R there differences between student ARCs and employment ARCs

[A-ha]

No. Student ARC for 5 years continuously - or 20, if they allowed it- counts as 00000.00000 in time for your permanent residency/nationality.

Ouch. I guess my only alternative is to set up my own RO office and give myself an employment ARC.

Best of luck to you then!

[Satellite TV]

So I have set my sights upon the almighty Taiwanese citizenship in 5 years time.

There are three roads to this prize. Obtaining a student ARC for 5 years or an employment ARC for 5 years or any combination of the two.

However, I am not too sure if a student ARC is considered to be a valid ARC for purposes of getting permanent residency or citizenship.

Is it really possible for a foreigner to study in Taiwan on just a student ARC and getting his Taiwanese citizenship 5 years down the road?

Nope not counted as it is considered a temporary stay and secondly as a student you coud not meet the minimum required monthly income.

[jimipresley]

Taiwanese delicacies

Now there's an oxymoron.

[tsukinodeynatsu]

Nope not counted as it is considered a temporary stay and secondly as a student you coud not meet the minimum required monthly income.

but but but but.... I'm on a scholarship... of 25k/month... that's an income... is that double the minimum wage?

O man, that really sucks.

So are there any options for students who graduate here and don't want to become English Teachers to stay on??

[Icon]

Yep, get a job in your field of expertise.

Wait, you need experience for that.

Editing, busines, sales, hotels, restaurants, trading companies, trade offices, embassies... Get a lot of pictures for CVs, a nice suit and confortable shoes to hit the pavement...

No buts, Mr., sorry to say, the law is clear: student visa = no time count for the 5 year nationality, 7 year permanent residence.

And in our day, it was a 15 thousand nt scholarship, and we had to pay our airline tickets! And we had no national insurance!

[Buttercup]

Sometimes, your own personal dream or inner vision is all that is required to overcome any obstacles. Why let your fears get the better of you and prevent you from living the life you want?

Immigration realities trump inner vision, generally speaking. Learn how to do something that Taiwanese pay foreigners to do and then come. If it's not teaching, do it for two years and maintain a paper trail. Do it with our any break at all in your ARC. Make sure you earn more than the min amount. Pay your taxes and keep every shred of paper.

If I am to die, I wanna die in Taiwan or Japan sampling Taiwanese/Japanese delicacies. Life is short. Play Hard.

There's no 'if'. And you don't need an ARC to do it in Taiwan...

[Satellite TV]

Nope not counted as it is considered a temporary stay and secondly as a student you coud not meet the minimum required monthly income.

but but but but.... I'm on a scholarship... of 25k/month... that's an income... is that double the minimum wage?

O man, that really sucks. So are there any options for students who graduate here and don't want to become English Teachers to stay on??

A scholarship is not a form of income for obtaining residency. An income is something you derive from working. One of the requirements is to be employed, not getting handouts.

Student ARC's do not count towards APRC or citzenship... period.

[tsukinodeynatsu]

drat, bother and double drat.

Yep, get a job in your field of expertise.

Wait, you need experience for that.

Editing, busines, sales, hotels, restaurants, trading companies, trade offices, embassies... Get a lot of pictures for CVs, a nice suit and confortable shoes to hit the pavement...

No buts, Mr., sorry to say, the law is clear: student visa = no time count for the 5 year nationality, 7 year permanent residence.

And in our day, it was a 15 thousand nt scholarship, and we had to pay our airline tickets! And we had no national insurance!

Hmm. I'm studying a Bachelor's of Chinese Lit @ ChengDa. Worked in offices for four or five years on and off in Aus and done quite a bit of translating online. Also have a Japanese translation licence.

I should be able to get a decent translating job when I graduate, right? I want to do literary translation rather than business/legal/omgidon'tevenunderstandthisinenglish-mechanics etc. From what I know, contacts is probably what's important there, right?

and.. I had to pay my airline ticket! and I don't get national insurance! but I beat your 15K, so I hereby pay my due respect to your experience and wisdom.

And I'm not a guy

[Icon]

Well, I think you have a good opportunity to get a nice job after graduation, especially from Chengda -still considered a top university. But in literature, since it is a smaller field, as you say, networking is key.

Now, one thing. You gotta have national insurance = NHI. Since 2000, all ARC holders must pay NHI. Or else, you can be confortably working and they come to you with a nice bill for several years. The NHI charge is usually included in your tuition bill, along with all those "miscelaneous expenses". Now, that hurts.

Before 2000, we foreigners had to pay full fare at hospitals and clinics. Then they wanted to charge us retroactively.. since we arrived on The Island.