Taiwanese nationality law

Nationality Act 國籍法 Guójí Fǎ (Mandarin) Kok-che̍k Hoat (Taiwanese) Koet-sit Fap (Hakka)
Legislative Yuan
Territorial extent	Free area of the Republic of China (includes Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and outlying islands)
Enacted	February 5, 1929
Effective	February 5, 1929
Administered by	Ministry of the Interior
Amended by
February 9, 2000 (amending the whole law) December 21, 2016 (last amended)
Status: Amended

Taiwanese nationality law details the conditions in which a person is a national of the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan. The Nationality Act is based on the principle of jus sanguinis, children born to at least one Taiwanese parent are automatically nationals at birth. Foreign nationals with residency in Taiwan may naturalize after continuously living in the country for at least five (5) years. Certain foreign immediate family members of Taiwanese nationals may naturalize after continuously living in the country for at least three (3) years.

The current law of Taiwan has a clear distinction between those with and without household registration. Taiwanese law does not distinguish between nationals and citizens. Constitutional civil and political rights as well as citizens’ responsibilities are only granted to those nationals who establish their household registration in Taiwan.

From the history of the Republic of China, the country had once controlled the territories of today's People's Republic of China (PRC) and Mongolia. There is ongoing political debate of whether the nationality law is still applicable to persons residing in those territories. While the executive branch of the government published explanations in May 2023 determining that Mainland Chinese residents are no longer to be considered ROC nationals, ^[1] legal scholars argue that the matter is not resolved as executive branch explanations are not legally binding and that unless amended by the Legislative Yuan, both the Nationality Act and the Cross-Strait Act still include citizens of Mainland China (i.e., the PRC) as ROC nationals.^[2]