The Philippine spouse of a Taiwanese man living in Pingtung County received a residence permit on Tuesday after having lived in the country illegally for 14 years.
After marrying her husband in the Philippines in 1997, Elvy Brandino flew to Taiwan on a six-month visitor visa that expired in May 1998, the National Immigration Agency said.
Brandino continued to stay in Pingtung even after her visa expired because neither she nor her husband, who comes from a disadvantaged background, were aware that she was entitled to apply for permanent residency with her visitor visa and marriage certificate, the agency said.
Brandino gave birth to a boy in June 1998 and made the decision to stay in the country illegally to take care of him after he was diagnosed with severe autism.
It was only recently that she summoned the courage to come clean about her visa to county social workers and ask for help, the agency said.
The case was transferred to the agency’s services office and special task force in Pingtung, which launched an investigation into the matter.
Brandino feared that she might be deported and barred from returning to Taiwan, but her love for her son moved the authorities, who decided to make an exception in her case and issue her a dependent’s residence permit, a National Immigration Agency spokesman said.
Holding the document that identifies her as a legal resident, a happy and excited Brandino said she could now look for a job to better support her family.
“I wish to provide a better life for my son,” she said.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
RSS