Taiwan will grant an additional 30-day extension of stay to foreign visitors who entered the country on or before March 21 and have no record of overstaying, the National Immigration Agency announced Thursday (Oct. 15).



The automatic extension will apply to foreign nationals who entered Taiwan visa-free or on a visitor's or landing visa on or before that date.



The government has previously announced an automatic 30-day visa extension on March 21, April 17, May 18, June 15, July 17, Aug. 14, and Sept. 14, in order to avoid forcing foreign nationals to leave the country at a time when COVID-19 continues to affect the world and travel restrictions are in effect.



Though the extension will be automatically registered on NIA systems and does not require an application, visitors who would like formal documentation of the extension can request to have their passports stamped at NIA service stations, the agency said in a statement on its website.



Those with questions about the policy can contact the NIA's Life Counseling Service Hotline (0800-024-111), which provides 24-hour services in Chinese, English, and Japanese, as well as Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, and Cambodian language services on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.