I don’t know who is keeping statistics on this, if anyone. What would the government gain by publishing a list of stateless people they had deprived of all citizenship? I too would love to have some harder information and hope to get some over time.
Saying “quite a number” was an overstatement on my part, but it is serious enough to get at least some of the social workers who work with immigrants in the south to begin organizing around it. If they are delusional, then society is in better shape than they think. I will take that as good news.
I came in contact with this issue specifically through my wife’s work in the field of domestic violence counseling. Her work brings her into contact with social workers and others working on both human trafficking issues and violence against immigrants.
The particular social worker who is filling us in on this problem is based in Pingdong and works for the 屏東縣好好婦女權益發展協會 (Hao Hao Women’s Rights Organization). They are specifically concerned with foreign spouses, brides in this case, who have left their husbands due to domestic violence reasons. By leaving their husbands during their citizenship application period, they lose the right to stay, but they also have no right to return home if they have already renounced their original citizenship. Technically, there are supposed to be legal means for them to gain citizenship, but they often fail (see excerpts below for details).
Although I would prefer, and think we deserve, the right to dual citizenship, I think the Hao Hao Women’s Rights Organization would be satisfied with a system that ensured these women would retain citizenship in at least one country at all times, rather than having a limbo period where they have given up their original citizenship but have not yet gained Taiwanese citizenship.
Here are a couple paragraphs on the topic:
Excerpted from:
屏東縣好好婦女權益發展協會
2010年屏東縣新移民家暴處理溝通平台會議
新移民申請台灣國籍遭拒及無法回復原國籍案件處理現況與困境
計畫書
新移民遭遇家庭暴力事件後,往往因涉及入出國移民法規及公民身份取得等複雜之法規層面而發生喪失國籍之案例,檢視現今國內相關新移民實施之政策法規,己見有內政部訂頒「內政部處理大陸地區及外籍配偶遭受家庭暴力案件應行注意事項」,97及98年度陸續修訂「入出國及移民法」及「家庭暴力防治法」中均將有關新移民被害人權益保障及保護法令納入其中。但,對於新移民在面臨家庭暴力案件發生之際,若正值申請歸化國籍時,就實務上仍可看見相關法令或福利措施在執行過程中仍常見有疏漏之缺口,或相關專責人員因不熟悉法令之規範而產生處理漏洞,還有因新移民遭受家暴離家後,不易被移民署訪查之等原因,以致於未能及時提供新移民有關申請國籍時之重要資訊,導致新移民遭受取消我國國籍之權利,當損其權益;而當姐妹欲回復原母國國籍時亦遭原母國拒絕回復,據內政部戶政司表示現在產生在台產生無國籍者約近百位,而屏東境內這一二年也陸續出現姐妹無法順利取得或回復原國籍之案件頻生。
綜觀新移民家庭暴力案件及在台處境分析,新移民處於確實容易遭受家暴權控的弱勢處境。因此,本會自成立以來便積極參與推動新移民相關政策及權益法令倡議,並與【移民/住人權修法聯盟】所有團體伙伴不斷為新移民人權議題展開一連串的發聲行動,尤其本會在協助處理新移民家庭暴力案件的過程中,除了政策法令的倡議外,並將新移民暴力防治網絡人員相關訓練列為重點工作事項,並加強與防治網絡單位對話,提升第一線基層人員在職教育訓練(包含警政、社政、醫療、司法等相關網絡人員),以強化對於新移民因申請國籍遭拒或回復原母國國籍時亦遭拒之提供必要支持與協助,降低新移民的無助感。
All I got for now. If/when I get more, I’ll post it.