Chinese spouses of Taiwan nationals yesterday urged the government to raise the yearly quota on people who are granted residency status to 7,200 to eliminate a waiting period that sometimes separates married couples for several years.
Last month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) proposed to double the quota from the present 1,800 to 3,600 people per year. The proposal needs to be passed by lawmakers before it can be implemented.
The plan would shorten by half the current waiting time, which in some cases can last as long as 15 years. But some Chinese spouses said the change is insufficient to meet the present demand. Chen Yan (陳燕), whose Taiwanese husband is already over 70 years old, said that she is afraid her husband may die before she obtains residency status.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"The Taiwan government will kick me out of the country as soon as he dies," Chen said, who has been married for more than two years and will receive residency status in 2013 under the present quota.
People like Chen say they need to get residency status as soon as possible so that they can legally work to support their families.
"Over the past year of my stay in Taiwan, all I have done is doze away my days with my husband," Chen said.
Chinese spouses of Taiwan nationals currently can apply for residency only after they have been married for two years. This waiting period is waived for spouses with children.
There are some 26,000 applicants still waiting to receive residency status, while some 20,000 are still not qualified to apply, according to Chang Cheng-chung (
Before Chinese spouses obtain residency status, they can visit Taiwan for up to six months every year. They usually get a three-month visa that can be extended once, then have to wait for another six months before they can re-enter Taiwan.
Those with children, however, can renew their visas consecutively without having to wait for six months. However, they still need to go to a third country every six months to renew their visas.
If the Taiwanese spouse is over 65 or physically or mentally challenged, Chinese spouses are permitted to stay for three years at a time.
Without residency, Chinese spouses cannot work in Taiwan and are not covered under National Health Insurance.
Lu Xiaozhong (
"While they [other foreign spouses] can get residency after being married for two years, we only start to get in line after two years," Lu said.
Li Tian-yih (李添益), chief of the social exchanges section under the MAC's Department of Legal Affairs, said the council has already decided to further relax restrictions on Chinese spouses. Li said the relaxation will include granting spouses with children six-month visas that are extendable once, so that they will only need to renew their visas once a year. Spouses who stay in Taiwan 12 months a year will be permitted to work and get health insurance, Li said.
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