Taipei: After Marcin Zbylut became a Taiwanese citizen in early 2020, life for the Polish-born traditional Chinese medicine doctor remained much the same, including his work at two clinics in Greater Taipei and the family responsibilities he carried. But something did shift. "The biggest thing for me was that I felt like now I fully belong to Taiwan, that I'm part of the society," Zbylut, 49, told CNA in a recent interview. For him, obtaining Taiwanese citizenship through a special route for high-level foreign professionals was a way of deepening his ties to Taiwan, which he now calls home.

According to Focus Taiwan, nearly a decade after Taiwan amended the Nationality Act to let a narrow group of eligible foreign professionals naturalize without having to renounce their original nationality, Zbylut's journey offers a glimpse into how the system has worked in practice -- and where it still falls short. Born in Poland and educated in Germany and the United Kingdom in molecular biology, Zbylut first came to Taiwan over 20 years ago after living and working in Europe alongside people from East Asia, including his roommate from Taiwan. He came to believe that "the 21st century is going to be an Asian century," recalling being impressed by Asian people's professionalism and ethics at the time.

Zbylut moved to Taiwan in late 2005, briefly working at a trading company before studying Mandarin on a Taiwanese government scholarship from 2007 to 2009. He later enrolled at China Medical University in Taichung in 2010 to study traditional Chinese medicine. He was first exposed to traditional Chinese medicine during a visit to China in the early 2000s, and the idea of pursuing the field had stayed with him ever since. Zbylut began working at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital after graduating in mid-2015, where he remained until 2019 and eventually served as chief resident. He now practices at two clinics in Taipei and New Taipei, focusing on cosmetic acupuncture.

Though Zbylut already held permanent residency, he saw his future in Taiwan and felt it would be "more practical to be naturalized." His non-citizen status placed restrictions on his medical practice, including preventing him from opening his own clinic as a sole practitioner. Under Taiwan's general naturalization rules, most foreign nationals are required to renounce their original nationality before becoming Taiwanese citizens. While Zbylut had considered giving up his Polish citizenship, he later opted for the high-level professional route, created after Taiwan amended the law in 2016, which allows recognized foreign professionals to obtain citizenship without renouncing their original nationality.

According to the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), eligible foreign nationals must be recommended by the relevant government agency and approved through a joint review on the grounds that their expertise serves Taiwan's interests. As of the end of 2025, 379 foreign high-level professionals, including Zbylut, had successfully naturalized without renouncing their original nationality. However, Zbylut described the application process as difficult to navigate, with little information available and no designated contact person. Eventually, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital assisted with the application, and about nine months later, Zbylut obtained Taiwanese citizenship.

Compared with when Zbylut applied in 2019, the process now appears somewhat easier to navigate. The MOI's Department of Household Registration has a dedicated "High-Level Professional" section on its website, in both Chinese and English, with information on the legal framework, application guidance, contact windows for recommendation-related inquiries, and recommendation letter templates. Still, criticism of Taiwan's broader citizenship regime continues. In August 2024, an NGO called Crossroads launched a successful petition on the government's platform calling for a standardized path to citizenship for long-term permanent residents without requiring them to renounce their original nationality. The MOI, however, rejected the proposal later that year, citing potential impacts on Taiwan's fiscal burden, social welfare obligations, and national security.

In Zbylut's view, Taiwan's naturalization policy for foreign professionals remains "very limited in scope" and "very difficult to go through." "If it was up to me, I would make it like in most liberal democracies, where you are allowed to have dual citizenship," he said.