TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan launched its online passport renewal service for Taiwanese citizens on Tuesday (Sept. 3).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) created the service to enable Taiwanese nationals to renew their passports online instead of going in person to one of the branch offices. During the official launch ceremony on Tuesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the measure is a “milestone in smart government and digital governance,” per Rti.
Lin said that since online renewal requires the Citizen Digital Certificate, he hopes the user-friendly measure will advance the implementation of an e-government and AI government.
The "Conditional Online Passport Renewal" is designed for those currently residing in Taiwan with household registration, whose most recent passport has expired, and whose personal information on the passport data page remains unchanged. However, if citizens need to update personal information or have lost their passport in the past 10 years, they must apply in person or authorize a representative to handle the renewal.
Lin said the passport is like a business card for Taiwanese citizens traveling abroad. He noted that 168 countries or regions currently offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to Taiwanese passport holders.
He said it is more than twice the number of countries that afford such treatment to China's passports. “Taiwan is the world's Taiwan, and this is demonstrated by the visa-free access our passport provides in many countries,” said Lin.
According to BOCA, the number of passport applications this year is expected to reach between 2.6 million and 2.8 million. It estimated 200,000 to 300,000 citizens will be able to use their Citizen Digital Certificate to renew their passports online each year.
During the trial period, there will be a daily limit of 400 to 500 applications, to fully implement the service by the end of the year. The bureau said the trial phase also serves as a period of self-assessment focused on strengthening cybersecurity.
The new online service is located on the BOCA website.
