TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Applicants will have to wait 10 working days instead of six for their new passport due to a surge in post-COVID travel, the Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) said Thursday (Feb. 16).

After Taiwan scrapped most COVID-related border restrictions in October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) department was overwhelmed by the demand for new passports, extending the delivery period from four to six days beginning early January.

While the waiting time will grow to 10 working days from Feb. 20, applicants will also have the opportunity to register online to make reservations for in-person appointments to hand in relevant documents 60 days in advance instead of the present 20 days, the Liberty Times reported. The daily capacity of the online system for BOCA will rise from 480 to 1,500 reservations.

Before the end of the travel restrictions, BOCA received 3,000 to 4,000 passport applications daily, but on Wednesday (Feb. 15), the total approached 10,000, said the service’s director general, Calvin Ho (何震寰). Even after the latest changes, emergency cases related to business or humanitarian affairs would receive special treatment if the necessary documents were submitted.

Ho called on first-time applicants to turn to household registration offices and on those needing to change their passport to ask for the assistance of a travel agency.