By MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network Editorial Team
 
The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday has just ended, and many travelers only realized their passports were either close to expiration or invalid right before departure, leading them to apply for replacements at the airport. This has also increased the workload at the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ airport offices. Starting as early as April, if travelers wish to apply for an urgent passport replacement at the airport, the fee will increase from the original NT$900 to NT$3,600. Coupled with the base passport replacement fee of NT$1,300, the total cost at the airport will amount to NT$4,900.

The Bureau of Consular Affairs emphasized that urgent passport processing at the airport is meant as an “emergency service,” not a “regular service.” Many travelers are unwilling to follow the existing procedures to apply through the Bureau and instead choose to apply at the airport only when it’s too late. Due to limited manpower at the airport, this has displaced other emergency rescue services. According to statistics, during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday this year, there were as many as 246 urgent passport applications, nearly double the number compared to last year.

In order to prevent the abuse of administrative resources, fees have been adjusted to manage demand. Starting April 1, the urgent passport fee will increase from NT$900 to NT$3,600, plus the base NT$1,300 passport fee, totaling NT$4,900. According to the Passport Application and Issuance Regulations, travelers can apply for a passport renewal if their current passport has less than one year of validity remaining before departure. Once the new rates take effect, the airport will no longer process passport renewal applications for expired passports, allowing the airport to return to providing its original emergency rescue services.
 

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