Visa issues for students at language schools
There have been several posts on Forumosa over the last month reporting that the government is no longer extending visas for students enrolled at non-university language schools. The Taipei Times reported yesterday that the Ministry of Education was cracking down on “fake Chinese-language schools”.
Officials from the Bureau of Consular Affairs and Ministry of Education said there was currently no regulation that allowed authorities to differentiate between authentic language schools and organizations that enabled foreigners to work illegally in Taiwan.
By law, people applying for visas to study in Taiwan must submit documents certifying that they are enrolled in a school. It is illegal for a foreigner to work in Taiwan without a work permit issued by the central government.
Many foreigners come to Taiwan saying they are studying Chinese, but in fact enter the country to work illegally, officials said.
This thread at Forumosa gives some more background on the issue.
Non-university language schools are a popular place for foreigners to study Chinese. They charge lower fees than universities and often have more flexible schedules. TLI is one of the main private language schools and has an excellent reputation.
In the past students could enrol at these schools for ten hours per week and then extend their visas for up to six months. Some people may have abused these regulations as some shools were rumoured to help students extend their visas if they enrolled in, but didn’t attend, classes.
A report in the Taipei Times today says that the TLI is in the process of affilliating itself with a university to overcome the problems.
It seems strange that the MoE has suddenly decided to crack down on this problem. Students enrolling in Chinese classes and working illegally has been going on for years. Rather than dealing with the one or two schools that were abusing the regulations they seem to have taken a wide broom to the problem. However, it seems that the most likely solution to the problem will be that the non-university language schools affiliate with a university.
UPDATE: The Taipei Times has printed an editorial about this (7 Jan 2006). The well written editorial suggests the MoE has come to its senses and done an about face.
Perhaps out of panic, yesterday a senior Ministry of Education official announced a plan allowing indefinite extensions of visitor visas for bona fide students of Mandarin, including students at private schools. Encouraging news, indeed. But there’s more to this than meets the bureaucrat’s eye.
The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior are negotiating the details. But even if they agree on terms, it seems unlikely that they will take the intelligent step of allowing all bona fide students to support themselves while studying.
UPDATE 2: The Taipei Times may have been a bit hasty in its editorial. According to this thread at Forumosa language schools including TLI, CLI and Pioneer are still not able to provide visa extensions as they have not affilliated with a university. CLD is one language school that has affilliated with a university and also raised its fees. Hopefully the MoE will make the situation clearer after the Chinese New Year. I will post an update then. (18 January 2006)
PLEASE NOTE: If you are interested in studying Chinese in Taiwan you can find a list of university and non-university language schools here.
Changing visas
Starting Chinese classes
Certifying Chinese teachers
Learning your own language
Problems at BOCA
Posted: January 7th, 2006 under Languages in Taiwan.
Comments
Comment from fiLi
Time 15 February 2006 at 12:03 am
Being a student at TLI, I saw a message on the board today, saying that TLI has successful teamed up with a Taiwanese University. So, Seems like TLI students will be able to get their VISA extensions, no matter what.
So, if those new crackdown regulations come through, I’m quite certain that the major difference would be that the private schools will need to look for University sponsers and nothing more (which might cost them money, and as a result might raise their fees).
Oh well…
Comment from Mark
Time 6 February 2006 at 10:34 am
I have to say, Taiwan has been becoming a less and less desirable destination for Chinese learners. A decade ago, it may have been more appealing than China. But now, with out-dated texts, inflated prices and a slow death of stronger programs, how can Taiwan compete?
Look at the Harbin Institute of Technology, for example. It’s a top 10 school, room and board is only $65USD/month and tuition is only $1520USD for a year or $760USD for a semester of language school. The program uses modern teaching materials published by BLCP. On top of that, students can enroll as normal college students along with the locals once their Chinese is good enough. How can Taiwan compete with that while the MOE is busy playing whack-a-mole with our visas?