Forums › Life › Learning & Education › Fake Degrees from actual HE institutions in the UK…required for TEFL in Taiwan.
Hey PV,
I was wondering if anybody has any experience in this area?
I do recall looking into it a number of years back out of curiosity and found there to be two types….
The so called ‘degree mills’ which churn out online degree’s from non-existent or barely credible institutions.
And the other type, the ones which provide the Degree and the transcripts from actual institutions….
The reason I ask, I’m currently in Taiwan and looking for work. The best jobs for westerners (pay/hours/conditions) is teaching English as a foreign language.
Bizarrely, Taiwanese Schools don’t request that you have a TEFL certificate (Teaching English as a Foreign Language)
Most of them aren’t bothered about any teaching experience at all!
However, they’re looking to keep their turnover as low as possible (understandable in the education sector)
Any organisation who wishes to keep hold of you can apply for a work permit on your behalf.
Taiwanese Law states that they will only grant these permits to individuals who hold a Degree (Min of 4 years study at a physical institution in their own country….
Obviously, I would never consider any illegal activity at all! I would like to know if anybody has any experience in related matters, good sites to get these Degree’s from etc. PM if you like.
Any help would be appreciated or I have to do expensive Visa runs!
Mark
Ayo Mark,
this is a difficult one as I do have some experience in how things are done the legit way from the other side as lots of folk at work have to go through it, I did even look for (legit) online degrees but they are all IT or electronics related, not 4 years and you would still have to do a exam somewhere. And I am very aware of the Chinese obsession with paper qualifications (to the point of being irrational) as it caused me a lot of conflict with Dad when he was alive – but there seems to be no easy way out..
The smarter officers in Taiwan’s Border Force equivalent are guaranteed to have learned English and been trained on British cultural matters by folk with proper degrees, wouldn’t surprise me if some of them studied at UEA 😉 from what you’ve said so far your relationship sounds like something serious, a bit more than a “holiday romance” so there is no way I am going to give you risky advice. if you get a fake degree you can be found out, separated from your partner and deported and will probably make the newspapers both here in Blighty and the Taiwan papers – that could seriously fuck up your relationship too if the news reports bring shame onto her family..
also just like you do I hate racism and excessive nationalism and think the multicultural world is a very good thing – but believe that countries have a right to their sovereignty and to pass reasonable laws – its no different from the UK which is tightening up its immigration due to economic depression. If either of us in England blagged our way into a job where the formal requirement is a degree and used fake papers or lied we would both end up being nicked under UK law (fraud)… I know its a pain but its the payback for partying in our teens/20s rather than staying in college or uni, but when I go for drinks with the BT boffins a lot of them envy the freedom and fun I had, in spite of the fact many earned way more than me (and even then half their jobs are now bangalored).
Visa apps are a pain and expensive but I see a load of people at work doing them, having to leave their partner and sometimes children behind for a few months, and these are people with a fraction of the money and resources and opportunities we have or had in the West. Even if I wanted to work in MY (unlikely) I’d have to clear their Immigration procedures…
As you know all kinds of rare old stuff is happening in the world which is affecting migration patterns worldwide so rich countries (and TW is one of the richer parts of Asia) are locking things down. Perhaps speak to your partners family? I get the impression TW is more “strict” about rules than CN but often families have connections, its how a lot of things work in the Eastern nations and their communities, and there might be some way you could work in TW and study at the same time as there are branches of UK unis in Asian countries…
Ay GL,
Thanks for the advice, definitely sound minded. I’m not going to risk it at all.
The very first English teacher ad I phoned asked me straight up…I don’t care about anything except your degree being legit.
The Canadian lady said she had gotten in trouble before as someone found out one of their English teachers was on a dodgy degree and they almost lost their license to be able to apply for ARC’s (working Visa’s for English Teachers)
Parents pay top NT$ to have kids taught English in Cram Schools here so they are very afraid of losing their license.
The Taiwanese teachers barely hesitate if they find out your dodgy as well (a western English Teacher’s p/t hours is easily higher than their salary)
Before making this call I had entertained the idea and contacted the best ‘replacement’ qualification site I could find…
I explored the idea of getting one from an institution which had closed or had some other change (making a authenticity check harder on this end)
I inquired and the response I got was basically “We’re a printing company, what would we know about such matters”
So, that idea can Jog On…
@General Lighting 494397 wrote:
I am very aware of the Chinese obsession with paper qualifications (to the point of being irrational) as it caused me a lot of conflict with Dad when he was alive
This has caused an incredible amount of conflict with my girlfriends family I’m afraid to say. It was one of her Dad’s first questions actually and being honest, I told him I had enrolled in a Law Degree but had dropped out.
He studied for his doctorate at one of the Ivy league institutes in the states. He never actually put it to any use or had a career but this seems to be beside the point…
It’s been a steep and difficult learning curve over the last few weeks.
I cannot stand that I am judged by a piece of paper, regardless of what I’ve accomplished or the opportunities I have awaiting me…
Despite my best efforts to do the right thing by them, it’s not going to work out.
