The Ministry of the Interior's proposed amendment to the Nationality Act, which reduces the residency requirement for citizenship to two years and waives the price for the permit for exceptional talent, was recently accepted by the Executive Yuan.
The Ministry of the Interior noted that the new legislation amended the section of the article pertaining to foreigners from "unmarried minors" to "unmarried and under 18 years old" in response to the Civil Code reducing the age of majority to 18 years old. In addition, since only stateless children and teenagers can currently have their Taiwanese adoptive fathers or mothers apply for naturalization on their behalf, this time, when the social welfare authorities or social welfare institutions are their guardians, they can also do so in order to better protect the rights and interests of minors. The acquisition of Taiwanese citizenship will provide these kids access to entitlements including health care and education.
The Cabinet adopts proposed changes to reduce naturalization residency rule to 2 years.Photo reproduced from Pixabay
This amendment also relaxes the number of years for foreign senior professionals to apply for naturalized residence. From the current three consecutive years and they must have legally resided in Taiwan for more than 183 days each year, to two consecutive years or have legally resided in Taiwan for more than five consecutive years.
Additionally, in order to thank special foreign talents for their long-term contributions in Taiwan, including in the fields of medical care, social welfare, education and other areas, as well as their contributions to rural areas, this time, foreigners or stateless persons who have made "significant contributions" in Taiwan and applied for naturalization are exempted from the nationality license fee of NT$1,200.
