resident visa. However, with the exception of investor immigrants, the Act
does not permit the application for a permanent alien resident visa filed by
foreign professionals’ minor children. Clearly, this regulation is flawed in the
protection of the right to family reunion. Upon investigation and subsequent
follow-up by the Control Yuan, the Executive Yuan drafted the Act for the
Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, which was passed by
the Legislative Yuan on October 31, 2017 and came into force on February 8,
2018. In contrast, Article 23 of the Immigration Act provides that the migrant
workers referred to in subparagraphs 8–10, Paragraph 1 of Article 46 of the
Employment Service Act (blue-collar workers) are not allowed to apply for
resident visas for their spouses and minor children.
138. In order to ensure homeland security, the Immigration Act provides the
requirements for prohibition of foreign workers from entering the country, and
authorizes the Operational Directions for the Entry Ban on Foreign Nationals
to set forth a time limit on the entry ban. Said Directions do set forth
requirements on applications for shortening the entry ban or lifting the entry
ban by taking into consideration the right to family reunion. According to the
Directions, those holding an illegally obtained, counterfeit, or altered passport
or visa, should be subject to an entry ban for 10 years, irrelevant of whether
the counterfeit or illegally obtained passport or visa was a result of intention
or negligence. Even if the requirements regarding a shortened entry ban are
satisfied, in some cases the concerned parties must still suffer a 5-year entry
ban. Accordingly, their fundamental rights to family reunion, co-habitation
and joint raising of children are denied. In order to maintain homeland security,
the Immigration Agency takes charge of management of borders where entry
to and exit from the country occur, but it is also obligated to protect
immigrants’ human rights. It is supposed to review the changes in international
conditions, review related laws and regulations thoroughly, make rolling or
contingency plans for adjustments to changing conditions, and consider entry
bans for a reasonable time frame on a case-by-case basis. This is necessary to
meet Taiwan’s basic national policy of upholding itself as a state established
on the basis of human rights. Upon investigation and subsequent follow-up by
the Control Yuan, the Ministry of Interior has amended the Operational
Directions for the Entry Ban on Foreign Nationals as of May 28, 2020, in order
to relax the related control and time limit requirements.
Article 24 Child Protection
Child Protection
139. The “physical and mental abuse” referred to in subparagraph 2, Paragraph 1
of Article 49 of the Protection of Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Act
and “other misconduct” referred to in subparagraph 15, Paragraph 1 of Article
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