Taiwanese American - Citizenship Status

Citizenship Status

In the 1960s, many Taiwanese Americans chose to make America their permanent home and had children in the U.S. Many sought refuge from the numerous arrests and executions of the White Terror (Taiwan) of the Kuomingtang. By the late 1970s, improving economic conditions in Taiwan slowed the rate of immigration. During the 1990s, political liberalization in Taiwan encouraged many who had left Taiwan for political reasons to return.

Although the oath of naturalization for the United States contains a statement renouncing "allegiance and fidelity" to other countries, the Republic of China does not recognize this renunciation as sufficient to end ROC citizenship, and requires that a person who wishes to renounce ROC citizenship make another oath before an ROC consular officer and get approval from the Ministry of the Interior, subject to denial for certain reasons. Without the formal renunciation, the ROC government considers Taiwanese immigrants with American citizenship to continue to be citizens of the Republic of China. Acquiring US citizenship does not cancel the holder's status as a resident of Taiwan, which makes Taiwanese Americans eligible to vote in the ROC elections, provided that they physically travel to their place of residency. Children of full Taiwanese citizens are not entitled to Taiwanese citizenship, and ID card automatically. Taiwan makes a distinction between nationality and citizenship. While all Chinese people are entitled to ROC nationality, they are not entitled to citizenship, and they can't get the ID card. The ROC also issues separate passports for overseas citizens and local residents who have ID cards and are considered full citizens.