They are dead set against Me and Tracy living together. This is despite us having done so for a year already and they welcomed us into the family home and we are current sleeping in her mother’s double bed.
The farther is traditional and doesn’t want us together at all (as much as he tried to sugar coat it)
The mother cannot grasp that, yes we are in a committed relationship, but that we live in the real world and accept we may not be together forever.
Being welcomed into a house with such hospitality at first then being stabbed in the back messes with your mind big time!
They had a well orchestrated plan in which the mother took my Girlfriend for a Spa-treatment and I was taken aside for a star-bucks by the Farther (the only English speaking parent)
This proved to be nothing short of an interrogation which lasted for hours…
I was given a hand written letter from her mother suggesting that we ‘temporarily separate’ and I pursue my job offers in Australia or Singapore as the economy in Taiwan is poor and we can’t live together (until marriage) as it would bring shame on the family…
I did my best to explain that I would try and do the right thing by them as much as possible, but I reject their suggestion of separation.
It took a lot to keep a lid on my anger. How can someone feel they have the right to interfere like that?
We ended the talk on the agreement that I wasn’t to leave Taipei and that myself and Tracy would not split. I told him that I would have a place and a steady income within a Month and that we would review the situation and, if I had shown him I was capable, he could accept this…
The girlfriends, knowing her parents better, said this was BS and they were just thinking of the short term and they would never accept this.
It also became apparent he had been very devious in his the way he’s questioned me…It later became apparent that he told the mother that I intended
to propose to his daughter….complete BS. No wonder the Mother acted strangely when I presented her with a bouquet of flowers that morning…
All this has put the girlfriend in a hard place as family values are so much more ingrained here. I certainly asked myself some very serious questions about whether or not I could be the course of all this Drama.
After hearing them argue passionately in Chinese for hours and not understanding a word, the girlfriend has told them that we will be living together and we’re currently looking for a place.
However, we’re still under their roof and I’m being treating with the up-most hospitality you could imagine :you_crazy
I simply cannot eat in the mornings but wake up to a FEAST of dishes which are forced upon me….
The girlfriend is still on good terms with her family which is good. I can respect some of their concerns about money etc and they’re only looking out for their daughter but they’re extreme!
The GF was born in the states and wants to either work or study in the UK/USA with me this year or next as the working conditions in Taiwan are terrible!
I cannot wait to have this conversation with her parents down the track :yawn:
They want her to secure a job in Taiwan and stick with it until it’s time to retire. Fair play to her mother as she’s obviously worked hard.
The Girlfriend is by no means a ‘party chick’ She’s probably consumed less units of alcohol than her age (25) and she had a few tokes on a spliff in Amsterdam.
On the few occasions I’ve chosen something a little harder, she isn’t too bothered but worries about the health impact etc.
@General Lighting 494397 wrote:
The smarter officers in Taiwan’s Border Force equivalent are guaranteed to have learned English and been trained on British cultural matters by folk with proper degrees, wouldn’t surprise me if some of them studied at UEA 😉 from what you’ve said so far your relationship sounds like something serious, a bit more than a “holiday romance” so there is no way I am going to give you risky advice. if you get a fake degree you can be found out, separated from your partner and deported and will probably make the newspapers both here in Blighty and the Taiwan papers – that could seriously fuck up your relationship too if the news reports bring shame onto her family..
It’s funny you should mention this. I met a guy from Norwich here last week. He met his partner when she was doing a PHD at the UEA.
Definitely a good to meet someone who’s been here for a while. He had some useful advise on what’s okay/too much in terms of working when your not supposed too. I’ll be subbing him for 2 weeks (teaching English) while he goes home to be best man.
@General Lighting 494397 wrote:
just like you do I hate racism and excessive nationalism and think the multicultural world is a very goof thing – but believe that countries have a right to their sovereignty and to pass reasonable laws – its no different from the UK which is tightening up its immigration due to economic depression
.
Agreed, The GF would no longer be entitled to remain and work in the UK for 2 years after her PHD as before…I think she would have to be sponsored by a company now if she wanted to stay.
@General Lighting 494397 wrote:
I know its a pain but its the payback for partying in our teens/20s rather than staying in college or uni
This is the first time I’ve regretted my decision in 3 or 4 years (apart from missing structured Education it’s self)
As an aside, I’m sure your well aware of this…
https://www.edx.org/
I’ve gone a bit OTT on signing up for some of the shorter courses but what a great initiative :bounce_fl
Anyway GL, I’ve gotta sign off…
All the Best
as much as the whole thing sounds like the script of a old style chinese movie this is how things roll in most Asian countries. if you were a Chinese man you’d get exactly the same quizzing!
I still have to occasionally talk various older family members out of setting me up for arranged marriage, in spite of the fact my own parents never had theirs nor did aunts and uncles – but marriages are seen as a form of stability. However if you are a good person deep down although families are strict they do forgive and forget.
The edx courses are a good idea especially I think for the higher level ones you can do the exams (and get a legit certificate) in your current country rather than have to go back to the UK or US.
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Forums › Life › Learning & Education › Fake Degrees from actual HE institutions in the UK…required for TEFL in Taiwan.
