An amendment to the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) passed the legislative floor yesterday prohibiting international marriage brokers from seeking profits. Under the new legislation, violators could face fines of up to NT$1 million (US$30,000).
Anti-discrimination and anti-domestic violence regulations were also added to the amendment, which stipulates that it is against the law to discriminate against people on the basis of nationality, race, skin color, social rank or place of birth.
Foreign spouses are allowed to apply for a restraint order if they have been the victim of domestic violence and will be able to stay in Taiwan temporarily if divorced, rather than being deported immediately.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Anybody violating the anti-discrimination and anti-domestic violence regulations will face fines of up to NT$30,000.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (
The law also protects assembly and parade rights for immigrants.
Immigration agency charges will be regulated and immigration officers must review applications on short-term, temporary and permanent residency, according to the amendments.
Immigrants who were smuggled into Taiwan should be placed in temporary refuges with proper care before being deported, according to the amendments.
Meanwhile, in related news, some 80,000 immigrant spouses who have not yet been naturalized may benefit from a new policy announced by the Ministry of the Interior yesterday to allow more forms of financial proof during the citizenship application process.
Under the Nationality Law (
However, many immigrant groups protested that the requirement is discriminatory and unjust.
In response, the ministry has decided to "include more accepted forms of financial proof, and allow alternative ways to calculate the total amount," Deputy Minister Lin Mei-chu (
In addition to financial proof based on savings, new forms of financial proof accepted include "verification of employment with the amount of salary and period of employment, movable properties with a total estimated value of more than 24 times the legal minimum [monthly] wage, real estate properties with a total estimated value of more than 24 times the legal minimum [monthly] wage, or a certificate of professional skills issued by the government," Lin said.
"Movable properties" include stocks, funds, government bonds, and insurances, while the value of real estate properties must be proved by submitting a real estate value assessment report by a certified real estate assessor or a receipt for land value tax, Lin said.
The financial proof may include values of properties under the names of an immigrant spouse's Taiwanese spouse, the Taiwanese spouse's parents, or the immigrant spouse's parents if registered as residents of Taiwan, she said.
A certificate of professional skill is also valid if it belongs to the immigrant spouse's Taiwanese spouse, parents, or parents of the Taiwanese spouse, if these people are willing to provide them with a financial guarantee, she said, adding that any document that can prove one's professional skills may be counted as a certificate of professional skills.
She cited a taxi driver's license as an example.
Hsieh Ai-ling (謝愛齡), director of the ministry's population administration department, said the new policy may be in place as soon as the end of the year.
More than 78,000 immigrant spouses still awaiting naturalization "could benefit from the new policy," Hsieh said.
However, Hsieh pointed out that the number does not include Chinese immigrant spouses, as the "naturalization process for them falls under the jurisdiction of the Mainland Affairs Council," she said.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he