days
ARC 居留證: National Immigration Agency 移民署 10 working days
When do I get my ARC teaching in a public school?
Teaching English in Taiwan in a public school it takes about four weeks to get your ARC. The steps:
Work Permit 工作許可: Ministry of Education 教育部 25+ working days
Work Permit issuance for public school posts is much slower under the new ministry responsible.
Resident Visa 居留簽證: Ministry of Foreign Affairs 外交部 5 working days
ARC 居留證: National Immigration Agency 移民署 10 working days