An American resident of Taiwan yesterday hand-delivered a petition to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, urging it to grant entry permission to family members of foreign residents in Taiwan who have been separated from their families because of COVID-19-related border restrictions.
The US national, identified as only Alvin, said he took action on behalf of 11 foreign residents who want to be reunited with their family members.
He is a fellow at a reconstructive surgery center in New Taipei City, Alvin said, adding that he has been trying to convince the government to allow his wife to enter Taiwan on humanitarian grounds as they have been separated for about a month.
“Every day I come home and I’m used to seeing my wife, and now I come home and I’m just alone. It’s hard to deal with it easily because you have a lot of emotions when you really miss somebody,” he said. “Every day I wish that she could be here, so we could spend our time together as husband and wife.”
Taiwan imposed COVID-19 border controls in January last year, and has since adjusted the measures according to the progression of the pandemic.
After Taiwan had an unprecedented surge in domestic COVID-19 cases starting in the middle of May, the government on May 19 banned all arrivals of foreign non-residents.
Alvin’s petition, titled “Taiwan a Home for All,” represents six workers and five students from Canada, Colombia, Belgium, Indonesia, Lithuania, Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey and the US.
A statement issued by the group said that they call Taiwan their home and hope that the government will allow their spouses and children to enter the nation on dependent visas, as was the rule before May 19.
The group on Nov. 5 launched a separate petition on the Public Policy Online Participation Platform.
Bureau Visa Division Director Pauline Chen (陳柏惠) said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ visa policy follows the guidelines set by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
“We will provide the information to the CECC so that it can consider the voices of the group while making policy decisions,” he said.
Separately, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said that a policy update that would allow dependents of foreign residents to enter the nation is under discussion, without giving a timeline for the update.
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