Moving to Taiwan and other questions

[bluenitsuj]

Hi all, newbie here

I am English, currently living in the Uk and this year am marrying my my Taiwanese partner of 10 years this summer. I have just been told that I am being made redundant next April 2013 so we have decided that this could be the chance of moving to Taiwan to live. ( We were going to do this when our daughter reached 18, she is 10 now ). My partner has family all over taiwan ( and china ) and also has use of a flat in Taipei whoch is owned by the family.
I have many questions so sorry if they are elsewhere.
1. I am worried about finding work but my partner says I should have no problem. ( I speak only very basic Mandarin and I will be 40 when we arrive. I have no degree and have been a Warehouse Manager of over 50+ staff for over 10 years ). What choices do I have. we would love to set up our own business but do not know what.

2. I do not particularly want to teach English, but am prepared to take a TESOL or CELTA. I have heard that as a spouse of a Taiwanese that I do not require a degree but I am not sure if this is true.

3. Schools. I know the european schools are very pricey, what other options do we have. My daughter speaks hardly any Mandarin but I am arranging private lessons to get her up to speed.

4.How soon should I start applying for my aprc?

What other jobs relistically can I expect to have a chance with, taking into account my lack of speaking Mandarin.

I thank you all for your help and hopefully put my mind at rest.

[akikaki1]

I don't know to much about work but you say you don't have a degree whatever job you get you would be making 3x more with engrish. Looks like most expats live good with teaching engrish.

[bluenitsuj]

I don't know to much about work but you say you don't have a degree whatever job you get you would be making 3x more with engrish. Looks like most expats live good with teaching engrish.

I have been looking to teach English but not having a degree probably ends that idea, hopefully other people can confirm whether I need one being a spouse of a Taiwanese. Also, do you need a degree for all teaching levels in Taiwan?

[CraigTPE]

My understanding is that if you are married to a Taiwanese, get a JFRV and then an open work permit, you can work any job you want.

[bigduke6]

As you will be getting an ARC based on your marriage to a Taiwanese, you will have open work rights. You can get a job teaching without a degree. You can basically do anything you want, workwise.
However, the school might have a policy to only hire those with degrees.
That being said, having a JFRV does have an advantage to the school in that they do not need to sponsor you, so it can cut both ways.

[Petrichor]

Hi all, newbie here

I am English, currently living in the Uk and this year am marrying my my Taiwanese partner of 10 years this summer. I have just been told that I am being made redundant next April 2013 so we have decided that this could be the chance of moving to Taiwan to live. ( We were going to do this when our daughter reached 18, she is 10 now ). My partner has family all over taiwan ( and china ) and also has use of a flat in Taipei whoch is owned by the family.
I have many questions so sorry if they are elsewhere.
1. I am worried about finding work but my partner says I should have no problem. ( I speak only very basic Mandarin and I will be 40 when we arrive. I have no degree and have been a Warehouse Manager of over 50+ staff for over 10 years ). What choices do I have. we would love to set up our own business but do not know what.

2. I do not particularly want to teach English, but am prepared to take a TESOL or CELTA. I have heard that as a spouse of a Taiwanese that I do not require a degree but I am not sure if this is true.

3. Schools. I know the european schools are very pricey, what other options do we have. My daughter speaks hardly any Mandarin but I am arranging private lessons to get her up to speed.

4.How soon should I start applying for my aprc?

What other jobs relistically can I expect to have a chance with, taking into account my lack of speaking Mandarin.

I thank you all for your help and hopefully put my mind at rest.

I'd say the Morrison Academy is probably the English-only-instruction international school that's the main alternative to TES. http://bethany.mca.org.tw/

There are some private bilingual schools here but your daughter would probably really struggle with learning enough Chinese quickly enough not to make a large part of her school day extremely boring for quite a while.

If you search under 'schools' in the parenting forum there have been a few discussions about this. I wouldn't worry too much about your daughter's Mandarin lessons if she's going to be attending an international school. There are a lot of children here who speak little or no Chinese and they do fine.

[bluenitsuj]

As you will be getting an ARC based on your marriage to a Taiwanese, you will have open work rights. You can get a job teaching without a degree. You can basically do anything you want, workwise.
However, the school might have a policy to only hire those with degrees.
That being said, having a JFRV does have an advantage to the school in that they do not need to sponsor you, so it can cut both ways.

If I get a JFRV, do I not need a aprc?

[bluenitsuj]

Hi all, newbie here

I am English, currently living in the Uk and this year am marrying my my Taiwanese partner of 10 years this summer. I have just been told that I am being made redundant next April 2013 so we have decided that this could be the chance of moving to Taiwan to live. ( We were going to do this when our daughter reached 18, she is 10 now ). My partner has family all over taiwan ( and china ) and also has use of a flat in Taipei whoch is owned by the family.
I have many questions so sorry if they are elsewhere.
1. I am worried about finding work but my partner says I should have no problem. ( I speak only very basic Mandarin and I will be 40 when we arrive. I have no degree and have been a Warehouse Manager of over 50+ staff for over 10 years ). What choices do I have. we would love to set up our own business but do not know what.

2. I do not particularly want to teach English, but am prepared to take a TESOL or CELTA. I have heard that as a spouse of a Taiwanese that I do not require a degree but I am not sure if this is true.

3. Schools. I know the european schools are very pricey, what other options do we have. My daughter speaks hardly any Mandarin but I am arranging private lessons to get her up to speed.

4.How soon should I start applying for my aprc?

What other jobs relistically can I expect to have a chance with, taking into account my lack of speaking Mandarin.

I thank you all for your help and hopefully put my mind at rest.

I'd say the Morrison Academy is probably the English-only-instruction international school that's the main alternative to TES. http://bethany.mca.org.tw/
There are some private bilingual schools here but your daughter would probably really struggle with learning enough Chinese quickly enough not to make a large part of her school day extremely boring for quite a while.

If you search under 'schools' in the parenting forum there have been a few discussions about this. I wouldn't worry too much about your daughter's Mandarin lessons if she's going to be attending an international school. There are a lot of children here who speak little or no Chinese and they do fine.

That school looks good but are there such schools which are not mainly American taught,( nothing against Americans ) are there any english curriculum schools?

[tomthorne]

That school looks good but are there such schools which are not mainly American taught,( nothing against Americans ) are there any english curriculum schools?

Taipei European School. 50,000NTD a month.

[Pop Fly]

As you will be getting an ARC based on your marriage to a Taiwanese, you will have open work rights. You can get a job teaching without a degree. You can basically do anything you want, workwise.
However, the school might have a policy to only hire those with degrees.
That being said, having a JFRV does have an advantage to the school in that they do not need to sponsor you, so it can cut both ways.

If I get a JFRV, do I not need a aprc?

You won't qualify for an APRC for 5 years. You will get a JFRV. Both come with OWPs. You can get a job in a buxi with either, regardless of your lack of formal education. You will make better money doing that than anything else short of setting up your own business. Noodle stands can make 100K a month.