Group opposes limiting mainland spouses

An official from the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) Su Ching-chao yesterday accepted a petition from the group and said that he will forward the petition to relevant authorities.

Current regulation allow mainland spouses to apply to stay in Taiwan as a dependent after being married for two years.

After another four years of residing in Taiwan, the mainland spouses can apply for a long stay visa two years after which they can apply for an Republic of China (ROC) I.D. card.

The draft amendment by the MOI will increase the waiting time for those with long-stay visas applying for an ROC I.D. card by some eight years and the waiting time for those applying for long-stay visas by another eight years.

A mainland spouse who arrived in Taiwan eight years ago said that if the MOI’s draft amendment passes, she would have to wait thirty years in order to get an I.D. card.

Tang Shu, secretary-general of the private Chunghua Cross-Strait Marriage Consultation Association, said that provisions in the draft amendment reducing the quotas of mainland spouses discriminate against mainland spouses.

He called on the MOI to delete the provisions before the amendment reaches the Executive Yuan and said that the association will stage another public demonstration if its demands are not met.

Tang said that the government’s restrictions imposed on mainland spouses applying for citizenship is stricter than that imposed on foreign spouses.

He called on the government to draft an amendment to allow for mainland spouses to be treated the same as foreign spouses in the process of obtaining their I.D. cards.

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