National without household registration

Although NWOHR status only has one Chinese-language name, the Ministry of Justice has used several English translations. These include: "nationals without registered permanent residence in the Taiwan Area",[2] "non-citizen ROC nationals",[3] "unregistered nationals",[4] "Overseas Chinese having not established household registration in the Republic of China",[5] and "people without nationalities in Taiwan".[6] The Taipei Times occasionally uses "nationals without citizenship".[7][8]

The Republic of China (ROC) governed mainland China from 1912 to 1949.[9] The islands of Taiwan and Penghu were ceded to the Empire of Japan in 1895 by Qing China, the last ruling dynastic Chinese regime, following its defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War. Control of these islands was transferred to the ROC in 1945 after the Second World War.[10] Near the end of the Chinese Civil War, the Nationalist government was forced to retreat to Taiwan by the Communist Party, which subsequently established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. Since the conclusion of the war, the ROC has controlled only the Taiwan Area.[11]

At the Cold War era, the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan continues to constitutionally claim territories control by the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) as part of its territory.[12][13] Because of this, the Nationality Act treated residents of those territories as nationals. Additionally, because Taiwanese nationality law operates under the principle of jus sanguinis, most overseas Chinese, Mongolian, and Taiwanese were also regarded as nationals during this era.[14] During the Cold War, both the ROC and PRC governments actively sought the support of overseas Chinese communities in their attempts to secure the position as the legitimate sole government of China. The ROC also encouraged overseas Chinese businessmen to settle in Taiwan to facilitate economic development. Regulations concerning evidence of ROC nationality by descent were particularly lax during this period, allowing many overseas Chinese the right to settle in Taiwan.[15]

From the late 1980s, Taiwan developed a stronger sense of local national identity and more readily asserted its separate identity from that of China. Legal reforms between 1999 and 2002 greatly reduced the ease by which further grants of ROC nationality were made to overseas Chinese and restricted citizenship rights only to those with household registration in Taiwan.[16] Full citizenship rights, including permanent residence and voting, can only be exercised by nationals who have been registered.[17] NWOHRs are now treated as an external population to Taiwan.[18]

Residents of Mongolia, which was part of Imperial China until 1911, were also regarded as if they were mainland Chinese residents until 2002, when the Mainland Affairs Council removed the country from the administrative definition of the Mainland Area. Since then, Mongolians have been treated as foreigners and are required to apply for visas before entering Taiwan.[19] In May 2013, the Mainland Affairs Council reaffirmed that Outer Mongolia is not a part of ROC's territorial claims and Mongolia is a sovereign state. [20]

Residents of mainland China, which is now under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China (PRC), were identified as nationals given the pre-1949 history of the Republic of China. In May 2023, Executive Yuan released a policy memorandum to clarify that: "The people of mainland China do not have ROC nationality, and hence are not ROC nationals." (中國大陸人民不具中華民國國籍、非屬中華民國國民)[21]

Cerrently, people with NWOHR status are estimated to be around 60,000, mainly overseas Taiwanese, Chinese, and Mongolian living in East Asian countries of Japan and South Korea as well as the Southeast Asian countries of Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Among the NWOHRs living in Taiwan, many of them are ethnic Chinese from the Philippines descended from ROC nationals.[7] A significant portion also come from Myanmar and Thailand, where Republic of China Army detachments fled to after the Chinese Civil War. Descendants of these soldiers entered Taiwan on forged or stolen passports, often to enroll in universities. Because they were not considered nationals of the countries they traveled from, they could not be deported.[22] 875 of these descendants and 107 members of the Tibetan diaspora were granted amnesty in 2009, allowing them to apply for residency.[3]

This ROC passport does not have a national identification card number listed in its details page, meaning that the holder is a national without household registration.

