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Updated Saturday, September 15, 2007 0:00 am TWN, CNA

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New passport fees to vary according to expiry dates

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will charge different passport application fees according to the validity period of the new “electronic passports” slated to be launched in 2008, MOFA spokesman David Wang said yesterday.

Wang made the announcement in response to a request made by the Consumers’ Foundation a day earlier.

The foundation pointed out that MOFA charges NT$1,200 (US$36) to apply for a passport, regardless of the differing lengths of validity for different passport holders — 10 years for ordinary passports, five years for people under 14 years of age and three years for people eligible for military service.

The foundation said the MOFA should look to South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan to study other graduated systems of passport application fees.

Wang pointed out that the NT$1,200 application fee is mainly for production costs, which remain constant despite the differing lengths of validity. However, he added that the MOFA’s Bureau of Consular Affairs will nevertheless adopt a new charge system for the electronic passport from next year.

The electronic passport, also known as ePassport, differs from the existing passport in that it has an embedded identification chip containing biometric indicators to authenticate the citizenship of travelers, Wang said.

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