TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) is extending the period it needs to issue a new passport to six days due to surging demand, reports said Tuesday (Dec. 27).
After Taiwan ended most COVID-19 border restrictions in October, the number of passport applications surged to 10,000 a day, causing long lines at BOCA’s four offices. During the period from January to August, the Taipei City office handled a total of 200,000 applications, but in December so far, the number has already reached 110,000, the Liberty Times reported.
In order to deal with the onslaught, BOCA announced new measures to come into effect Jan. 3, including the extension of the manufacturing and issuing process from four to six days, and the lengthening of the online period to set a date for the delivery of application documents to BOCA from 10 to 20 days. The department was also adding staff and increasing desks from 15 to 20 to handle the volume of applications.
The post-COVID rush on passports was a global phenomenon, BOCA said, with the United States extending the time needed to produce passports from between four and six weeks to a maximum of nine weeks, and the United Kingdom increasing the time from three to 10 weeks. Japan needed up to seven days, and South Korea between seven and 10 days.
In emergency cases, BOCA would continue to provide passports within three days, but officials still advised travelers to postpone their application if they do not have travel plans for the near future.
