So I get a Tourist Visa, do a demo for a school to get hired (and demo's are now illegal, and they can deport you if they find you in a class with students when you don't have a work permit) I get hired, and they apply to get me a work visa. When the ARC is being processed, government officials come into my school and one takes my picture with her phone camera while I was in class teaching. I took all the steps that were told, and did everything right. But because I didn't have my arc in my hand yet, they are going to fine the school 120 000 - 750 000 and deport me. The school called whichever government acency the same day, and they said my arc was approved and that I could work, so why am I being deported???

This government is seriously twisted. When Chen Shuei Bien opened his big mouth, and the economy started slipping, their solution is to go to the rich buxibans and crack down on all the foreign workers, to generate money. Meanwhile, I have to say goodbye to the girl I've been living with for the last year and a half, my band I just started, basically my life is over and I have to start again.

I know many people here with no degrees, who work while having student visas (and still don't know much Chinese) and they can still stay, while i took all the proper steps, but I'm the one being deported. The Government here does not care about white people, they just use them, and abuse them, and deport them at their own whim to suit their own purposes.

This has left a bad taste in my mouth about Taiwan, and if anyone asks me anything about Taiwan, I know my opinion is not going to be a positive one.

Welcome to Taiwan.
Thank you for playing.
Have a safe trip home.

And yes, this is how it is here.

Another one? Wow!

First up, hortmonger, get complaining loudly. Hopefully there will be someone after me that can direct you better to whom and where.

But dang, what is going on with all these deportations? Could it just be that competition between the schools is so tight that they're snitching on each other?

From what I recall, snitching rival buxibans or, more frequently, recently estranged psycho-xiaojies were the sole deportation triggers.

HG

Bummer. It is standard practice for people awaiting their work permits and ARC to begin work. It is so stupid that they did this to you, given that you had every intention of following accepted procedure and being legit. Contact your country's economic mission here. See if they can help at all.

Why should he complain loudly, by his own admission he was working illegally, he was on a tourist visa , working whilst they were processing his arc application.

He got found out, such is life and is now paying the price for his folly.

It may be 'standard practice' by the schools but it may also be illegal. I've been hearing lots of sad stories recently of people being deported on dubious grounds or being hassled when they visit the foreign affairs police.

Only problem is that, in English the teaching, it is common proceedure for new hires to begin working while waiting for their work permits. It has been an accepted practice for quite a while. I've never heard of anyone being deported under these circumstances.

If you work before your school has been approved to employ you (i.e. issued a work permit) you are working illegally and subject to deportation.

Waiting for an ARC may be a grey area. I'd recommend caution though.

I appreciate that it may well be an accepted and common practice, but it leaves the teacher in the unenviable position as the OP has just found out, it is still a breach of visa and therefore deportable.

I am not without sympathy for the OP, but complaining about being kicked out for working illegally, when he was working illegally seems somewhat of a mute point.

My current company (not a buxiban) told me to stay at home until I had my work permit and ARC in hand, but I think this is very much the exception. Back when I was teaching I don't remember ever having come across a school that didn't expect you to work while your ARC application was underway. The fact is that the daft work regulations make it very difficult to do things legally 100% of the time - there is no common sense.

I feel a great deal of sympathy for the OP as he did things no differently from many teachers here, but he got picked on.