The Cabinet yesterday approved an amendment to the Immigration Act (入出國移民法) that relaxes entry regulations for foreigners to help address a growing brain drain and a declining birth rate.
“As we are expected to see zero population growth by 2011, the government faces the challenge of drawing up immigration policies to attract talented people to make up for that gap,” Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) told the meeting.
The amendment recommended simplifying entry procedures.
Under the current system, foreigners planning to work in Taiwan are required to file an application with the Council of Labor Affairs for a work permit and apply for a visitor’s visa at one of the nation’s representative offices abroad before coming to Taiwan.
After entering the country, they are required to file an application with the National Immigration Agency for an alien resident certificate and permission for re-entry.
If the amendment is approved by the legislature, foreigners will be able to apply for a combined certificate at a single government office through a process that will require fewer days.
The amendment also suggested removing regulations stipulating that Republic of China (ROC) citizens born abroad and under the age of 20 must apply for resident permits or permanent resident permits to live in Taiwan.
Should the amendment pass the legislature, ROC citizens with household registration in Taiwan could apply for resident permits or permanent resident permits for children born in other countries without being subject to the regulation.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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