The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed on third reading an amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) that would reduce the minimum residency period required for highly skilled professionals to apply for naturalization from three to two continuous years, with a minimum of 183 days in Taiwan each year.
The 183-day requirement does not apply if an eligible applicant has lived legally in the territory of the Republic of China for more than five continuous years.
Taiwan’s professional basketball leagues are expected to benefit from the amendments, which would allow them to recruit more players from overseas.
Photo: Lee Wen-hsi, Taipei Times
Prior to the passage of the amendment, the national basketball association had petitioned the Ministry of the Interior and the Sports Administration to allow naturalization after just a two-year stay after taking into account players’ performances to facilitate recruitment of foreign players.
New Taipei Kings forward Quincy Davis and Hsinchu Lioneers forward William Artino became naturalized Taiwanese using the same model, the association said.
The Executive Yuan said the amendment was introduced to attract foreign professionals and talent to Taiwan, and increase incentives for naturalization, adding that the requirements on the length of stay are relaxed for applicants, who would not be asked to relinquish their original nationalities.
Based on the amendment, foreigners who are deemed to be senior-level professionals following a review by the Ministry of the Interior would be eligible.
Foreigners or stateless people who have made outstanding contributions to Taiwan are exempt from the application fee.
To address issues arising from the uncertain status of non-Taiwanese nationals, the amendment also allows stateless children to apply for naturalization with assistance from social welfare agencies or institutions, through which they can access social welfare services, medical care, schooling rights and other protections.
Meanwhile, as the Civil Code has lowered the age of majority to 18, the amendment also states that naturalized people can apply for naturalization for their “unmarried children who are under 18 years old,” rather than “children who are minors.”
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lo Bi-ling (羅美玲) said that many countries have recruited naturalized citizens whose expertise boost their prowess in sports and other disciplines, particularly when they face challenges of an aging society and labor shortages.
“Hopefully, the change would encourage more people to become naturalized citizens,” Lo said.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
NUMBERs IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
RSS