Special Visas for Hong Kong and Macao Extended

Since limitations on visits to Hong Kong have been relaxed and restrictions on visiting relatives on the mainland lifted, increasing numbers of people from the R.O.C. have traveled to Hong Kong. The Bureau of Entry and Exit has developed an even more effective means to handle the increase.

1. Implement the issuing of special visas while in Hong Kong.

2. Special visas to Hong Kong and Macao, and yearlong visas may be extended for three years.

3. The scope of people who qualify as sponsors of overseas Chinese from Hong Kong and Macao will continue to enlarge.

Large-scale Relaxations Concerning Quali. fications of Students Studying Abroad

The Ministry of Education has made the following revisions: Now, students who have graduated from a public or private high School, or any higher level of education, or passed the Higher Civil Service Examination or Junior-Grade Civil Service Examination and has completed his military duty, or those who are exempt from military duty, may apply to study abroad.

The Ministry of Education has stated that high School graduates who wish to study abroad must score 450 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or 240 in Japanese, German, French, or Spanish. Graduates from universities and colleges must score above 500 on TOEFL, or above 300 in Japanese, German, French, Or Spanish

Revisions in Resident Regulation for Over seas Chinese With Dual Citizenship

Revisions concerning overseas Chinese With dual citizenship who use a foreign passport to come to Taiwan on a shortterm visa to apply for residency as follows:Anyone stating marriage, work, or investment as a reason for applying for residency must apply for a resident visa. Those Who possess an alien residency certificate for more than two years or four years Inay establish their permanent domicile, obtain R.O.C. nationality, and obtain a Citizenship identification card.

Major revisions include the following:

1.Minors who are dependent on their parents and wish to establish domicile must meet the following: One whose father has established a domicile on Taiwan, and is a dependant of a blood relative (including parents and grandparents) or one who provides a death certificate of a deceased father, and is a dependant of a mother has established domicile on Taiwan.

2.Adult applicants who wish to establish domicile must meet the following conditions: Those who return to Taiwan to be  reunited with their spouse, have changed to a resident visa, and possess an alien residency certificate for more than four years, or have spent a period of more than four years in the R.O.C. Those who are permitted to work in the R.O.C., changed their visas to resident visas, and possess an alien residency certificate for more than four years. However, if other laws have special requirements, they should also be followed. Those who come to the R.O.C. to invest, have changed their visas to resident visas, and possess an alien  residency certificate for more than two years. or those with a grandparent or a parent whose household is registered on Taiwan, and who is above sixty years old without being taken care of. Under special circumstances residency may be  granted after inspection on a case-by-case basis.  

3.The application and Supporting documents may be sent to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission which will later be forwarded to the Bureau of Entry & Exit. It is not necessary to apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

4.In order to prevent falsification of death certificates, marital status certificates, and divorce certificates, such documentation must pass units abroad for verification and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for inspection.