Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-04-22

The interior ministry has released figures showing a drop in the number of people who acquired Taiwanese nationality last year. The figures show that over 3000 people naturalized last year, but there were 360 fewer new citizens than in 2015, a drop of 10%.

According to the interior ministry, the majority of those who naturalized last year were female foreign spouses of Taiwanese nationals, with the largest number coming from Vietnam. Foreigners married to Taiwanese nationals continue to form the bulk of those seeking naturalization.

However, efforts to prevent sham marriages, including interviews with prospective spouses outside of Taiwan, have seen the number of naturalizations drop from their peak of over 13,000 in 2008. While still at over 90%, the proportion of foreign spouses among those seeking to naturalize has also been falling since 2009.    [SOURCE]