The Executive Yuan yesterday proposed changes to immigration law to attract professionals and keep families together, while also raising penalties for people who overstay their visas.
The bill, which amends 52 of the 97 articles in the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法), has been sent to the legislature for deliberation.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that the amendments would make it easier for the spouses and children of professionals to obtain residence, as Taiwan hopes to attract more international talent.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Labor
On the other hand, more foreigners have been overstaying their visas, potentially threatening national security and public order, he said.
The changes enhance enforcement, and add penalties and raise fines for immigration-related crimes, he added.
To attract more desired professionals, the amendments extend permanent residency rights to the spouses, underage children and disabled children of certain professionals.
Eligible professionals include those who have made “special contributions” to Taiwan, hold senior-level positions, have won an award in a professional field or have investment-based residency.
To simplify application procedures, professionals who enter Taiwan visa-free or on a visitor visa would no longer need to apply for a residence visa with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Instead, the professionals, as well as their spouses and children, can apply for an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) directly with the National Immigration Agency.
The new rule would apply to consultants at academic institutions, university lecturers and other “white-collar” professionals as defined in the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法).
The deadline to apply for an ARC after being issued a residence visa would be extended to 30 days from 15 days.
To make it easier for families to stay together, legally residing spouses who are also the de facto caregiver of their underage children or have visitation rights would be able to apply for residency after entering the nation on a visitor visa.
Under current rules, a divorcee must obtain legal custody of their biological children to extend their residency.
The amendments seek to extend residency to anyone who divorces after experiencing domestic violence.
Under current rules, only those who also have underage children can keep their residency.
People who overstay their visas could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 (US$984.96 to US$4,925), up from between NT$2,000 and NT$10,000, according to the changes.
The amendments also increase the re-entry ban for offenders from three years to 10 years.
Those found guilty of harboring or hiding a person overstaying their visa could be fined NT$60,000 to NT$300,000, while those who help a foreign national engage in activities outside the scope of their visa could be fined NT$200,000 to NT$1 million.
Those who help people enter the country illegally could face one to seven years in prison or a fine of up to NT$1 million.
People subject to a travel ban found to be traveling using fraudulent documents could face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to NT$90,000.
For Taiwanese living abroad who have no household registration in Taiwan, the amendments would remove the requirement to apply for an entry permit, and allow them to apply for residency or citizenship after residing in Taiwan for at least 183 days per year over five years.
Current rules require such people to stay in Taiwan for at least 270 days per year.
The age limit to apply for permanent residency would also be removed for the children of Taiwanese nationals born abroad who have a Taiwanese passport.
Additional reporting by CNA
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
RSS