MOFA urges tighter passport rules support

Speaking at the first public hearing yesterday to gauge public opinion about a proposal to make passport issuing procedures stricter, MOFA officials stressed the proposed new rules will help the nation's people win the privilege of visiting more foreign countries without visas and save an estimated cost of NT$1 billion in visa fees each year.

Under the proposed changes, passport applicants will be required to have their pictures taken by the ministry's Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) at designated locations.

Currently, 60 to 70 percent of the average 1.2 to 1.5 million new passport applications the bureau receives every year are submitted by travel agents, according to Lo Yu-chung, director general of the bureau.

To facilitate the proposed change that would eventually require individuals to submit their own passport applications, Lo said his office will launch a multiphase program.

The bureau will first increase the number of locations for people, including travel agents, to submit passport applications starting in the early half of next year to encourage the public do it in person.

Some of these locations could be household registration offices in their neighborhood.

The bureau will then begin requiring passport applicants to submit their applications in person, but will not require them to have their pictures taken at the bureau.

Meanwhile, the ministry will seek support from the Legislative Yuan to revise the passport-issuing regulations.

In the final stage of the transition, the bureau will require that all applicants apply and have their pictures taken in person, at the bureau or its branch offices.

At the public hearing, travel agencies and scholars supported the MOFA plan, believing it will increase Taiwanese passport's credibility and help eliminate forgery that may become easier due to advanced computer technology.

But they suggested the government take effective measures to minimize the inconvenience for passport applicants.

Taking advantage of similar language and facial features, illegal immigrants from China have been caught by security authorities in some nations, including the U.S., using passports issued in Taiwan in recent years.

MOFA officials said that human trafficking operations have severely undermined the rights of legitimate passport holders of the Republic of China.

However, photography studio owners and workers from the National Federation of Photography Associations expressed strong objections to the proposal of tighter rules, saying they fear the proposed rule change could cause their industry to cut as many as 50,000 jobs.

They suggested the foreign ministry come up with measures such as authorizing photo shops to take pictures for passport applicants, who can then simply present a bar code issued by the accredited photo shops to BOCA officials to access the pictures online.

“Professional photo shops are confident that we can be at the frontline to help the government ensure passport credibility. Thousands of photographers are more reliable than the staff at a few dozen government agencies,” said photographer Hsueh Ming-hua.

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