Document costs to be lowered for wanted foreigners

The Bureau of Immigration plans to revise current regulations so that foreigners who are identified as making a special contribution to Taiwan or who are high-tech professionals will not have to pay application fees for official documents. The move is part of a bid to encourage such foreigners to reside and work here.

Under the Immigration Law, foreigners are required to pay NT$1,000 per year for alien resident certificates, and NT$10,000 for an alien permanent resident certificate.

The amended law would apply to professionals specializing in industries that Taiwan is particularly keen to develop, such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, aeronautical engineering, seismology and telecommunications.

Foreigners who have received awards from the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan, Control Yuan, Legislative Yuan, Examination Yuan and Judicial Yuan would also be entitled to free documents.

The bureau is currently working on revising the law and is expected to announce the revised law within weeks.