Children born to at least one parent with nationality are automatically nationals at birth regardless of their place of birth. Recently, people who acquired nationality by birth are mainly Taiwanese people living in Taiwan or overseas. For historical reasons, many ethnic Chinese and Mongolian living overseas may also acquired nationality by providing valid documents issued by the government of the Republic of China that verify their parent's ROC nationality.[23]

Because the household registration in Taiwan are only granted automatically to nationals born in ROC-controlled areas, any person residing overseas claiming ROC nationality by descent would be an NWOHR.[24] Foreigners who acquire ROC nationality through naturalization do not acquire household registration as part of the naturalization process and are also NWOHRs until they register for permanent settlement in Taiwan.[25]

Requirements for acquiring documentation from the Taiwanese government certifying NWOHR status for non-naturalized nationals differ depending on the region that the applicants originate from, whether they or their parents have ever held an ROC passport, and if they have registered as overseas Chinese at a Taiwanese diplomatic mission.[23] Children born overseas to nationals already holding ROC passports are subject to no additional requirements other than providing sufficient proof of a parent's nationality.[26] In 2010, the government estimated more than 30 million people are estimated to be eligible to claim passports through nationality by descent.[27]

Individuals from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau who do not also possess household registration in Taiwan are generally ineligible for passports and must obtain specific approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be granted exceptions.[28] However, Hong Kong and Macau residents who had established overseas Chinese status before the end of colonial rule are exempt from this requirement and continue to be regarded as if they were other overseas Chinese.[29] Residents originating from PRC-controlled areas who currently live overseas and have lived there for more than four years with established permanent residence may be issued passports if: they have been married to Taiwan Area persons for more than two years, or have children; and have special skills in their professional fields, or made extraordinary contributions to Taiwan.[30] Mainland Area persons must additionally surrender their Chinese passports.[31] Hong Kong and Macau residents are ineligible if they possess foreign travel documents, except for British National (Overseas) passports and Portuguese passports originally acquired before Macau's transfer in 1999.[29] Residents from these areas may also be granted passports if they are invited to represent Taiwan in international competitions or under special discretionary circumstances, and if they currently live either in Taiwan or overseas.[32]

NWOHRs may voluntarily relinquish the status by application to the Ministry of the Interior, provided that they have acquired another nationality or are married to foreign nationals.[33] The status may be deprived if it was fraudulently acquired.[34] All Taiwanese nationals, including NWOHRs, who obtain hukou in mainland China automatically have their passports cancelled and any residence rights in Taiwan revoked.[35]

Although NWOHRs may travel using a Taiwanese passport, because the status by itself does not give its holders residence rights in Taiwan, they face restrictions when traveling there and are not treated identically to Taiwanese nationals with household registration when entering other countries. For example, visa waivers for holders of Taiwanese passports traveling into the Schengen Area only apply to those with household registration.[36]

Taiwan

See also: Household registration in Taiwan

A multiple-entry permit attached to a Taiwanese NWOHR passport allowing its holder to visit Taiwan for up to three years

Nationals without household registration are subject to immigration controls and do not have automatic residence or employment rights in Taiwan. They may not enter ROC-controlled areas with only their NWOHR passports. NWOHRs must also present an endorsement letter from an Overseas Community Affairs Council certifying their residency overseas, a Certificate of Alien Registration from South Korea indicating their long-term or permanent residence status there, or an entry permit from the National Immigration Agency.[37] They may also enter Taiwan with an Exit & Entry Permit without having to present a passport.[37] Each visit is restricted to three months, which may be extended once per visit for a further three months.[38]

NWOHRs given approval to reside in Taiwan are restricted from rights and benefits reserved for full Taiwanese citizens. They are not entitled to hold national identification cards and are given Taiwan Area Resident Certificates instead.[7] The lack of household registration makes them ineligible for national health insurance[39] and automatic workers' compensation coverage.[8] They cannot vote in elections or stand for public office.[40] NWOHRs who concurrently hold foreign nationality are additionally required to apply for work permits to be employed in Taiwan.[41]