Ministry amends immigration law

The Ministry of the Interior yesterday submitted to the Executive Yuan an amendment to the Immigration Law (入出國及移民法) that would reduce by over a third the number of consecutive days per year that foreigners must spend in Taiwan to be eligible for permanent residency.

But the requirement that they must have done so for each of seven consecutive years remains unchanged.

The amendment states that foreigners who have been in Taiwan for at least 183 consecutive days per year for seven consecutive years may apply for permanent residence.

The Immigration Law currently requires residence in Taiwan for at least 270 consecutive days per year for seven consecutive years.

The current 183 consecutive days requirement for foreign spouses and children of Taiwan citizens would stand, but the number of years required would be reduced from eight in any 15-year period to five in any 10-year period.

The proposed amendments follow a comment made last year by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) that he would ask the responsible government department to review regulations governing residency permits after presenting an award for dedication to Aboriginal affairs to Alfhild Gislefoss (紀歐惠) and her husband, Bjarne Gislefoss (徐賓諾), Norwegians who have lived in Taiwan for over 40 years. Bjarne Gislefoss is the former superintendent of Puli Christian Hospital. The couple have campaigned for years for permanent residency rights but have remained ineligible because of frequent overseas trips.

Legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and KMT legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) have supported the Gislefosses, and the president, following his remark,ordered the ministries of foreign affairs and the interior to deal expeditiously with the issue.

DPP lawmaker for Puli, Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), who has organized public hearings for the Gislefosses and spoken on their behalf in the legislature, said, "The amendment should be sure to pass in the Legislative Yuan, since legislators from the ruling and opposition parties all support it."

Chen, however, said that he would continue to push a proposal he has submitted to the Legislative Yuan.

Chen's proposal would make eligible for permanent residency foreigners who have been in Taiwan for at least 183 consecutive days per year for any 10 years in a 20-year period. He argues that consecutive residence for seven years is too onerous a requirement.