Nationality Law of the Republic of China
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The Nationality Law of the Republic of China (traditional Chinese: 中華民國國籍法; simplified Chinese: 中华民国国籍法; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó guójí fǎ) [1] regulates citizenship in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was first promulgated by the Nationalist Government on February 5, 1929 and revised by the Taipei-based Legislative Yuan in 2000, 2001, and 2006.
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[edit] Citizenship
Republic of China citizenship generally follows jus sanguinis. The law spells out four criteria, any one of which may be met to qualify for citizenship:
- A person whose father or mother is, at the time of his (her) birth, a citizen of the Republic of China.
- A person born after the death of his (her) father or mother who was, at the time of his (her) death, a citizen of the Republic of China.
- A person born in the territory of the Republic of China and whose parents are both unknown or are stateless.
- A naturalized person.
In the original version of the law citizenship could only be passed from father to child. However, the law was revised in 2000 to allow citizenship to be passed on from either parents, taking effect on those born after February 9, 1980 (those under age 20 at the time of the promulgation).
[edit] Comparison with other countries
[edit] Dual nationality
Article 9 of the ROC Nationality Act requires prospective naturalized citizens to first renounce their previous nationality, possibly causing those persons to become stateless if they then fail to obtain ROC nationality.[2] An article in the September 2007, issue of Refugees magazine, published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, noted that the Republic of China has caused thousands of Vietnamese women to become stateless.[3]
The Act does not restrict ROC citizens from becoming dual nationals of other countries. Dual nationals are however restricted by Article 20 from holding most public offices. Indeed many immigrants to the ROC give up their original nationality, obtain ROC citizenship, then apply again for their original nationality—which some countries will restore, some after a waiting period. This entire process is fully legal under ROC law, though statistics are not available regarding how many people do this.
Many countries permit dual citizenship. Some, e.g., in the case of Japan, or the case of Singapore, or in the case of Norway do not. For those that do not, the goal to restrict multiple allegiances is generally bidirectional, without distinction according to who is already a citizen made by Article 9.
[edit] Statistical effects
Indeed, comparing ROC [4] and Western world immigration statistics (e.g., U.S.[5]), it is virtually a one way flow.[citation needed] Many western faces may be seen in Taiwan, but they are nearly certain not to have citizenship.[citation needed]
[edit] Mainland Chinese
The Republic of China's claim to be the sole government of China remains a controversial political issue. Legally, however, nothing affected the ROC citizenship status of the ROC citizens in mainland China when the ROC capital was relocated to Taipei in 1949. These ROC citizens in Mainland China were not granted the right of abode in Taiwan.
[edit] Overseas Chinese without right of abode
Citizens of the Republic of China are entitled to hold Republic of China passports. The passport is also issued to overseas Chinese, irrespective of whether they have lived or even set foot in Taiwan.
The rationale behind this extension of the principle of jus sanguinis to almost all Chinese regardless of their countries of residence, as well as the recognition of dual citizenships, is to acknowledge the support given by overseas Chinese historically to the Kuomintang regime, particularly during the Republican Revolution of 1911. However, the granting of these "overseas Chinese passports" which do not include the right of abode is a violation of article 13(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which declares: "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."[6][citation needed]
[edit] Republic of China National Identification Card
However, in practice, exercise of other citizenship benefits, such as suffrage, labor rights, and access to national health insurance, requires possession of the Republic of China National Identification Card, which is only issued to persons with household registration in the Taiwan Area. ROC nationals who do not hold household registration in Taiwan have no automatic right to stay in Taiwan, nor do they have work rights, voting rights, etc. In a similar fashion, some British passport holders do not have the right of abode in the UK. See British nationality law.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "{{subst:PAGENAME}}". http://www.immigration.gov.tw/immig_eng/aspcode/showactsregu.asp?id=3.
- ^ "Not allowed to be Taiwanese". jidanni.org. http://jidanni.org/foreigner/index.html. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
- ^ UNHCR Refugees Magazine Issue 147: "The Excluded: The strange hidden world of the stateless"
- ^ "Taiwan immigration statistics". http://sowf.moi.gov.tw/stat/year/elist.htm.
- ^ "US immigration statistics". http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics/.
- ^ The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The United Nations, http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html.
[edit] External links
- 碩士論文:我國國籍法制與實施現況之研究 (Chinese (Taiwan))
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