Starting today, all marriage brokerage firms that deal with international marriages will be outlawed, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) announced yesterday, saying that the ban is part of the government’s efforts to cut down on fraudulent marriages.
The new regulations are part of a raft of amendments to the Immigration Act (出入國及移民法) enacted on Aug. 1 last year. At the time, the government offered a one-year grace period for cross-border matchmaking companies to adjust their business operations to meet new legal requirements. The one-year grace period expired yesterday.
All Taiwanese hoping to marry a foreign spouse must now go through non-profit organizations that have been approved by the NIA, said Lin Chen-chih (林振智), an NIA immigration planning division chief.
Such organizations will only collect necessary fees, such as airfare and hotel bills, and will not demand any brokering charges.
Companies found violating the ban will be fined between NT$200,000 and NT$1 million (US$6,050 to US$30,500).
Lin said the ban was designed to eliminate the practice of Taiwanese men traveling abroad, mostly to southeast Asian countries, for blind dates and on-the-spot weddings.
Taiwanese companies place ads in newspapers and on TV to take Taiwanese men on tours to Asian nations — mostly Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and China — to select brides.
Some cross-border matchmakers allowed their local customers to pick their partners on TV before they go abroad to meet them, Lin said.
In some cases, the foreign brides pay a large sum of money to local brokers to marry a Taiwanese man, work in Taiwan and send money home. Some southeast Asian and Chinese women have entered Taiwan through fake marriages to work as prostitutes.
“Those spendthrift acts have caused criticism from human rights activists and undermined our national image,” Lin said.
Lin said that people who hope to find a foreign spouse can approach NIA-certified public interest organizations or foundations for matchmaking services.
At present, there are 11 NIA-accredited public interest organizations that are eligible to operate matchmaking services. Information about them is available on the NIA’s Web site.
The number of foreign brides arriving in Taiwan has increased dramatically in recent years.
The NIA said 421,475 foreign spouses — mainly brides — entered Taiwan in the first half of the year, up from 413,421 for all of last year.
In the first half of the year, a total of 268,304 Chinese spouses — mainly brides — entered Taiwan, up from 262,701 for the whole of last year.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU
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