International Roundup - September 30, 2003

Chinese spouses of Taiwanese citizens are protesting an amendment proposed by the Taiwanese government that will revise its law regarding Republic of China identification cards. The revised law would extend the length of time Chinese spouses must wait to obtain ID cards from eight to eleven years. Under current law, Chinese spouses have to wait five years in order to qualify to apply for the cards, while other foreign spouses are eligible to apply for ID cards one year after they obtain right of abode in Taiwan.

Another pending amendment proposes to eliminate the limit on Chinese spouses applying for right of abode. Currently, only 3600 Chinese spouses can apply. However, officials at the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) are opposed to this portion of the amendment, which will encourage Chinese people to migrate to Taiwan.

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The Australian parliament has passed legislation that will impose harsh penalties on corrupt migrant agents. The new legislation toughens the registration for migration agents and allows unregistered agents who give migration advice to be imprisoned for up to ten years. The Migration Agents Registration Authority will also be granted more power to discipline agents who submit false claims or overcharge their clients. The new legislation was introduced as a result of concerns over Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock’s abuses of his discretionary power to grant visas.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has introduced a bill that will improve the ability of residents of former Soviet republics to obtain Russian citizenship. The presidential legal amendments eliminate several of the conditions for obtaining Russian citizenship contained in the July 2002 citizenship law.

The 2002 law extended the requirement to spend three years in Russia to five years. It also required applicants to pass a Russian language examination and to have a job. Supporters of the 2002 law said that the previous law allowed anyone to become a Russian citizen, which resulted in an increase in crime.

Putin’s amendments would allow former Soviet citizens who were officially registered in Russia as of July 1, 2002 to receive Russian citizenship without the five-year residence requirement, language exam, job requirement and a residence permit. These rules will apply to those who apply for naturalization by January 1, 2006. Critics of the amendments claim that immigration to Russia will be hindered.