The Bureau of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was flooded with a large number of people applying for passports.

(file photo)

[Reporter Lu Yixuan/Report from Taipei] The Spring Festival is coming, and many people have plans to go abroad.

The Consular Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a 4-point announcement today, reminding the public to pay attention to whether the passport is valid for more than 6 months. If you need to complete the passport renewal application before the year, the latest application date is January 18. Received the photo on the 19th.

In addition, the Consular Affairs Bureau also recommends that people go abroad to apply for overseas travel insurance and complete the "registration abroad" through the Consular Affairs Bureau Line; if they need to apply for a digital vaccine certificate, they should apply for a new passport in advance.

Chen Shangyou, deputy director of the Consular Affairs Bureau, attended the regular meeting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today and explained that the Spring Festival is coming, and the Consular Affairs Bureau will be on vacation from January 20th to 29th. Therefore, we must remind people who plan to go abroad to check whether their passports are valid for more than 6 months. The final opening time of the Consular Affairs Bureau is until 5:00 pm on January 19th, and passport issuance takes working days. The latest application date is estimated to be January 18th, and express mail is required to get the passport in time before the year.

Chen Shangyou also said that there have been cases where people did not come to collect their passports after applying. He reminded those who have applied for renewal or reissuance of passports to remember to come and collect them so as not to affect their travel abroad.

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Chen Shangyou also suggested that the public should purchase overseas travel insurance before going abroad. The recommendations should cover accidental medical treatment, medical treatment for illness, emergency rescue services, and travel inconvenience services to reduce the risk and financial burden of Chinese people traveling abroad.

Third, Chen Shangyou once again introduced the official account of the Consular Affairs Bureau (@boca.tw). Chinese citizens can inquire about "pre-departure preparations", "travel warnings", "emergency assistance", "instant translation", "(search) Embassies abroad", "registration abroad" and "travel insurance" and other useful information.

Before going abroad, you can also make good use of the LINE official account of the Consular Affairs Bureau to complete the "registration abroad". If there is an emergency in the local area, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can immediately contact the Chinese.

During the earthquake in Nepal and the war in Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs used this channel to contact people urgently.

Chen Shangyou mentioned that although Taoyuan Airport has a "Ministry of Foreign Affairs Emergency Contact Center" which operates 24 hours a day, its function is a platform for emergency contact, for example, relatives and friends need to apply for documents in case of emergency abroad.

If it is simply because you forgot to apply for a passport, and you request it for sightseeing or business needs, "you will decline it politely."

The "Emergency Contact Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs" has set up 2 dedicated telephone lines, and the domestic toll-free "Emergency Service Line for Foreigners" is 0800-085-095 (for overseas payment, please dial the local country and international code +886-800-085-095); " The global toll-free hotline for emergency assistance for foreigners" 800-0885-0885 is currently available in 22 countries or regions including Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, New Zealand and Australia. If you make a local call, you will have to pay roaming charges if you call from a domestic phone number.

In case of emergencies in China, Hong Kong and Macau, please call 02-2397-5589, (853) 66872557 (Hong Kong) or (852) 61439012 (Macau).

Fourth, Chen Shangyou explained that if Chinese citizens need to apply for a digital vaccine certificate after renewing their passport, they should apply on the website of the CDC of the Ministry of Health and Welfare the next day after applying for a new passport.

Since the automatic exchange mechanism of passport information between the digital vaccine certificate and the Consular Bureau is not updated immediately, it is recommended that Chinese citizens who want to apply at the same time should apply for passport renewal in advance, and apply for the digital vaccine certificate after 10:00 am the next day after receiving the new passport , in order to obtain a digital certificate consistent with the new passport number.