Foreigners who are highly skilled professionals, top-prize winners in professional disciplines, investment immigration applicants or have made special contributions to Taiwan can soon apply for permanent residency on behalf of their spouses and minor or disabled children after the legislature approved amendments to the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法).
The amendments, which were proposed by the Ministry of the Interior and approved by the Executive Yuan on Jan. 12, aim to attract foreign talent to Taiwan and encourage them to stay.
They would take effect once they are signed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The amendments involved changing 63 articles, making it the biggest reform of immigration law in 24 years, Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) in a statement identified four main policy changes.
First, the rights of families to reunify would be protected, taking into account the best interests of minor children, it said.
Foreigners whose Taiwanese spouses have died or who have divorced from legal residents of Taiwan would be able to apply for residency if they need to raise their underage children, the NIA said.
Second, regulations have been eased for foreigners to reside in Taiwan to attract more skilled professionals from overseas, it said.
Currently, foreigners who have secured permanent residency status are required to live in Taiwan for more than 183 days per year or lose their status.
However, the amendments would allow them to keep their status if they spent an average of 183 days in the country over the past five years, the NIA said.
White-collar workers would benefit from the policy change, as they often need to travel overseas for business and cannot remain in Taiwan for extended periods, the agency added.
The deadline for filing Alien Resident Certificate applications for the spouses or children of foreigners would be extended from 15 days upon entry to 30 days, the NIA said.
Third, fines for foreigners who overstay their visas and engage in illegal activities in Taiwan would be increased from between NT$2,000 and NT$10,000 (US$65 and US$326) to between NT$10,000 and NT$50,000, it said, adding that offenders would be barred from entering Taiwan for seven years.
To deter criminal activity by expatriates, people who shelter or hide foreigners who overstay their visas would be fined NT$60,000 to NT$300,000, while those who introduce foreigners to jobs or other activities that do not match their purpose of stay would be fined NT$200,000 to NT$1 million, the amendment says.
Finally, the amendments allow foreigners to be represented by immigration attorneys in hearings for forced evictions from the country and in their interviews with immigration officials.
The NIA can ban or restrict such requests if the presence of an attorney threatens national security and disrupts legal procedures, it said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2