Starting May 1, Taiwan's representative offices in Southeast Asia will streamline and simplify application procedures for foreign spouses who are married to Taiwanese citizens and wish to enter Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said.
According to MOFA spokesman Michel Lu (
Due to Vietnam's domestic policy on cross-national marriages, MOFA's initiative is not applicable there at the moment.
"The Vietnamese government has its own standard procedure when it comes to this type of situation, but it is definitely a country within our plan [to simplify applications]," said Lu.
According to Central News Agency report on Wednesday, MOFA's Bureau of Consular Affairs Deputy-Director Wang Kuo-ran (
On Wednesday, the MOFA concluded its meeting with many high-level management officers of various Southeast Asian representative offices in Taiwan to discuss issues relating to spouses and migrant workers from Southeast Asia countries.
In the meeting, consensus was reached on several issues.
Handling marriage applications in Taiwan's representative offices in Southeast Asian countries, Wang pointed out, involves many aspects of administration, such as interviews, proof of single status, visa review and processing of spouses who wish to enter Taiwan.
Beginning next month, the four representative offices will streamline the paperwork process as well as in-person interviews with both married parties.
Typically foreign spouses from Southeast Asian countries and their Taiwanese counterparts face at least two rounds of interviews: the first in a spouse's native country, and the second at the point of entry in Taiwan.
If a couple is suspected to be involved in a bogus marriage, a third round of interviews will be conducted at the end of the foreign spouse's one-month stay in Taiwan. By streamlining marriage application procedures, MOFA hopes to weed out bogus marriages and safeguard the rights of couples who truly want to be married.
Taiwan will have computerized machines installed in Southeast Asian countries that read visas to expedite visa processing. The offices also agreed to better oversee manpower agencies that import foreign migrant workers, as well as crack down on the influx of illegal foreign migrant workers.
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