The Executive Yuan on Thursday approved a bill that would shorten the residency requirement for naturalization to two years, which if passed would make a number of foreign basketball players eligible to apply by the end of the year.
The changes to the Nationality Act (國籍法) were proposed amid calls to make it easier for foreign basketball players to receive citizenship.
The Ministry of Education already has a few foreign-born players in mind who would be eligible for naturalization by the end of the year under the new rules, the Ministry of the Interior said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The bill states that “high-level professionals” may apply for citizenship after living in Taiwan for at least 183 days of the year over two consecutive years, or over five consecutive years.
Currently, the requirement is at least 183 days annually over three consecutive years.
Additionally, the amendment also seeks to clarify requirements for noncitizens without dependents, and adds a provision allowing social welfare agencies to apply for citizenship on the behalf of stateless children.
It would also remove the NT$1,200 application fee for foreigners with special contributions to Taiwan and stateless people.
An amendment to the act was sent to the legislature for debate in September last year, but was not discussed before the end of the session. As per procedure, the interior ministry resent the bill to the Cabinet for approval.
In 2016, the law was changed to allow foreign professionals to become naturalized without giving up their original citizenship with a recommendation from a central authority and approval by the interior ministry.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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