Taiwanese Citizen Classified ‘Stateless’ on Iceland Residence Permit

The News Lens
Date: 2016/11/21
By: Olivia Yang

Lee says at least being ‘stateless’ means Iceland authorities agree with her that ‘Taiwan is not part of China.’

The nationality of a Taiwanese citizen has been classified as “stateless” on her residence permit in Iceland, and a photo of the permit has sparked discussion in Taiwan and China.

Lee Wan-chien (李宛蒨), 23, is currently in Iceland on a six-month student exchange program and has been applying for a residence permit with a “Taiwanese” nationality for three months. Lee has shared her application experience through three Facebook posts this month, with the most recent, on Nov. 18. showing a photo of the latest permit she received having her nationality as “Stateless.”

Lee says in her first post on Nov. 1 that she emailed The Directorate of Immigration in Iceland three times explaining why she hoped her nationality on her ID card could be changed to “Taiwanese” instead of “Chinese.” However, all three emails did not receive a reply, and Lee went directly to the immigration office where an official said the nationality could not be changed because Taiwan is not recognized as a country.    [FULL  STORY]