New immigrants
5. In the 2022 Independent Opinion on the Second National Report on the CRC,
§6 indicated that some children of Chinese nationality under the age of 18
who had been living and studying in Taiwan for years and had not yet been
naturalized were not able to return to Taiwan for over six months due to
COVID-19 after traveling to China to visit relatives, thus affecting their right to
family reunification.4 The NHRC was also concerned that, under Article 4 of the
Nationality Act ,5 New immigrant children who had not yet been naturalized
faced potential difficulties in the naturalization process and in obtaining
nationality because they were unable to meet the residency requirement,
since they could not return to Taiwan as scheduled during COVID-19 due to
differential border controls.
Migrant workers
6. Impacts of the pandemic policy on migrant workers included differential
treatment in quarantine and immigration control and issues experienced
by non-national children attempting to return to their home countries or to
4
5
See §6 of NHRC’s 2022 Independent Opinion on the Second National Report on the CRC.
Article 4 of the Nationality Act : Foreign nationals or stateless persons who currently have domicile in the territory of the ROC,
meet the conditions prescribed in Subparagraphs 2 to 5 of Paragraph 1 of Article 3, and have legally resided in the territory
of the ROC for more than 183 days each year for at least three consecutive years, may apply for naturalization if any of
the following circumstances apply: 1. If they are married to an ROC national, they are not required to meet the conditions
prescribed in Subparagraph 4 of Paragraph 1 of Article 3. 2. They have divorced an ROC national due to domestic violence
and have not since remarried, or their ROC spouse has died and they have not remarried and can demonstrate they remain
in contact with family members of their deceased spouse. However, those who had been married to an ROC national for
at least two years before his or her death are exempted from the requirement concerning contact with family members.
3. They support their children who possess ROC nationality and who are legally incompetent or have limited legal
competence, exercise rights and obligations on behalf of such children, and meet and interact in person with them. 4. They
have at least one parent who is or was an ROC national. 5. They have been adopted by an ROC national. 6. They were born
in the territory of the ROC. 7. They are the guardian or assistant of an ROC national. Foreign nationals or stateless persons
who are unmarried minors, whose (adoptive) father or (adoptive) mother is an ROC national, who have legally resided in
the territory of the ROC for less than three years, and who do not meet the conditions prescribed in Subparagraph 2, 4, and
5 of Paragraph 1 of Article 3, may apply for naturalization.
8