The Cabinet yesterday approved draft amendments to the Nationality Act (國籍法) to ease residency requirements for some foreign professionals applying for naturalization and to allow social welfare agencies to apply for naturalization on behalf of stateless children who are residents.
The proposed amendments were approved by the Cabinet in September last year, but had to be reapproved and resubmitted because of the new legislative term that began on Feb. 1.
The Ministry of the Interior said that the draft amendments would help improve the retention of professional talent by cutting the required period of residency for “foreign high-level professionals” (外國高級專業人才) applying for citizenship from three continuous years, defined as being in the country for at least 183 days each year.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The required period of residency would be shortened to two continuous years, or a legal stay of more than five consecutive years for those who do not meet the 183 days per year requirement, the ministry said.
It has previously said that the changes would aid Taiwan’s efforts to recruit and naturalize foreign basketball players to play for the national team, a change that the national basketball association has sought.
To better protect children’s rights, the draft amendments include a new provision that allows social welfare authorities or institutions that act as guardians of stateless children to apply for Republic of China (ROC) nationality on their behalf, the ministry said.
Under the existing law, only adoptive parents of stateless people who are unmarried minors can apply for naturalization on their behalf, if at least one of the parents is an ROC citizen, the ministry said.
In addition, as Taiwan has amended its Civil Code to lower the legal age of majority from 20 to 18, the draft also changes the wording “unmarried minors” in the Nationality Act to “unmarried and under the age of 18.”
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