Constitutional rights of foreigners, etc

Politics Taiwan Politics
21

With that one, I fully agree.

But that doesn’t depend on nationality at all. Citizens or foreigners - it’s never a good idea to flood one’s MPs with “unimportant” stuff (well, that’s always quite subjective, but don’t write to an MP for things that can be easily solved through regular channels or for issues where the situation is very clear and you just don’t like the answer that has been given).

I’d hope that MPs can use some kind of canned response in those situations and not waste too much time on those issues.

That’s why I have personally never in my life contacted an MP in neither country: Either my issues weren’t important enough - or they were important, but a MP wouldn’t have been the right addressee.

Maybe the Australian consulates will act differently - but from my experience, those representatives will just tell that one should rather contact local authorities if the issue involves a local law and or regulation.

With that one, I cannot agree. Once you become a resident (or even a permanent) resident, you’re no longer just a “guest”.

You won’t have full citizen’s rights, but especially permanent residency should not equal “perpetual guest” status. In neither country.

22

When I worked for an MP back home, we had some non-citizens asking us for help with the usual (accessing hospital services, social security, accessing housing, trouble paying their taxes/getting refunds) as well as issues particular to foreign residents (immigration losing their paperwork).

I never found it an annoyance. I don’t even think we’d know who was a non citizen unless they were specially writing to get help with an immigration or naturalisation issue.

We worked for a pretty centre left MP, though, so I don’t think any of the team would have any problem helping out people who weren’t “the right citizenship”. After all, (most) immigrants pay taxes so why look upon them with annoyance?

23

Not sure if it’s obvious, but this was not a new post - I just moved some posts from the legal forum to here.

24

What you are bringing up are trivial queries and assistance it really isn’t the same as what was being discussed.

25

I would imagine constituent services in Taiwan would be similar to Canada—that they may also assist people who are not citizens or permanent residents. At least, that has been my experience here in Canada.

Earlier this year, I was helping the young daughter of a Taiwanese friend. She had been studying in Canada for several years and held a valid Canadian study permit. She had also travelled back and forth between Taiwan and Canada many times without any problems. Then, suddenly, she was denied boarding at Taoyuan Airport because the airline said there was some kind of issue with her eTA. We had no idea what had happened.

We initially thought it might simply be an eTA application error, so we tried applying again. After three days, however, we still had no idea whether the new application had been approved. In the meantime, she still could not board a flight back to Canada.

At that point, I contacted my local Member of Parliament for help. Obviously, she was a Taiwanese citizen with a Canadian study permit—not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Nevertheless, my MP’s office was willing to assist us.

As it turned out, this became a real case of 塞翁失馬，焉知非福—a blessing in disguise.

With the MP’s assistance, we discovered that the problem involved some unexpected bureaucratic red tape. Somehow, this young woman already had Canadian permanent resident status, although neither she nor her mother had any idea about it. Eventually, we had to hire an immigration lawyer to sort everything out.

Long story short, when she was a minor, her biological father had apparently applied for Canadian permanent residence for her many years ago. The application was approved, but for whatever reason, he never ended up moving to Canada. Her mother later remarried, and apparently no one knew that this PR status had ever been granted.

So, in the end, she discovered that she was actually already a Canadian permanent resident—which could potentially save her a tremendous amount of money in international tuition fees.

But honestly, without the help of my MP’s office, I don’t think we would have even known where to start looking. That experience is why I would hope that constituent service in Taiwan is also available to people who live in a legislator’s constituency or otherwise have a legitimate connection to the issue, even if they are not Taiwanese citizens or permanent residents.

26

Sorry, I still don’t agree with it. I know it is accepted in anglophone countries (not all of the West) but I can’t say I agree with it.

27

Well, I called my congressman
And he said, quote:
“I’d like to help you, son
But you’re too young to vote”

:wink:

28

This is why I love to “inundate” public employees with work.

29

Thanks for sharing that story-- it’s a great example of how MPs sometimes go above and beyond with constituent service, even for people who aren’t full citizens. That’s actually quite common in Canada.In Taiwan it’s a bit more mixed. Legislators here are famous for heavy constituent service, but it tends to focus much more on Taiwanese citizens. Foreigners with a legitimate connection can sometimes get help, especially if it’s a clear bureaucratic issue, but you’re right that “Do you have Taiwanese citizenship?” is often the first filter. Things like banking, social care when aging, business setup, and daily admin are noticeably more cumbersome for foreigners here compared to many other countries, even as Taiwan tries to internationalize. So while the spirit exists, the practice is still quite citizenship-centric.

30

Another example of constituent service—this time from U.S. lawmakers. This is just for your reference in case you ever plan to visit Washington, D.C.

If you want to visit major attractions such as the White House or the U.S. Supreme Court, you can sometimes contact a U.S. senator or member of Congress to request assistance with arranging tours. For example, you may be able to attend one of the approximately 30-minute lectures inside the Supreme Court.

A long time ago, I understand that foreign embassies and consulates could arrange certain tours on behalf of foreign visitors. As far as I know, that is no longer an option for some of these attractions. But there is another way: contact a U.S. lawmaker’s office. You can try a senator or a member of Congress—pick whoever you want, even AOC. Oy vey! :joy: and apparently some people are chutzpah enough to contact AOC just to get her office’s reply as a souvenir!

You generally just contact their office online and provide your name and the dates you will be visiting. Many foreign visitors have apparently sought this kind of assistance through congressional constituent-service offices.

I personally contacted a state senator’s office in Washington State. I honestly think how you write the email may matter, too. I started by mentioning how often I visit Washington—sometimes monthly—for cross-border shopping with my family, and that I have many friends and family members in the state. A little bit of “sucking up,” I suppose! Then I asked about the tour.

Of course, you need to plan far in advance. I’m talking about possibly three months ahead. They didn’t really explain why such advance notice was necessary, but I assume it may have something to do with security or background checks.

Anyway, this is another interesting example of how U.S. lawmakers’ offices can sometimes provide assistance even to foreign visitors.

31

I sometimes wonder whether some Taiwanese legislators have never really thought about the fact that some foreigners living in Taiwan will eventually become naturalized Taiwanese citizens and once they do, they will have the right to vote.

Maybe this is one of the key differences between Canada and Taiwan. Here in Canada, MPs often attend immigrant community events and citizenship ceremonies. They will give speeches, welcome new citizens, and, let’s be honest, some of those speeches can be quite political or even partisan. But there is probably a practical political reason for that too: today’s immigrants and new citizens may become tomorrow’s voters.

I get the impression that this kind of political outreach to foreigners and immigrants is less common in Taiwan. Perhaps some legislators simply do not see foreigners as potential future constituents and voters in the same way, although, of course, some of them will eventually naturalize and gain full voting rights.

32

That would be me.

Couldn’t say no to those pretty eyes. :heart_eyes:

37

Tours and Tickets | Representative Ocasio-Cortez I have to correct what I said earlier. It appears that her office restricts constituent services to her own constituents, who I believe are in the Bronx.

I used Senator Patty Murray of Washington State , because Washington is my neighboring state. When I contacted her office while I was living in British Columbia, however, there was no ZIP code restriction.

https://www.murray.senate.gov/tour-our-nations-capital/

38

My advice here you can write to an NGO organisation called Taiwan crossroads that advocates foreigner rights. I wrote to them when I was in prison.