Legislative committee approves draft amendments easing naturalization rules

Taipei, April 24 (CNA) A Legislative Yuan committee on Wednesday approved draft amendments to the Nationality Act to ease residency requirements for some foreign professionals applying for naturalization and allow social welfare government agencies to apply for naturalization on behalf of stateless children residing in Taiwan.

The amendments were first approved by the Executive Yuan before being submitted to the Legislature's Internal Administration Committee for preliminary review.

The Executive Yuan approved draft indicated that the amendments were designed in light of growing global competitiveness in the field of talent recruitment.

The Cabinet suggested that loosening the criteria for naturalization and enabling individuals to retain their original nationality will help Taiwan attract such professionals.

The proposal stipulated that to encourage the retention of professional talents, the required period of residence for foreign high-level professionals applying for citizenship will be cut from the current requirement of three continuous years, which is defined as being in the country for at least 183 days each year.

Under the proposed changes, the required period of residence would be reduced 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.

In addition, to better protect children's rights, the draft bill includes a new provision that allows social welfare authorities or institutions acting as guardians of stateless children to apply for Republic of China (ROC) nationality on their behalf.

Under the existing law, only the adoptive parents of stateless persons who are unmarried minors can apply for ROC naturalization on their behalf, as long as at least one of the parents is a ROC citizen, according to the Ministry of the Interior (MOI).

Moreover, as Taiwan has amended its Civil Code to lower the legal age of majority -- the threshold of adulthood -- from 20 to 18, the draft bill also changes the wording "unmarried minors" in the existing Nationality Act to "unmarried and under the age of 18."

In conclusion, committee convener Legislator Wu Chi-ming (吳琪銘) said after approving the draft proposal on Wednesday, the amendment will be forwarded for legislative discussions without having to go through a debate between caucuses.