The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan.
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year.
The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520, or 33.83 percent, from the previous year.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The number of Chinese spouses taking up residence in Taiwan or those who obtained national identification cards stood at 3,193, down 382, or 10.69 percent, compared with the previous year.
A total of 367,309 Chinese spouses were living in Taiwan as of the end of May, with 113,485 having applied for residency permits and 145,219 for permanent settlement, a report issued on Tuesday last week said.
The number of cross-strait marriages declined from 2020 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, averaging just 2,000 couples per year, but surged back to 6,330 marriages last year, the report said.
The Regulations Governing Permits for People of the Mainland Area to Reside with Relatives, Reside Long-Term or Settle in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民在臺灣地區依親居留長期居留或定居許可辦法) state that a Chinese marrying a Taiwanese can file for a dependent residency visa once the marriage is substantiated, and they can apply for a long-term residency visa after receiving their dependency status for four years and staying in Taiwan for 183 days or more per year.
Under the same regulations, those who have held long-term residency status for two whole years, and reside in Taiwan for 183 days or more per year, can apply for residency status and register their residency with their local Department of Household Registration.
Those with residency can apply to obtain full citizenship within six years of securing residency.
The convenience of worldwide travel, resulting from globalization, offers numerous choices to couples who have tied the knot and originate from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the council said.
Instead of having to live on either side, these couples can now choose to reside in other nations, it said.
Cheng Kung University political science professor Hung Chin-fu (洪敬富) yesterday said that political tensions across the Strait had contributed to the decline in cross-strait marriages.
Fewer Taiwanese marrying Chinese directly affects the number of people staying in Taiwan as dependents, which in turn affects the number of people eligible for long-term residency or citizenship, he said.
It also signified a growing dissonance among the Taiwanese regarding the “same root, same origin (同根同源)” concept, he added.
Previously, Chinese spouses married Taiwanese due to financial concerns or seeking to benefit from joining the National Health Insurance program, he said, adding now that the government regards China as a hostile foreign force, and as China has become increasingly antagonistic toward Taiwan, the number of cross-strait marriage registrations understandably has been on the decline, Hung said.
Meanwhile, according to a report released by the Ministry of the Interior last month, 10,459 Taiwanese are married to people from Southeast Asian nations, nearly 50 percent of all foreign marriages.
Chinese spouses were second with 6,330 marriages, the report showed.
Disregarding spouses from China, Macau and Hong Kong, Vietnamese spouses were the most numerous at 7,040, of which 6,160 were women and 880 were men; Indonesian and American spouses were tied for second place, 812 Indonesian women and 113 men, and 186 American women and 739 men.
There are 835 Japanese spouses, 329 women and 506 men, the report showed.
Additional reporting by CNA and staff writer
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