Taiwan to tighten residency rules for Chinese nationals

Taipei, Aug. 7 (CNA) Chinese nationals seeking permanent residency in Taiwan through family-based applications will be required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese passport, under a newly drafted amendment to residency regulations by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI).

The draft amendment will require Chinese nationals to submit a notarized document proving they have either not applied for or renounced their Chinese passport when applying for long-term or permanent residency in Taiwan as a family-dependent, according to a notice issued by the MOI on July 23.

Permanent residency is an intermediate status granted to Chinese nationals in Taiwan, allowing them to apply for household registration within a designated period and thereby obtain Taiwanese citizenship. They can then receive a Taiwanese ID and become eligible to apply for a Taiwanese passport.

Under the current Articles 30 and 31 of the "Regulations Governing the Residency, Long-Term Residency or Residency for Naturalization of the People of the Mainland China Area Living With a Relative in the Taiwan Area" (the Regulations), Chinese nationals are only required to submit proof of losing their "original household registration," meaning their household registration in China.

The current requirement under the Regulations is based on Article 17 of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (Cross-Strait Act), which states that a Chinese national applying for permanent residency in Taiwan must submit "a proof of losing its original household registration."

According to the draft amendment, the requirement under the Regulations will be revised from submitting proof of "losing original household registration" to proof of "losing household registration in the Mainland Area and having not applied for or renounced a Mainland passport."

The change further clarifies that the term "original household registration" -- based on a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) interpretation of the Cross-Strait Act issued in May -- refers to any identity or documentation indicating status as "people of the Mainland Area," which applicants must not retain, the MOI said in the notice.

The ministry also noted that the draft amendment aligns with Article 9-1 of the Cross-Strait Act, which stipulates that "the people of the Taiwan Area may not have household registrations in the Mainland Area or hold passports issued by the Mainland Area."

"It aims to prevent situations in which individuals from the Mainland Area, after renouncing their household registration in Mainland Area, continue to apply for or hold a Mainland passport, resulting in confusion over identity across the Taiwan Strait," the MOI added.

The draft amendment is also part of efforts under a set of 17 strategies introduced by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) in March to address five major national security and united front threats posed by China, the MOI said in the notice, which was open for public comment for just seven days.

However, it is unlikely Chinese nationals seeking to become Taiwanese citizens will be able to obtain such proof from Chinese authorities, as the People's Republic of China (PRC, China's official name) does not recognize the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan's official name) as a sovereign state.

In response to a question from CNA about the feasibility of Chinese nationals obtaining proof of having renounced their Chinese passport from the PRC government, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said Thursday, "We have not seen any known instances of such cases."

In terms of alternatives, Liang said at a regular news briefing that individuals who are unable to obtain the required proof will be allowed to submit an affidavit. "Put simply, by signing it [the affidavit], you're declaring that you have not obtained a Mainland passport," he said.

"However, if it's later discovered that you used a Mainland passport to travel to other countries or return to China, that raises questions about your honesty, and your previously granted permanent residency could be affected," Liang added.

It is likely that most Chinese nationals seeking permanent residency in Taiwan will have to rely on the affidavit method to fulfill the passport renunciation requirement imposed by Taiwanese authorities.

Explaining the reason for the draft amendment, Liang said that in the past, Taiwanese authorities were unable to verify whether a Chinese national seeking to become a Taiwanese citizen held a Mainland passport.

While noting that the passport-holding rate among Chinese citizens is relatively low, at around 12 percent, Liang said some people have questioned "why we haven't enforced the passport-related provision," referring to a clause in the Cross-Strait Act that prohibits Taiwanese nationals from "holding passports issued by the Mainland Area."

Such concerns prompted the MAC to push for the draft amendment, he said.

The public notice period for the draft regulation has ended, and the MOI will announce the implementation date after reviewing collected feedback, according to the ministry.