People planning to travel abroad during the Lunar New Year should check their passport validity as early as possible, and pick up new passports before Feb. 13, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said yesterday.
Holiday travelers should ensure their passport is valid for at least six months beyond their intended date of departure, bureau Director-General Cheng Cheng-yung (鄭正勇) said.
He also urged people not to place souvenir stamps in their passport, or otherwise damage or comprise the document’s integrity.
Photo: Wang Chun-chi, Taipei Times
If the passport has been damaged or defaced, they should apply for a new passport to avoid being denied entry, Cheng said.
People who have applied for a new passport or to have their passport renewed should pick it up by Feb. 13, the last working day before the holiday, which runs from Feb. 14 to 20, he said.
People who are applying for a passport for the first time must apply in person, but can use the one-stop service at their local household registration office, he said.
Those renewing a passport can apply at the bureau or a regional Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in person, or have an eligible individual or registered travel agency apply for them, he said.
People can also apply to renew their passport online, then submit their documents in person at one of the bureau’s offices about 10 working days later, Cheng said.
As the bureau and the four ministry branches would be closed to the public during the holidays, Taiwanese who need emergency assistance should call the ministry’s emergency hotline at 0800-085-095 (in Taiwan) or 0800-0885-0885 (overseas).
Emergency assistance in China, Hong Kong or Macau is handled by the Mainland Affairs Council. People in need of emergency help in the areas should call the Straits Exchange Foundation’s emergency hotline at (02) 2533-9995 (in Taiwan), or the council’s Hong Kong office at (852) 6143-9012 or Macau office at (853) 6687-2557.
The bureau also urged travelers to check its Web site in advance to prepare all required documents to enter their destination country, as well as buy overseas travel insurance to cover expenses for accidental injury or emergency illness treatment, emergency rescue service and travel inconveniences, Cheng said.
Travelers are also encouraged to add the bureau’s official Line account (@boca.tw) or download its Travel Safety Guidance (旅外安全指南) app for useful information such as travel warnings and emergency assistance information, he said.
The ministry issues four levels of travel advisories: “gray” to exercise caution, “yellow” for special caution, “orange” to avoid nonessential travel and “red” as do not travel, he said.
The levels are based on local infrastructure, sanitary conditions, the political and economic situation, natural disasters and public safety, he said.
The advisories also include major incidents, or if a country has signed a mutual legal assistance treaty or extradition treaty with China, he added.
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