A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker yesterday called for regulatory changes to allow the spouses and children of foreign professionals to obtain permanent residency and work in the nation.
Speaking at a morning news conference at the Legislative Yuan, KMT Legislator Jason Hsu (許毓仁) said that current regulations make life difficult for expatriates who plan to stay in Taiwan for the long term, including restrictions on their children obtaining permanent residency.
Once the children of expats reach the age of maturity, they are required to leave the country, making it impossible for the family to continue living together, while accompanying spouses also cannot take on part-time employment, he said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Hsu said he hoped to introduce a series of changes, including an amendment to Article 25 of the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法), to allow the spouses and dependent children of foreign professionals to apply for permanent residency.
Other plans include amending Article 42 of the Employment Services Act (就業服務法) to allow spouses and dependent children of those who have become permanent residents to work, he said.
Hsu said he also hoped that children who are disabled or otherwise unable to care for themselves would be allowed to extend their permanent residence status past the age of maturity through an amendment to Article 23 of the Immigration Act.
He added that Article 9 of the Nationality Act (國籍法) should also be revised so that those who decide to apply for Republic of China (ROC) citizenship would not be required to abandon their original citizenship until after they have been naturalized.
Lin Chih-mei (林至美), director of the National Development Council’s Department of Human Resources Development, told the news conference that she would put together a proposal for a draft bill after gathering input from all the relevant parties.
Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良), deputy director of the Ministry of Labor’s Workforce Development Agency, said efforts to relax relevant regulations are under way, as the government is aware that attracting professional talent is critical to making the nation internationally competitive.
“Taiwan cannot close itself off from the world. We naturally need to attract international talent,” Tsai said.
The way to achieve this is to loosen restrictions, Tsai said.
The idea of exempting foreign professionals from the need to apply for permanent residence in the first place is being discussed, adding that their dependent children would automatically receive permanent residence under the proposal, Tsai said.
The ministry is moving in the same direction on the issue as what Hsu is proposing, Tsai said.
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