TAIWAN TOP PICK FOR MIGRATING VIETNAMESE
Half of nearly 25,000 who give up citizenships pick Taiwan to take up new nationalities
ALMOST 25,000 Vietnamese nationals have given up their citizenships over the last five years.
Taiwan has become their favourite place to take up their new nationalities, followed by Germany and South Korea.
Vn Express reports that according to a review report submitted to the Parliament on Monday, 24,370 individuals have renounced their Vietnamese citizenship between 2016 and last year.
Some 10,245 of them applied for Taiwan citizenship, Germany (9,924) and South Korea (1,418).
President Nguyen Phu Trong said in the report that other countries and territories where Vietnamese nationals sought to acquire new citizenship included Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Norway, the Netherlands and the United States.
The report also said that 1,598 foreign citizens and stateless people have received Vietnamese citizenships in the past five years.
Laos topped the list with 1,443 of its citizens applying for Vietnamese citizenship.
Vietnam only accepts a single nationality, which means those who want to apply for Vietnamese citizenship need to give up their existing nationality and vice-versa.
However, exceptions are allowed when they are the parent or child of a Vietnamese citizen, or have made special contributions to the development of the country.
In some special cases, one can hold dual nationality with the Vietnamese president’s consent.
Government data also shows that nearly 100,000 Vietnamese citizens leave the country each year to live in more developed nations.
The trend is also apparent in
the growing number of Vietnamese investors moving overseas and wealthy families deciding to emigrate, despite the higher costs of living, cultural differences, language barrier and complex visa requirements.
As of last year, the overseas Vietnamese community in 130 countries and territories totalled 5.3 million people.
According to the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, about 300,000 of them are directly involved in scientific and technological development industries.
The ministry, however, said Vietnam needed its expertise in the country, with some experts also expressing concern over the brain drain that can result from the growing trend of Vietnamese people choosing to settle down in other countries.