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Iruan set for Taiwan citizenship

Five-year-old Taiwanese-Brazilian orphan Iruan Ergui Wu, accompanied by his Taiwanese uncle and aunt, visited Hong Kong yesterday morning and returned the same day with an entry certificate in order to obtain permanent in Taiwan. PHOTO: TONY K. YAO, TAIPEI TIMES

Taiwanese relatives of Iruan Ergui took him to Hong Kong yesterday in order to clear legal hurdles that will allow the 5-year-old orphan to obtain permanent residency in Taiwan.

Iruan, whose Brazilian and Taiwanese relatives are competing for his custody, is expected to be granted permanent residency in Taiwan now that he made the required departure from Taiwan and returned on an entry certificate issued by the Taiwan government.

Born to a Brazilian mother and Taiwanese father, Iruan was in the care of his Brazilian grandmother, Rosa Leocadia Ergui, since his mother died in 1998. In mid-March, the boy's father brought him back to Taiwan but died a week later.

Since then, Iruan's uncle, Wu Huo-yen (吳火眼), has taken care of him and wants to bring up the child in Taiwan, as "his father had wished."

Taiwan's immigration law grants permanent residency to a child of a Taiwan citizen, if they were born overseas and are still under the age of 12, provided they come to Taiwan on a passport or entry certificate issued by the Taiwan government.

Having entered Taiwan with a Brazilian passport in mid-March, Iruan was not legally able to obtain permanent residency. With Iruan's visa set to expire in September, his uncle planned yesterday's one-day visit to Hong Kong.

Around 7am yesterday, Iruan's aunt took him aboard a China Airlines flight to Hong Kong, where his uncle, who had arrived on Monday to make arrangements, met the pair.

Two hours later, the Wu family successfully obtained Iruan's entry certificate from a travel agency in Hong Kong.

Around 4pm, Iruan and his Taiwanese relatives returned to Taiwan's CKS International Airport, where KMT Legislator Lin Yi-shih (林益世) was awaiting their arrival. Lin, who has assisted the Wu family in applying for Iruan's permanent residency, said the boy is able to stay in Taiwan permanently now that he has done what the law requires.

He said with the residency issue resolved, Iruan's Brazilian and Taiwanese relatives should continue to negotiate over other issues of custody and education of the child.

According to Taiwan's Repres-entative Office in Brazil, Iruan's grandmother has obtained a visa to Taiwan and is planning to visit the Wu family soon.

Wu Huo-yen said after returning from Hong Kong yesterday that he was glad Iruan could soon become a permanent resident of Taiwan.

But he also added that he is willing to talk with Iruan's Brazilian relatives about the boy's custody when they come to Taiwan.

The Wu family plans to file an application for Iruan's permanent residency with immigration authorities today.

Lin said he was told earlier that the Brazilian government had invalidated Iruan's passport so that he would become a stateless person and be immediately arrested if he departed Taiwan for another country.

However, it was confirmed by the Brazilian Business Center in Taiwan yesterday that Iruan's passport remained valid for his trip yesterday.

Paulo A. P. Pinto, director of the Brazilian Business Center, had no comment yesterday about the Wu family taking Iruan to Hong Kong, but he insisted Iruan is a Brazilian national and that it is "illegal" for the Wu family to keep the boy in Taiwan.

Born out of wedlock in Brazil, Iruan has been widely exposed to media in both Taiwan and Brazil since his grandmother was granted temporary guardianship of the boy by a Brazilian court in April.

She has demanded that the child be immediately returned to Brazil.
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